[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 5]
[House]
[Pages 6312-6313]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

                                 PRAYER

  Reverend Ric Metzgar, Sr., The Church of God, Essex, Maryland, 
offered the following prayer:
  My heavenly Father, You are the composer of my life. Thank you for 
orchestrating my direction today.
  I recognize You as the source of life and love. Hear the prayers of 
this House, both for the good of the Nation and the good of humanity 
and around the world. Help this House to discern Your will in our day.
  Strengthen all of us and help us to show forth the fruits of Your 
spirit of love, joy, peace, and generosity as we go about our work. 
Grant us a spirit of compassion and cooperation.
  We ask Your blessings for all those who have chosen to take up this 
difficult task of governing, not only those

[[Page 6313]]

who are elected but also those who serve as staffers, interns, and 
volunteers here and around our great Nation.
  We look to Your Scriptures that tell us ``Balance and scales belong 
to the Lord; all weights of justice belong to You.'' And as Jeremiah 
29:7 exhorts us to:

       Seek the peace of the city and our Nation. Pray to the Lord 
     for it; for in its peace, you will have peace.

  May the peace that passes all understanding guide our hearts and our 
minds in the days to come.
  This we pray in Your matchless name, thanking You for being the 
architect of our lives.
  Amen.

                          ____________________