Friday, April 12, 2024
House of Representatives – Reverend Robert Suhr
Holy God, mighty Lord, and gracious Father, You are the sovereign God who is the author of all time. You hold all history in Your righteous and merciful hands. Nations rise and fall by Your will, for Your purposes, and by Your grace.
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So in this time and on this day, we humbly call upon You to exercise Your will, to show Your compassion, and to loose Your spirit upon the Members of this sacred body, those near to You and those far from You, that this would not be an ordinary day but an extraordinary day.
Open hearts to hear Your guidance and help their ears to hear the voices of Your will speaking. Let the Members of this House today govern with compassion, understanding, and a determination to accomplish that which is good and pleasing in Your sight and that which is good for the people of this Nation.
Holy spirit, we entrust ourselves to You that at the end of this day we may rest in peace and this great Nation will remain a light that shatters the darkness, a city that brightly shines on a hill, and that all nations may see Your handiwork and the work of this body today.
All this we ask relying on Your grace, and we ask through the power of Jesus’ holy and precious name. Amen.
Thursday, April 11, 2024
Senate – Dr. Barry C. Black
Eternal God, our powerful deliverer, we trust in You for protection, for You save us from those who shoot from the shadows. You keep the faithful from vanishing from our planet, providing a refuge for the oppressed and a shelter when gloating evil seems to have the upper hand.
Today, use our lawmakers to help bring unity to a divided Nation and peace to a war-torn world. May our Senators make their positive impact by living blameless lives, speaking the truth, keeping their promises, and honoring You in their thoughts, words, and deeds.
We pray in Your merciful Name. Amen.
House of Representatives – Reverend Margaret Grun Kibben
Generous God, from Your bounty, You have graced us with much, with health and prosperity, opportunity and positions of honor. For all the gifts You have given us, we are truly grateful.
Remind us again that, while these gifts come without conditions, that to be given these privileges is to appreciate how they compel us to live into the responsibilities that come with them.
Truly, You have entrusted us with an abundance of riches. It is on us to respond with faithful stewardship of Your generosity.
Call us again to accountability, that we would not take for granted the purpose You intended when You showed us Your favor. Open our eyes to the needs of the people around us who depend on us to exercise our talents and abilities faithfully, to apportion our resources carefully, and to share from our plenitude, acknowledging that all that we have is Yours to use for the benefit of Your kingdom.
Bless, then, our faltering attempts to use wisely all that You have bestowed on us, that what we do this day would reflect our desire to glorify You.
We pray these prayers in Your most holy name. Amen.
Wednesday, April 10, 2024
Senate – Dr. Barry C. Black
Eternal and powerful God, don’t hide from us. Don’t stand so far away, for our Nation and world need You. Lord, bring peace where there is war, hope where there is despair, and faith where there is cynicism.
Arise, mighty God, for we put our trust in You. Today, we trust You to guide our Senators. Lord, warn them through their mistakes, encourage them with their successes, and enrich them through life’s seasons of gladness and sadness. Inspire them to be worthy of the honor of being Your sons and daughters as You give them a renewed sense of Your providential presence.
We pray in Your powerful Name. Amen.
House of Representatives – Reverend Margaret Grun Kibben
God of mercy and compassion, of grace and reconciliation, only You can speak into the crisis that has descended upon the Middle East. Only Your peace can cure the warring madness that has erupted in this land so many call holy.
Let the hatred that has severed the region, intensifying the profound animosity between Israel and Palestine, and in turn swallowing up the cities of Gaza, Tel Aviv, Ramallah, and Ashkelon to name but a few, be supplanted by acts of mercy and overcome by deeds of justice.
Touch the hearts of each offender, that all would be purified of their thirst for vengeance. Speak into the souls of all aggressors, that they would renounce their prejudice.
Abide with the countless victims of violent attacks, with the innocents held hostage in the crossfire of escalating hostilities. Grant comfort and sanctuary to those who have fled their homes in fear. Receive the refugees into the safety of Your welcoming embrace. Make way in the desert that the hungry would receive food.
Let all Christians, Muslims, and Jews put away anger, wrath, malice, and slander. May each find a renewed spirit of forgiveness and understanding in the knowledge that all bear the image of You, our Creator.
For the sake of Your kingdom, may each of us, politician and patriot, voter or victim, be agents of Your purpose, that Your peace and justice would, once again, rule this land.
In the redemption of Your name, we pray. Amen.
Tuesday, April 9, 2024
Senate – Dr. Barry C. Black
Eternal God, yesterday, millions witnessed a full solar eclipse. Many resonated with the sentiments of the Psalms that the heavens declare Your glory and the skies show forth Your handiwork. Your hand guides through the boundless skies the flight of water fowl. Let that same hand take us away from the self-sufficiency that ignores our need for You. Lord, make our hearts receptive to Your plans.
Today, bestow upon our lawmakers special gifts of wisdom and understanding that they may uphold what is right and follow what is true. Increase their faith, strengthen their judgment, and quicken their zeal for integrity and honor.
We pray in Your powerful Name. Amen.
House of Representatives – Reverend Margaret Grun Kibben
Sovereign God, in these days when skies darken and nations rage, when politics become a weapon and discord takes center stage, we yearn for peace only You can give. Come quickly to our aid, that our hearts would not be troubled, with no more need to be afraid.
God, mend this House divided, for against itself it cannot stand. Grant Your peace upon us. May we live as You command, to look at foe or friend and see in them Your face, to strive to love each other and give to each Your grace.
In Your eternal name, we pray. Amen.
Monday, April 8, 2024
Senate – Dr. Barry C. Black
Precious Lord, we praise You with all our hearts because even when wrong seems to rule, you remain sovereign. You are our strength for today and our hope for tomorrow.
As our lawmakers open their hearts to You, may they sense that Your presence is as pervasive in statecraft as in religion. Illuminate their finite minds with Your eternal light, giving them wisdom beyond their own. Lord, remind our Senators that some problems You will not solve until they are ready to be used by You in working out the solutions.
We pray in your awesome Name. Amen.
Friday, April 5, 2024
House of Representatives – Reverend Margaret Grun Kibben
Holy God, Your love reaches deep into our souls and transforms our whole being. Open our hearts to receive Your grace and rejoice in Your mercy. For it is only by Your unconditional acceptance of who we are do we come to appreciate truly whose we are.
We, O Lord, are Yours. You have created us, formed us, and called us by name. In light of Your redemption, may we live lives that reflect the change Your love has had on us.
May we show our devotion to one another, mutual affection for all who receive their breath from You. May we show eagerness in esteeming each other and take deep delight in honoring one another.
And on the days where our intentions are more aspiration than actualization, reach deep again into our souls and remind us of the transformation we have received by Your love.
In Your saving name we pray. Amen.
Tuesday, April 2, 2024
House of Representatives – Reverend Margaret Grun Kibben
Tender and loving God, in Your mercy, You have proven Your love for us. May we respond to that incredible grace gift with our own love, not just in our adoration and devotion to You but in our love for our neighbor.
May that love come from the very center of our being. No matter how hard it is to love a stranger or to reach out and love the other side, grant us both the will and the desire to reveal Your grace by our actions.
Open our minds and our eyes to what is wrong and hateful. If we abhor anything, let it be the evil that has found its way into our discourse and which seems to have taken charge of our lives.
Casting that aside, may we not just appreciate but cling to what is good.
May every fiber of our being yearn for the goodness of Your design. May we hold tightly to the evidence of Your integrity and hold fast to Your perfect righteousness.
We give thanks to You, O Lord, for You are good. Your mercy endures forever, and so it is in Your merciful name we pray. Amen.
Friday, March 29, 2024
House of Representatives – Reverent Margaret Grun Kibben
Eternal light, shine in the darkness that seeks to overwhelm us. Shine Your light into our hearts, that we would discover that Your power alone is our strength.
And when we consider ourselves the jars of clay that we truly are, when sorrows threaten to shatter us, fear attempts to overwhelm our faith, illness or injustice tries to injure us beyond repair, show us again the treasure of Your all-surpassing power which You have made available to us.
Holding on to this precious gift, we need not lose heart. Though outwardly, we are painfully aware of the fragility of life, inwardly, You inspire in us the renewal of Your spirit, day by day.
Remind us again to fix our eyes, not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. In the light of Your eternal promises, the troubles we see are temporary.
In this may we find our hope today and always.
In Your sovereign name, we pray. Amen.
Tuesday, March 26, 2024
House of Representatives – Monsignor Stephen J. Rossetti
Good and gracious God, we are entering upon a most sacred time of the year. May we contemplate Your word as it speaks to us and follow Your holy will in all that we do. As the season of spring witnesses to Your resurrected life, may we too rise with You to eternal life.
We pray all this in Thy holy name. Amen.
Friday, March 22, 2024
Senate – Dr. Barry C. Black
O God, our Father, thank you for filling our lives with blessings. We praise You for the daily miracles of light and shadows, work and rest, life and love. We even thank You for the blessings of disappointments and failures that humble us, and for pain and distress that remind us of our need for You.
Lord, we are grateful for the women and men of the U.S. Senate who strive to keep freedom’s torch burning. Awaken in them a deeper appreciation for Your loving providence, as You give them a heightened sense of the special role You want them to play in the unfolding drama of world history.
And, Lord, we thank You for the life and legacy of Pat Collins, the mother of Senator Susan Collins.
We pray in Your sovereign Name. Amen.
House of Representatives – Reverend Margaret Grun Kibben
Today, O Lord, in all that we face, in the decisions that are made, whether we turn to the right or to the left, may we listen for Your voice behind us, saying: “This is the way; walk in it.” When we hear Your voice, may we not harden our hearts.
Let every one of us be quick to hear but also slow to speak. More importantly, let us be slow to anger. Remind us that our heated opinions, our rancor, do not produce the righteousness You desire.
Then when the day is over, when we have done our part in our service to Your people, when we have exhausted our energies and left it all on the table, sanctify our labors. We pray Your blessing over all that we have completed and Your intercession in the things we have left undone. Grant us Your mercy in our failures and the fruit of Your perfect will in our achievements.
Lord, keep watch ever over us as we seek to serve You, our communities, and our Nation.
In Your most holy name we pray. Amen.
Thursday, March 21, 2024
Senate – Dr. Adolphus Lacey
Gracious God, we evoke Your Name in this place. We thank You for the life and for giving it to us more abundantly. We thank You for the power and privilege of prayer, and we humbly approach Your throne of grace to thank You and share our petitions.
We offer thanks to those who surrender their lives in service to this great Nation by willingly choosing to represent us. We thank You for their families and friends who loan them to us. May there be no lack in their lives because of their service.
We pray that, at this moment, You will pour out Your spirit of wisdom and compassion on these Senators as they chart the course of this Nation. Embolden them with the burden that they are someone’s last resort and the hope that they can make a difference in someone’s life.
Bless this assembly as they wrestle with how to express Your love for all of us and for this moment. Then, O God, bless all the people of all the States in this land that we love, to emulate and require of our leaders what you require in the words of the Prophet Micah: to act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with our God.
In Your Name, we pray. Amen.
House of Representatives – Reverend Margaret Grun Kibben
Holy God, break into our lives this day and reveal the wonders that You alone perform. The heavens declare Your glory. The skies proclaim Your handiwork. They have no need for words, yet their praise goes out to the ends of the Earth. Your creation sings of Your greatness.
Ignite in our hearts the love that You impart to each one of us, through friends who love at all times and kin who are born to carry us in adversity. The earnest advice from close companions bears the sweetness of Your counsel. The people You have gathered around us, friends, family, and colleagues, are the reminders of Your loving provision.
Today, then, as we hear the echoes of Your voice around us, may we respond with the praise of creation and the love of neighbor, committing ourselves to careful conversation. Let us convey Your gifts of grace and mercy as we dedicate ourselves to respectful dialogue.
Refresh our souls with Your perfect law. Make the wise simple with the trustworthiness of Your statutes. Give joy to our hearts as we seek Your righteousness and give light to our eyes with the radiance of Your commands.
In Your most holy name, we pray. Amen.
Wednesday, March 20, 2024
Senate – Dr. Barry C. Black
O merciful Lord, answer our cry. Enlighten our lawmakers with a shining inward light and remove the shadows from their hearts. Control their thoughts and prepare them to face the inevitable challenges that invade our Nation and world. Give them the peace of knowing that their times are in Your hands and that You are willing to fight the battles of all who trust in the power of Your Name. Fill their hearts with courage, and may they take time throughout the day to remember Your direct involvement in the details of their lives.
Lord, help us all to maintain a pure conscience, a love for truth, and a passion for peace on Earth.
We pray in Your mighty Name. Amen.
House of Representatives – Reverend Margaret Grun Kibben
Eternal and loving God, in boldness and confidence we find only in faith, we approach Your court of justice, Your throne of power, and Your mercy seat, with worries too deep for words and concerns beyond our control. Our words are insufficient when we try to express our apprehensions for the future of our country. Our prayers are inadequate in meeting the problems faced in our world, in this body, and by our families.
But You in Your infinite wisdom know our thoughts before we speak them and our needs before we utter them. This is the faith we claim today, that though we cannot see the answers, though we cannot possibly discern the future, You, O ruler of the universe, order our steps and guide us in Your abiding and steadfast love.
Grant us this day the power to comprehend what is the breadth and length, height and depth of Your love which surpasses all knowledge.
Now to You, by whom the power at work within us, is able to do far more than we can ask or imagine, to You be the glory today and always.
Hear these our prayers and those unspoken as we offer them in the strength of Your sovereign name. Amen.
Tuesday, March 19, 2024
Senate – Dr. Barry C. Black
Almighty God, the Heavens proclaim Your glory, and the skies display Your craftsmanship. Shine Your light on our path as we work today.
Lord, You have led America through troubled times in the past. Be now for us a source of life, light, and liberty.
Give wisdom to our Senators. May they follow Your light, trust in Your might, and find strength for life’s fights. Teach them what they should think, say, and do, so they will not stumble along the way. Replace doubt with faith, fear with courage, and despair with hope.
We pray in Your powerful Name. Amen.
House of Representatives – Reverend Margaret Grun Kibben
O Righteous One, we pause in stillness before You. We wait patiently for You as this new week begins. For we know You will give us the desires of our heart, speaking to us Your Word of truth.
On our part, may we come to trust You. Then may our trust in You know no boundaries. May no uncertainty, no doubt, no fear, or anxiety serve as barriers for our trust in Your steadfast love for us.
May our faith in You encourage us to walk closer to You, to follow where You lead us, and to go where You call us to go, sure of Your grace plan.
Keep our eyes above the waves that threaten us. Keep our feet on the foundation You have laid beneath us. Keep our will away from the temptations that surround us, and keep our hearts within Your own loving embrace.
Today, on this day, in all we say or do, may we trust in You, O Lord, and do what is good.
Sure of Your omniscience and omnipotence, we are bold to pray. Amen.
Friday, March 15, 2024
House of Representatives – Reverend Margaret Grun Kibben
Every good and perfect gift comes from You, O God, and in Your eternal plan, which is far wiser than our own, with vision far broader than we can possibly imagine, You have gifted each one of us uniquely, according to Your grace.
To some You have given the ability to speak, to utter Your Word into the noise of this world. May those who have been so graced be faithful to Your message of love and mercy.
Some You have equipped with the ability to help, to serve those in need. May they do so revealing the beneficence that comes from Your spirit.
To others You have granted the ability to teach, to make clear the lessons You would have us learn. May those who teach prove worthy of this noble calling.
There are those who are truly blessed to be able to offer a word of encouragement, to know exactly what to say in a moment of sorrow or stress. Likewise, there are others who have the facility to give to those who are in want. May each do so with the generosity that reflects Your own mercy.
May those You have called to leadership do so with both the purpose and the passion that is grounded in and inspired by their love for You.
All good gifts around us come from Heaven above. We thank You, Lord, for trusting us to use them wisely.
Our prayers are offered in Your name. May You be glorified through them. Amen.
Thursday, March 14, 2024
Senate – Dr. Barry C. Black
Eternal God, who sustains those who obey You, You have been good to us beyond our deserving. You have surrounded us with the beauties of the Earth and the glories of the skies. Today, make us alert to Your providential movements. If our minds are closed to Your truth, open them. If our hearts are hardened, soften them. If our ears are deaf to the cries of the oppressed, unstop them.
Lord, revive our Senators. Give them a desire to establish new thresholds of hope, peace, and freedom in our Nation and world. Be near to our lawmakers all their days. May they rest in the green pastures of your peace and thrive beside the still waters of Your wisdom.
We pray in Your mighty Name. Amen.
Wednesday, March 13, 2024
House of Representatives – Reverend Margaret Grun Kibben
Almighty God, we appeal to You, the author and defender of our faith, to raise up Your protections in defense of those who call upon Your name in the face of strife and adversity.
Ukrainians, Israelis, Palestinians, and all those who find themselves caught in the grip of violence, speak to them, to the fearful souls among them who are rent by the agony of conflict. Bring Your justice to the victims of unprovoked hostilities.
Strengthen with the sufficiency of Your grace, all those who are powerless against the brutal aggression of their adversaries. In their weakness, may Your power be made perfectly evident in their resilience.
Look to those who are afflicted in every way and see that because of their faith they are not crushed. Guide those who are perplexed that they would not be driven to despair. Safeguard those who are persecuted, that they would know they are not forsaken. Uphold those who are struck down, that their faith would not yield to destruction.
Death is at work in our world. May we not surrender to its desire for dominion, but in braving it, may we come to discover the life You have revealed to us, and the hope that is found only in You.
In Your immortal and eternal name we pray. Amen.
