Friday, February 14, 2025

House of Representatives – Reverend Margaret Grun Kibben

On this day, when many take time to appreciate their loved ones and sweethearts, may we discover that when we love each other, that that love is a gift from You, O Lord. We love because You first loved us.

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So whether we are on the giving or receiving end of cards, flowers, or chocolates, all three or none at all, let us take the time to appreciate the love You have shown to each of us from the beginning of our lives, a love that has enabled every one of us to receive Your gifts of forgiveness and mercy, hope and grace.

From this deep well of love we have from You, may we draw cups of compassion for one another. May we offer rich appreciation for those with whom You have surrounded us, and may we share in the blessings we receive from Your hand with all who need to feel the tenderness of Your embrace.

For You, O God, have loved us with an everlasting love. You are the source of unfailing kindness that draws us toward You.

Sure of Your love this day, we pray in the joy of Your name. Amen.

Thursday, February 13, 2025

Senate – Dr. Barry C. Black

Almighty God, who taught us it is more blessed to give than receive. As we prepare to celebrate Presidents Day, thank You for the great gift of leadership. May this wonderful ability to mobilize people toward a shared objective become the strength of our legislative branch. Help our lawmakers find the correct balance that leads to true influence.

Lord, give them the wisdom to prefer listening to speaking and learning to teaching, as they seek to make bipartisan progress. Infuse them with the serenity to accept the things they cannot change, the courage to change the things they can, and the wisdom to know the difference.

We pray in your wonderful Name. Amen.

House of Representatives – Reverend Margaret Grun Kibben

Blessed are those who fear You, O Lord, and walk in Your ways. We pray Your blessings on this day, but it is too often not You we fear but the multitude of challenges that confront us.

Whether our anxiety is for things political or personal, changes environmental or emotional, upheaval suppositional or spiritual, we too often find the uncertainty of our days has eclipsed our ability to acknowledge or appreciate Your power and authority over every aspect of our lives.

Teach us then to walk in Your ways, to affirm Your majesty over every aspect of our lives. Would that we allow, within our own spirits, Your Holiness to transform the hostility, Your kindness every cruelty, Your love every malevolence.

Blessed are those who fear the Lord. May this day and all the days of our lives receive Your blessing that the work of our hands may prosper.

In Your merciful name, we pray. Amen.

Wednesday, February 12, 2025

Senate – Dr. Barry C. Black

God of mystery and clarity, open our eyes to see the unexpected ways You come to us. Lord, reveal to us Your presence in the beauties of nature and the promises of Sacred Scriptures and in the challenges that deepen our dependence on You.

Make clear Your plans to our lawmakers and infuse them with confidence in Your power. Inspire them to use their talents as instruments of liberation and healing. Lord, keep them purposeful and expectant so they will experience a deeper friendship with You in the living of their days.

We pray in Your abiding Name. Amen.

House of Representatives – Reverend Margaret Grun Kibben

Holy and most wise God, we seek Your wisdom: Wisdom to meet the challenges of this day, wisdom to discern what is the direction You would have us go, wisdom to determine what is the truth You wish us both to hear and speak.

How does a person become as wise as this? The first step You have said is to trust and honor You, O Lord.

So we take our first step today, before any legislative matters are brought forth, before our committees are convened, and in advance of any votes brought to the floor, to show our reverence for You, O Lord.

May we also trust that You will equip us, You will guide us, and You will speak to us with the sufficiency of Your wisdom for the living of this day.

Believing in You and leaning on the strength of Your name, we pray. Amen.

Tuesday, February 11, 2025

Senate – Dr. Barry C. Black

Gracious God, who reveals Yourself gloriously in the rising and setting of the Sun, make us good stewards of your blessings. Lord, give us opportunities to help solve the problems in our world by using our minds to produce creative solutions. Inspire our Senators. As they abide in Your presence, make them receptive to Your guidance. Fill their minds with insights and wisdom, and give them resiliency and courage. Today, provide them with the grace to think not of what they can get but of what they can give. Empower them to practice conciliation without compromise. Lord, place your arms of protection around them and their families.

We pray in Your all-powerful Name. Amen.

House of Representatives – Reverend Margaret Grun Kibben

Wise God, what wondrous words You offer us: Your words of counsel, Your words of guidance, Your words of wisdom. Such knowledge is too wonderful for us. Who are we that You are mindful of us? Yet You made us a little lower than the angels, have crowned us with glory and honor, and placed everything at our feet.

Then how important it is for us to pay attention to the words You speak and to hear the insight you reveal to us. Your thoughts are not our thoughts, and so it behooves us to listen closely to Your voice, lest we become inured to it. Your ways are not our ways, and so we must discipline our steps to walk in the path You lay before us, lest we drift from it.

Hold us accountable to our stewardship of the knowledge and wisdom You provide, that nothing we say or do would cause us to stray from Your intent.

In faith we approach You with arms wide open to receive the abundance of spiritual truths You measure out for us this day.

In Your merciful name we pray. Amen.

Monday, February 10, 2025

Senate – Dr. Barry C. Black

Great and everlasting God, who was and is and is to come, inspire all who work on Capitol Hill. Lord, help us to see Your image in each other and to draw strength from an awareness of Your sovereignty. Empower us to serve with the spirit of humility and gratitude, remembering that to whom much is given, much is expected.

Lord, strengthen our Senators. Give them the wisdom to know your will and the courage to obey your precepts. May they comprehend your vision for our Nation and world, becoming instruments for Your glory. Lord, fill them with your power so that no weapon formed against them will prosper. Help them to view the shortcomings of others with patience and to be grateful for the exemplary virtues they witness each day.

We pray in your glorious Name. Amen.

House of Representatives – Reverend Margaret Grun Kibben

In the spirit of a national pastime and a game well played, we rejoice with those who rejoice and do our best to refrain from gloating in the company of those who weep.

For it is not in our victory but the Lord’s in which we trust. In the Lord, we will renew our strength. In the Lord’s protection, do we find shelter. Inspired by Lord’s abiding presence hovering over us, we run and do not grow weary. With the Lord’s guidance and care, we will soar to new heights of faith.

In Proverbs, we read that there are many mysteries only the Lord can answer, like how a ship sails on the sea or how an eagle soars to the heights of the sky. But those who trust in the Lord will spread their wings and fly like eagles.

In faith, let us soar and humbly serve the Lord this day.

In Your strong name we pray. Amen.

Friday, February 7, 2025

House of Representatives – Dr. Kevin Moore

Heavenly Father, creator, and sustainer of all things, thank You for Your hand of blessing on the United States of America. Thank You for guiding and protecting the land of the free and the home of the brave.

I humbly ask You to pour out Your peace, mercy, and grace on our country. I pray that You would grant lawmakers in this assembly, the integrity of Joseph, the strength of Joshua, the faithfulness of Moses, the courage of King David, the wisdom of Solomon, the determination of Nehemiah, the endurance of Job, and the obedience of Jesus Christ as they face the challenges of our country.

Empower them to work efficiently for the justice of all people. Sustain them, encourage them, protect them, provide for them, guide them, and bless them as they work together in the service to our country.

In the name of Jesus Christ, my Lord and Savior, Amen.

Thursday, February 6, 2025

House of Representatives – Reverend Margaret Grun Kibben

O God of Earth and sea and sky, as people from all over this world have gathered together in the Nation’s Capital for the National Prayer Breakfast to lift up their voices in praise and adoration, thanksgiving and supplication, we see that such a marvelous chorus of gratitude and such solemn strains of concern are the prayers of Your people this day.

In Your Heaven, O Lord, hear our prayers.

Give each one mercy in their humility as they have set aside the business of the day and the busyness of their lives to come before Your mercy seat. In repentance, we, as Your people who call on Your name, profess our deep desire to turn from our wicked ways and seek Your face this day and every day.

In Your Heaven, O Lord, hear our prayers.

In Your incomprehensible mercy and unfathomable grace, forgive us our sins, both our individual and corporate transgressions, the iniquities of body and mind, and our trespasses against others and against You.

In Your Heaven, hear our prayers, O Lord.

And heal our land, that it would once again know of Your will and receive Your favor. May all those who are called by Your name yield the fruits of Your holy spirit, that we would live lives of love, joy, peace, and forbearance, showing kindness, goodness, and faithfulness in our walk with You.

It is in Your merciful name, we pray. Amen.

Wednesday, February 5, 2025

Senate – Dr. Barry C. Black

Almighty God, preserver, redeemer, and judge, strengthen our Senators for their work today. Lord, provide them with the wisdom needed to handle challenges and pressures. As You illuminate their path with the light of Your wisdom, infuse them with patience to persevere in their efforts to do Your will.

In the storms and strains of leadership, may they not deplete their faith by majoring in minors and minoring in majors. Instead, may they trust You in the face of perplexities.

Empower them to practice the Golden Rule of treating others the way they themselves desire to be treated.

And, Lord, bless the National Prayer Breakfast program tomorrow.

We pray in Your holy Name. Amen.

House of Representatives – Reverend Margaret Grun Kibben

Show us Your unfailing love, O Lord, and grant us Your deliverance. For we find ourselves in times of turmoil and tension, disagreements and dissension. But if we can open our hearts to receive Your life- changing mercy and experience Your soul-penetrating grace, we will be redeemed from our own discord, restored to common purpose and mutual respect.

Let us listen that we will hear what You speak. When You pronounce health in our afflictions, may we receive it. When You promise peace to Your people, may we live it. When we walk to the right or to the left, may our ears hear Your word behind us, saying, “This is the way. Walk in it.”

The Word of the Lord is alive and powerful, sharper than any two- edged sword. The voice of the Lord is over the waters. The glory of God is heard in the thunder over many waters. Lord, pierce our soul and spirit, our joints and marrow, and discern our thoughts and the intentions of our hearts. Then may we in this place hear and heed Your Word.

It is on the foundation of this word we stand, and in the strength of Your name we pray. Amen.

Tuesday, February 4, 2025

Senate – Chaplain Barry C. Black

Eternal Lord God, in whose life we find our life, today hold our Senators within Your providential hands. Lord, guide them when they feel perplexed and empower them with faith to meet every obstacle. Infuse them with courage and keep them close to You.

As they seek to represent You, fill them with Your peace. Do for them what they cannot accomplish in their own strength. Give them a new delight for mundane matters, a new patience with difficult people, and a new zest for unfinished details. Let Your spirit rule in their lives.

We pray in Your merciful Name. Amen.

House of Representatives – Reverend Margaret Grun Kibben

You are the Lord. There is no other. On this day, may we appreciate that all that surrounds us is of Your making. All that lives and breathes finds its life in You.

May we look for the ways You call us to participate in Your creative work in the world, to desire to be laborers in Your vineyard, stewards of the bounty You have generously bestowed on us.

May we dedicate ourselves to give our best efforts to reveal the creative reality of Your peace, Your justice, and Your love around the globe and in our communities.

So, in our appreciation for what You have done, our participation in what You are doing, and our dedication to what You in Your grace plan will do, may we prove faithful this day.

In Your sovereign name, we pray. Amen.

Monday, February 3, 2025

Senate – Dr. Barry C. Black

Move deeply in our hearts today, O Lord, so that we will conform to Your ways. Help us to understand Your purposes and submit to Your providence. Empower our lawmakers to do Your will. Make them thirsty and hungry for Your Spirit and power. Show them Your plans. Teach them Your paths.

Lord, instruct them on how to make our Nation and world better. Open doors of greater opportunity for service as our Senators seek to be instruments for Your glory. May pleasing You become the primary aim of their work.

We pray in Your mighty Name. Amen.

Friday, January 31, 2025

House of Representatives – Reverend Margaret Grun Kibben

Eternal God, we commend into Your keeping the 67 souls who died in this week’s tragic aircraft accident here in our Nation’s Capital. As the Psalmist acknowledged: “Our days may come to 70 years, 80 if our strength endures,” but, sadly, for those who perished, even fewer.

Our days, how many or how few, quickly pass. Like dew in the morning, by evening they are gone.

Teach us, O Lord, to number our days, to appreciate how even in the longest of lives, our time on Earth is fleeting. Grant us each a heart of wisdom that we would greet each new day as priceless and every moment a gift of Your grace.

In our living of today, may we not waste the time You have given us, but may we cherish those whom we love, love the opportunities You give, and give You our gratitude for the days we have.

Grant favor and comfort to those who grieve, and in Your everlasting mercy, may they find peace.

In the hope that is found only in You, we pray. Amen.

Thursday, January 30, 2025

Senate – Dr. Barry C. Black

Merciful Father, our refuge and strength, we pause to thank You for the courageous contributions of Mark Gazelle during his 34 years of dedicated service with the U.S. Capitol Police. Be with him in all of his tomorrows, doing for him more than he can ask or imagine.

In the midst of our gratitude, our hearts are also filled with sorrow. We mourn the loss of precious life last evening at Reagan National Airport because of the collision of a jet with an Army Black Hawk helicopter.

Our grief reminds us of Your words in Proverbs 27:1, which states:

Don’t brag about tomorrow; you don’t know what may happen then.

You are kind, Lord. Please have pity on us and all who mourn. We pray in Your merciful Name. Amen.

Wednesday, January 29, 2025

Senate – Dr. Barry C. Black

Immortal God, Your Name is great throughout the Earth. We thank You for the undeserved blessings You give us each day. Lord, You bless us with life, health, faith, hope, and love. You give us Your peace. Great and marvelous are Your works.

Today, guide the Members of this body with Your wisdom. Help them to resolve to become part of the solutions to our Nation’s problems. Make clear to them the path of duty, and lead them in the doing of Your will. Lord, provide them with counsel to deal with complex challenges and infuse them with divine discernment to accomplish Your purposes.

We pray in Your strong Name. Amen.

Tuesday, January 28, 2025

Senate – Dr. Barry C. Black

Our Father in Heaven, You have created us for Your glory. Bless our Senators in their work. Lord, unite them in their efforts to find common ground and to work for the good of the Nation. May they seek creative ways of living a life of service that honors You.

Lord, guard them from danger and keep them from transgression. As You work out Your plan for humanity, inspire our lawmakers with a joy that makes all difficulties seem worthwhile. Spare them from desiring success that focuses on things that pass away and ignores the things that last forever.

We pray in Your loving Name. Amen.

House of Representatives – Reverend John Kellogg

Gracious God, we pray that You would send Your holy spirit to lead and guide our Representatives in Congress. Bless them with patience, humility, and wisdom as they consider what steps would create the best future for all of those who live in our land.

Amen.

Monday, January 27, 2025

Senate – Dr. Barry C. Black

O God of constant newness, in You all renewal abides and all hope originates. Help us to honor You with both our words and deeds. Give us the courage to help carve tunnels of hope through mountains of despair. Lord, make us unafraid to confront prejudice and pride as You attune our spirits to Your truth and light.

Bless our Senators. Energize them until their presence radiates a light that no darkness can overcome. Give them wisdom and courage, vision and discipline for the right living of these days. Lord, empower them to be kind to one another, forgiving and affirming each other.

We pray in Your righteous Name. Amen.

Saturday, January 25, 2025

Senate – Dr. Barry C. Black

Eternal Lord God, this morning we again invite You to enter the gates of our hearts. Come into our lives and remove all faults, pride, and disunity, replacing them with humility and harmony.

Reside with the Members of this legislative body. Create within them a hunger for holiness. Lord, may they dedicate their work as a gift of love to You, consecrating even their thoughts for Your honor. Generate in their minds a spirit of expectancy that the best is yet to be. Increase their joy and peace as they experience the power of Your presence.

We pray in Your mighty Name. Amen.

Friday, January 24, 2025

Senate – Dr. Barry C. Black

Holy God, who calls out to us, help us to listen. May we hear Your voice in the beauties of the Earth and the glories of the skies. Whisper Your messages in the glory of a sunrise and the splendor of a sunset. Remind us of Your sovereignty in the orderly transition of the seasons.

Speak, Lord, for we wait to hear Your voice. Speak to our Senators. Teach them Your plans and priorities. Show them Your paths. Remind them of the power of unfettered faith, hope, and love, as You awaken their sympathy for those who live without joy.

We pray in Your Holy Name. Amen.

House of Representatives – Dr. Benny Tate

Our most kind and gracious Heavenly Father, I simply want to begin by thanking You for this wonderful opportunity to pray in this sacred place.

Lord, as we come before You today, we thank You for Your faithfulness to our Nation for almost 250 years. The Scripture teaches us blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord.

God, I thank You for Your presence, preservation, and protection throughout these many years. May we always remember that righteousness exalteth a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people.

The nation that is a city upon a hill is truly salt and light to the world, making whatsoever and whosoever around them better and brighter.

Lord, our only hope is You. May everyone serving and every Member under this Capitol dome heed the words of President Abraham Lincoln who simply prayed and said:

I have been driven many times upon my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had nowhere else to go. My own wisdom and that of all about me seemed insufficient for that day.

Our only hope, God, is through the power of Your spirit. Only there can our land be healed.

We love You, we exalt You, we praise You, and we pray this prayer certainly respecting all faiths, but we pray this prayer this morning in the name above every name, and that is the name of Your Son, our Savior, Jesus Christ, the lamb of glory. Amen.

Thursday, January 23, 2025

Senate – Dr. Barry C. Black

Divine Master, You are our stronghold and the pioneer of our future. Teach us to work with greater faithfulness. May pleasing You become our primary focus as You place a song in our hearts for each burden on our shoulders.

Guide our lawmakers today. Lead them to Your fortress of love, patience, and kindness. Lord, remind them that any success alien to Your way is worse than failure and that any failure in Your Spirit is better than gold.

And, Lord, please be with our faithful pages as they prepare for tomorrow’s graduation. In all of their tomorrows, do for them more than they can ask or imagine.

We pray in Your wonderful Name. Amen.

House of Representatives – Reverend Judy Malana

Almighty God, You are the creator and sustainer of all life, the God of new beginnings, and because of this, we humbly invoke Your presence among us here this afternoon inside the United States Capitol, the people’s House.

Dear Lord, may those of the House of Representatives be faithful stewards of the higher purpose of their calling. Grant them discerning hearts of wisdom, as they work together in a spirit of unity, to carry out the promises of our Constitution and our enduring democracy.

Most merciful God, may Your grace fill the Chamber of this honorable assembly. Bring our lawmakers clarity of mind in the midst of the complexities of the issues they face. Strengthen them, their families, and their loved ones who support them.

O sovereign Lord, continue to hold our Nation in the very hollow of Your hands. May Your peace permeate and prevail in the hearts, minds, and souls of the American people.

For all of us, may we ever strive to act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with You in service to our Nation and each other with utmost compassion, gratitude, and love.

We ask these things in Your most holy and precious name. Amen.

Wednesday, January 22, 2025

Senate – Dr. Barry C. Black

Eternal God, who restores the soul and gives light in the midst of decay, empower our Senators to do Your will. Be to them a faithful guide on the challenging road they travel.

Lord, teach them to find contentment in striving to please You and provide them with Your powerful companionship. As tomorrow’s difficulties loom large, remind them that You can move mountains and create opportunities. Blaze the trail ahead for our lawmakers with Your might and wisdom, for You are our shelter and hope. Keep them from flinching before the unknown ways that spread before them, and give them Your peace.

We pray in Your Holy Name. Amen.

House of Representatives – Reverend Margaret Grun Kibben

Teach us to know that, You, O Lord, are our God. You are faithful to us, keeping covenant with us. Your mercy and loving kindness rests on those who love You and who keep Your commandments from one generation to the next.

On this day, may we, in our generation, be faithful to this covenant. While it seems an easy task to love You, Your commandment demands that we love You with all our heart, soul, and mind.

Open our hearts that we would show our loyalty to You by loving others with Your great love. Plumb the depths of our souls and attend to all that we fear and desire so that we, in response and faith, will commit ourselves to work with others to eliminate hatred and to grow together in compassion.

Search our minds that we would know what is of You and what is of our own deception by bringing every thought into obedience with Your will. Receive the best and the worst in us, the weakness and the strength in us, the despair and the hope in us, and show Your compassion that we may reveal Your steadfast love that You give to all of us.

In Your eternal name, we pray. Amen.

Tuesday, January 21, 2025

Senate – Dr. Barry C. Black

O God, our Father, how excellent is Your Name in all the Earth. From dawn to sunset, Your mercies sustain us.

Today, inspire our Senators to embrace Your promises. May they remember Your promises to supply their needs, to never forsake them, and to prevent anything from separating them from Your love.

Lord, bestow Your blessings upon our lawmakers, making them wiser, stronger, and better, glorifying You in their work. Use them to advance Your Kingdom in our Nation and world as they attune their will to Your purposes. Create in them a life of purity, honesty, and altruism that contributes to solving the problems we face.

We pray in Your blessed Name. Amen.

House of Representatives – Reverend Margaret Grun Kibben

On these days after the long-sought ceasefire in Israel and Gaza, we pray in thanks to You, Lord Almighty, that as You promised, You have given freedom to the captives. You have broken the shackles of their confinement, that the Israeli and Palestinian men, women, and children, soldiers and civilians, sick and infirmed, may be returned to their homelands and to the embrace of their loved ones.

Bind up the brokenhearted, those whose arms remain empty, grieving the death of the ones who did not live to see this day. Bind up the wounds of the hostages released as they suffer injury of mind and body that has penetrated their very souls.

In these next weeks, Sovereign God, intercede and effect the end of the region’s warfare. Abolish the bow and the sword, put an end to the gunfire and bombardment, silence the battle that rages, and remove from the land all desire for vengeance.

Clear the way for safe troop withdrawal and swift delivery of humanitarian aid. May all, under Your watchful eye, soon lie down in safety. In You, may we find everlasting peace, and in Your name, may we lift up our prayers. Amen.

Monday, January 20, 2025

Senate – Dr. Barry C. Black

Eternal God, on this Martin Luther King and Inauguration Day, we thank You for being our hope for the years to come. You store up blessings for all who honor You. If angels must veil their faces in Your presence, shouldn’t we mere mortals embrace referential awe?

Empower our Senators to be strong and courageous as they make loyalty to You their highest priority. Lord, smile on them with Your blessings, for You are the author and finisher of our salvation. Grant that our lawmakers may know what is conducive for Your glory.

Today, we lift our hearts in ceaseless praise to You, our strong deliverer.

We pray in Your magnificent Name. Amen.

House of Representatives – Reverend Margaret Grun Kibben

You, O Lord, reign forever judging from Your throne with justice. You rule the nations with fairness. On this day, when our Nation’s power is transferred from President Joseph Biden to President Donald Trump, we pray Your reign of peace in this moment, in this Nation, and in the hearts of the American people.

Grant President Biden the blessing of Your reward for his faithfulness to You and to this country. And as You lay the mantle of responsibility on the shoulders of our new President, Donald Trump, grant him, as You did Solomon, a discerning heart to govern Your people to distinguish between right and wrong. Grant him the faithfulness of Abraham who heard Your voice and obeyed. And may he have the heart of David, that You would bestow on him Your grace and mercy as he carries out his solemn duties.

Then bestow on us, divided though we may be, the unity of Your spirit through the bond of peace, that we would each commit to live into the gifts of that same spirit and to serve one another as faithful stewards of Your grace.

We humble ourselves this day, and we call upon Your name. Hear us from Your Heaven, forgive us our sin, and heal our land. God bless America. Amen.

Friday, January 17, 2025

Senate – Dr. Barry C. Black

Our Father in Heaven, our shelter in the time of storm, teach our Senators to live as You would have them live. Give them the wisdom to serve others as You desire, providing an example worthy of the high calling they have received from You.

Lord, inspire them to be kind to one another, ever seeking for truth in all their endeavors. Keep them totally dependent on You for guidance and strength, freeing them from anxiety and fear. May Your blessing and benediction enable them to work together in harmony and peace.

We pray in Your sacred Name. Amen.

Thursday, January 16, 2025

Senate – Dr. Barry C. Black

Almighty God, unto whom all hearts are open, all desires known, and from whom no secrets are hidden, abide with our lawmakers. Teach them to speak the right words at the right time. Make their speech like precious gold set in silver. May they seek to persuade with patient and gentle words. Lord, give them the wisdom to be friends of that which is eternal and abiding. Teach them reverence for the transcendent as You induce them to ascribe all good things to You.

We pray in Your precious Name. Amen.

House of Representatives – Reverend Margaret Grun Kibben

Sovereign God, it is You who searches our hearts, examines our minds, and tests our spirits. And in so doing, You know us intimately and completely. You know when we sit down and when we rise. You perceive our thoughts even before we have voiced them. Before a word is on our tongue, You, O Lord, know it completely.

Such knowledge is both overwhelming and comforting. May we come to understand and accept that even knowing us as well as You do, You love us anyway. When we are grieved by various trials, may we trust that You will perceive the genuineness of our faith.

Even gold perishes when it is tested by fire. Remind us again, and all those who are overwhelmed by disaster and destruction, warfare, and ill will, that in Your esteem, we, as Your children, are much more precious than the most valuable treasure on Earth.

In all things, may we find it within our hearts, minds, and spirits, even in the face of the harshest of tests, to bring praise and honor to You and proclaim our belief that Your powerful hand directs our lives.

In Your enduring name we pray. Amen.

Wednesday, January 15, 2025

Senate – Dr. Barry C. Black

Eternal God, You are our rock and fortress. Keep us from disappointing You.

Help our lawmakers to walk in Your precepts so that they can remain within the circle of Your protection and blessings. Lord, turn their ears to listen to Your admonition as You infuse them with the courage to obey Your commands. We have trusted You since the birth of this land we love. That is why we will declare Your glory all day long. Lord, as our Senators strive to please You today, we declare that You alone are our hope.

And, Lord, continue to be with those who battle the catastrophic wildfires in Southern California.

We pray in Your strong Name. Amen.

House of Representatives – Reverend Margaret Grun Kibben

Lord, our God and our protector, who with a word can calm the storms and hold back the Sun, we pray that You would move Your spirit over the chaos that ravages our country and speak Your word of peace.

Arrest the fire that still burns in Los Angeles and its surrounding communities. Bring relief to those who found themselves in the paths of the hurricane that devastated Tennessee and North Carolina, who feel its destruction all the more keenly in the depth of winter. Be merciful to those, O Lord, who remain fearful in the surround of danger.

Be merciful to those who feel helpless and hopeless before the great power of fire and wind. Be merciful to those who have lost hearth and home, who seek refuge for their bodies and their souls.

In the shadow of Your wings, may they take shelter until the storms of ruin pass by. Behind the hedge of Your protection, may they find safety from the afflictions bearing down on them from all fronts.

Encourage and equip with fortitude and perseverance all those who remain in the fight against the unrelenting fires and who continue to strive to build defenses against even more harm.

For You, O Lord, are our deliverer. In You will all be restored. In the strength of Your name we pray. Amen.

Tuesday, January 14, 2025

Senate – Dr. Barry C. Black

Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of hosts, speak to our lawmakers and fill them with bright memories, holy commitments, and deep resolve. May their bright memories remind them of the way You have guided and protected this Nation throughout the seasons of its history. May their holy commitments prompt them to be true to their duties to stand for right, though the heavens fall. May their deep resolve motivate them to not become weary in doing Your will.

Lord, remind them that without Your power, human efforts are useless.

We pray in Your mighty Name. Amen.

House of Representatives – Reverend Margaret Grun Kibben

God, our teacher, Lord, and friend, we pray that we would walk where You lead us this day. Open our eyes to see Your guidance, to look at each encounter, regard each situation with Your eyes.

Open our ears to Your instruction, to receive every word spoken, every concern voiced, and hear as You would hear.

Open our hearts to Your wisdom, to understand the problems, to discern the solutions, and to respond to each one as You would respond.

May the perceptions of our world, the reception of those whom we meet, and the interpretation of the work You would have us do reflect that we are willing and open to learn the unforced rhythms of grace which You, Yourself, have taught each one of us.

In Your divine friendship, abide with us. We rejoice that You have called us friends and have made Yourself and Your will known to us in the name of which we offer this prayer. Amen.

Monday, January 13, 2025

Senate – Dr. Barry C. Black

Eternal God, we whisper our prayer vocally before Your throne of grace. You have invited us to come to You with all our needs. We thank You for our requests that You have already answered. We have sought and found. We have knocked and walked through open doors.

By Your Grace and mercy, strengthen our lawmakers for their journey. Prepare them for the ravages of the valley and the chill of the mountain summits. Guide them, Great Redeemer. They are pilgrims in this land. They are weak, but You are mighty. Inspire them to keep their eyes on You and not the challenges that seem too difficult to solve.

We pray in Your great Name. Amen.

House of Representatives – Reverend Margaret Grun Kibben

Holy God, You who never change, nor change Your mind, accompany us into this day. Shine Your steady light onto our proceedings and reveal Your unwavering wisdom. Illumine every good and perfect gift that You offer us this day.

May we approach with alacrity the tasks ahead, but never let us deceive ourselves to think that we can do them all on our own, but let us seek Your assistance in our efforts. As we commit ourselves to our labors, let us not assume that it is our own strength which will carry the weight of the day, but our reliance on You to enable us to bear our burdens.

Remind us again that all we have and all that we strive to do were Yours to give us and Yours to entrust, however long, into our keeping. In the time that we have, may we steward Your gifts with integrity and in accordance with Your divine counsel.

Let us then be quick to listen and slow to speak, rejoicing in the privilege we have to serve You again this day.

Unto You we offer our prayers and do so calling on the strength of Your name. Amen.

Thursday, January 9, 2025

Senate – Dr. Barry C. Black

Lord of life, thank You for the opportunity to honor the life and legacy of the 39th President of the United States.

Lord, Your mercies are new to us every day. Take our Senators by the hand and lead them on the road You desire them to travel. Lord, help our lawmakers to seek Your guidance as they establish their priorities, always remembering their accountability to You. May this accountability motivate them to never deviate from the path of integrity but to seek to ensure that Your will is done on Earth even as it is done in Heaven. May they never forget that You are with them and will guide them.

We pray in Your sovereign Name. Amen.

House of Representatives – Reverend Margaret Grun Kibben

You, O Lord, are our rock, our fortress, and our deliverer. Be the sanctuary in which all those who flee from the deadly Palisades, Hurst, and Hollywood Hills wildfires in California can find refuge. Be their shield against the flames which threaten to engulf them, their stronghold in the midst of destruction.

Hear all those who call to You in their distress, the street people and the screen stars, and all whose homes and livelihoods are endangered. Hear those who cry to You for help. Hear their voices, and may their cries reach Your ears, that You would shelter them from the fires raging around them.

Gird up the first responders, the firefighters, the emergency medical personnel, and the rescue teams with Your strength. Be their shield and defender, that they may be effective agents in saving the imperiled. Arm their hands for the battle before them. Equip them with the weapons of deliverance. Keep them from growing weary in the face of the relentless hours ahead, and protect them from all harm.

These, our fellow Americans, are precious in Your sight. Give them shelter in these days within the protection of Your loving arms.

In Your saving name, we pray. Amen.

Wednesday, January 8, 2025

Senate – Dr. Barry C. Black

Spirit of God, descend on our hearts, for apart from You, life is sound and fury signifying nothing. Lord, make our lawmakers great enough for these momentous times. Deliver them from pride and prejudice as they seek to live worthy of Your great Name.

Transform common days into transfiguring and redemptive moments because of the power of Your presence and the wisdom of Your words. Cleanse the fountains of our hearts from all that defiles and make us fit vessels for Your honor.

We pray in Your great Name. Amen.

Tuesday, January 7, 2025

Senate – Dr. Barry C. Black

Eternal Father, who extends daily to our lawmakers compassionate love, we praise Your Holy Name.

Lord, in a challenging world where we often find ourselves waiting to exhale, You remain our shelter for every storm. Relieve the shadows of pessimism and cynicism, as we face a world often filled with despair.

Lord, bring our Senators from the fatigue of doubts to the buoyancy of hope. Make their lives unflickering lights that transform dark yesterdays into bright tomorrows. Give them an unflinching certainty that You are Sovereign.

We pray in Your great Name. Amen.

House of Representatives – Reverend Margaret Grun Kibben

Remind us again, eternal God, that in You all things were created, in Heaven and on Earth, visible and invisible. Allow that awareness to touch our very beings, that we would realize that all that is, and we ourselves, find life and purpose in You.

Whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities, all things were created through You and for You. As we come to appreciate Your majesty, may Your authority penetrate our consciousness in such a way that we desire nothing more than to yield to Your will in all that we do or decide.

Grant that we would also find not just comfort in Your omnipotence, but courage in Your omnipresence, that as we venture into the day You have laid before us, we would find that in You all things are held together.

Into Your hands we commend our prayers as we pray them in Your sovereign name. Amen.

Monday, January 6, 2025

Senate – Dr. Barry C. Black

Our Father in Heaven, on this January 6, as our lawmakers prepare to validate the 2024 election results, we praise You because of the greatness of Your faithfulness. Lord, we thank You for reminding us of the fragility of freedom, for the vigilance we must pay to sustain it, and for the redemptive freedom You offer us through Your sacrificial love. Today, use the work of our lawmakers to let this generation know about the unfolding of Your powerful providence.

Lord, forgive us when we forget that Your mercies are new each day. We thank You for the rising and the setting of the Sun, for supplying our daily needs, and for the hope we have in Your redemptive power.

We pray in Your loving Name. Amen.

House of Representatives – Reverend Margaret Grun Kibben

Holy and eternal God, we pray Your presence among us on this day. Shine again Your light in the darkness, that we would be aware of Your abiding favor and sure of Your divine guidance. May we faithfully follow in the way You lead, O Lord, that You will show mercy on us and on the day’s work ahead.

Reveal to us Your gracious and eternal perspective. Give us the insight You would have us gain when we turn our eyes to You and away from the futile paths that vie for our attention and distract us from appreciating that Your grace plan alone determines our life’s work.

Guide us in the way we should go, and protect us from any adversarial attitudes that threaten us from within or without, the inimical intrusions that seek to undermine the divine work You desire us to do.

Grant us Your peace, and may Your grace bless us with abundance so that, in all things, at all times, we will realize that we have all that we need to succeed in every good work You have ordained us to complete.

For Your presence, Your perspective, Your protection, and Your peace, we are forever grateful. Lord, in Your perfect name, we pray. Amen.

Friday, January 3, 2025

Senate – Dr. Barry C. Black

Our Father in Heaven, at a time when the dawning of the new year brings felicity and fear, we continue to acknowledge that You are still the one who stretches out the starry curtain of the heavens. May Your Name be kept holy.

As our incoming lawmakers swear today to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic, may they also make a personal commitment to You to depend on Your guidance that will keep their feet on the path You have chosen. Lord, inspire them to strive always to do what is right as You give them the wisdom to discern it.

Mighty God, open Your hands to bless their work, supplying their needs out of the bounty of Your celestial riches.

We pray in Your majestic Name. Amen.

House of Representatives – Reverend Margaret Grun Kibben

Our help is in the name of the Lord, the maker of Heaven and Earth. You, O God, made the Moon to mark the seasons, and the Sun knows the time of its setting.

Now, as this 118th Congress sets down its last gavel and the journals are sealed and archived, we give You thanks, that in Your eternal mercy, You have allowed Your goodness to pass over us and privileged us to call on Your name for the strength we have needed to sustain us in these years. You have been exceedingly gracious to us and have shown us Your steadfast loving-kindness time and again.

Grant, then, that all who have labored in this vineyard and who gave of their countless hours and unwavering energy would receive Your own well done: the silent champions of the Clerk’s Office, the stalwart sentries of the Sergeant at Arms staff and the Capitol Police, the anonymous artisans and authors, and the unheralded men and women whose patient dedication to the people’s House has kept the lamp lighted and the Nation’s business principled and proper.

Receive, O Lord, the work of our hands and grant us the reward of Your blessing on the legacy of this 118th Congress.

In Your eternal name, we pray. Amen.

Tuesday, December 31, 2024

House of Representatives – Reverend Margaret Grun Kibben

This is the day, the year, You, O Lord, have made. As we consider all that has taken place, may we find reason to rejoice and be glad, for by Your grace, You have fulfilled Your promises and guided us on the paths toward our future.

As we reflect on the year that has been 2024, we are keen to acknowledge that each moment has been a gift that You desired us to enjoy. Each challenge was an opportunity, which You strengthened us to overcome. Each disappointment was a siren to return to faith in Your mercy. Each encounter was a graced gift given that we would share the unconditional love You offer us all.

Such a graced gift was the life and witness of former President Carter, in whom we have borne testimony to what it means to be a faithful steward of Your bounty, a just arbiter of Your commandments, a compassionate witness to Your kindness, and a worthy disciple to Your Gospel of love.

We give You our gratitude for Your abiding presence in the midst of all our hopes and fears of this past year, and we offer our future to Your keeping, praying in the strength of Your name. Amen.

Friday, December 27, 2024

House of Representatives – Reverend Margaret Grun Kibben

Joy to the world. Shout for joy all the Earth. Let us burst into jubilant song and make music to the Lord with the instruments at hand. Whether with harp or lyre, guitar or trumpet, with voices of joy, let us praise the Lord.

Let us sing a new song. Let us employ all that is within our mortal bodies to sing songs of praise. Let fields and floods, rocks, hills, and plains repeat the sounding joy, for God has done marvelous things.

You, O Lord, are the author of our salvation, and You reveal Your righteousness to all the nations.

Remember Your love to us and Your faithfulness to Your people, that all the ends of the Earth will know of Your deliverance.

Rule the world with Your truth and grace, that all nations will prove the glories of Your righteousness and the wonders of Your love.

In the name of the one who is the source of our joy, we pray. Amen.

Tuesday, December 24, 2024

House of Representatives – Reverend Margaret Grun Kibben

God, the source of our joy, fill our hearts with Your perfect joy, a joy that transcends all circumstances and contests, a joy that touches deep within our souls that we soon discover that we are never far from Your abiding presence and steadfast loving kindness.

God, the author of our peace, imbue our efforts with Your consummate peace, a peace that stands firm in the face of malice and spitefulness, a peace that eases our anxieties, that we remain ever confident in Your grace plan.

God of love, stir our spirits with Your merciful love, a love that rejoices in the truth, a love that enables us to bear all things, to believe all things, and to endure all things.

God of joy, peace, and love, this day and always, may we so delight in Your presence and respond to Your bountiful grace, that we would desire nothing more than to share with those around us the hope of all that is found in You.

In the name of the one who is the source of all that is good and perfect, we pray. Amen.

Friday, December 20, 2024

Senate – Senator James Lankford

Wonderful Counselor, mighty God, everlasting Father, Prince of Peace, the One who holds the government on Your shoulders, we are grateful for all the joy in this Christmas season. When we were arrogant, powerless, and without hope, You came.

The first Christmas You set the example of humility. You are the suffering servant who loved us and forgave us when we could bring You nothing. We could never say thank You enough.

A prayer of blessing on the Senators who are retiring from the Senate this week. In the days ahead, help them to hear Your voice and to know Your affection.

I pray for my friend Chaplain Barry Black and his family as they care for him. Give him rest, healing, and fresh insight into Your word and vision in the days ahead.

Father, You told us that when we lack wisdom, we should ask You. We are asking now. As we start this day, we do not know how it will end, but we are fixing our eyes on You, and we are asking for Your help. If You could guide the wise men from the East with a star, You can certainly guide us with Your wisdom and with Your presence.

Today, would You give us the clarity of mind to hear Your thoughts, the humility to listen to each other, and the boldness to do the right thing the right way.

Forgive us as only You can and heal our land as we turn to You.

I pray this in the powerful and present Name of Jesus. Amen.

House of Representatives – Reverend Margaret Grun Kibben

Lord, if You can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.

Would that we show the maturity of faith that our lives would reflect our belief in You and that in You, we would believe all things are possible. Lord, we believe. Help our unbelief.

For you, O God, rule all things in wisdom and righteousness. You have called each one of us to serve You and be obedient to Your will. In Your providence, You lay before us the ability to trust in our present and hope for our future. Lord, we hope. Help our uncertainty.

You, O God, who are love, and in love created each one of us, and in love still cherish every person where they are and just as they are, call us to share that love with our colleagues, our family and friends, and even our enemies. Lord, we love You. Help us in our inability to love our neighbor.

In our belief, may we find the patience to hope. And in hoping may we become more loving. And in hoping and loving, may we grow stronger in our faith and closer in our walk with You.

In the name of the one who showed us how to love, we pray. Amen.

Thursday, December 19, 2024

Senate – Rev. Lisa Wink Schultz

Most merciful God, help us to remember that the Earth is Yours. You established it, and You will sustain it. Thank You that one day You will make a new Heaven and a new Earth. We long for a day when our broken bodies will be healed and our souls at rest.

Today, give our Senators clean hands and pure hearts to do Your will. May they be men and women who seek after You. As they come together to make decisions on funding the government, may they have Your wisdom to do what is best for the people they serve.

We pray in Your mighty Name. Amen.

House of Representatives – Reverend Margaret Grun Kibben

O Lord, our God, be in our midst, for You alone can change our harsh discourse into pure speech. Cleanse us from our pride, that we would humble ourselves before You, and appear unassuming and unpretentious in Your presence.

Call us to seek refuge and counsel in Your name, to listen for Your divine will, and not rely on our own. For we are not inclined to listen to any voice, even Yours, nor accept Your correction. We fail to trust in Your guidance, nor draw near to You, our God.

But You, O Lord, are righteous. You do no wrong. Every morning You render Your judgment, each dawn without fail.

O Lord, our God, on this morning may we acknowledge that You are with us in this place. So may our actions this day give You reason to be pleased with us.

We call on Your name in this moment and will strive to serve You throughout the day with one accord. As one body of many Members we can find refuge in You together in Your name, in which we pray this day. Amen.

Wednesday, December 18, 2024

Senate – Rev. Lisa Wink Schultz

As the Senate enters a new season of change, with Senators and staff coming and going, we thank You that You are the changeless one. May those who are leaving remember Your promise that You go with them and that You will never leave them or forsake them. May they have courage to face the future without fear.

Today, we honor the Secretary of the Senate, Ann Berry. Lord, thank You for her 45 years of faithful work. As she retires, give her a sense of accomplishment and joy. Give our Senators wisdom and understanding. May the works of their hands and the meditations of their hearts be pleasing to You.

We pray in Your holy Name. Amen.

House of Representatives – Reverend Margaret Grun Kibben

Immortal, invisible, and only wise God, in this season of darkening days and sober skies, Your light seems inaccessible, Your presence hidden from our eyes. Though we do not see You, we love You and call upon You to reveal yourself as light in our darkness.

Though we walk in life-quenching shadows and cannot see Your hand to guide us, yet we believe in You and trust You to lead us on paths of righteousness.

Strengthen our faith that, in the face of all that overwhelms and undermines our best intentions, we would be filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy that dispels all gloom and releases us from the grip of despair.

This day and always, cultivate in us the hope of salvation, that through us, Your light of love would shine.

In the name of You, O Lord, our redeemer, our sustainer, our guide, and our friend, we offer our prayers. Amen.

Tuesday, December 17, 2024

Senate – Rev. Lisa Wink Schultz

Lord, we come to You today full of gratefulness. We thank You for the staff who work in this Chamber, for the Capitol Police who keep us safe, for the pages who are eager to help, and for the doorkeepers who love this institution.

May we not take for granted the craftsmen and women who are building the inaugural platform, for the food service workers and the appointment desk employees and the staff at Capitol facilities.

Most of all, we praise You for the life of Chaplain Black. We pray for him and his continued recovery and for Dr. Monahan and the Attending Physicians Office who cared for him so well.

We are all members of Your body with different gifts and roles. As we work, please remind us that it is better to serve than to be served. We pray in Your strong Name. Amen.

House of Representatives – Reverend Margaret Grun Kibben

O eternal God, You are the same yesterday, today, and forever. Although we cannot see You with our eyes, touch You with our hands, or hear Your voice with our ears, give us a clear awareness of Your realness and presence among us. Reveal to us the hidden power You wield in our lives and in this world.

Do not let us consider this time and place as our only reality, that the only thing that matters is our own perspective but give us sight to see that there is so much more than meets our eyes.

Do not let us grasp jealously the things that we own or which we, by our efforts, have accomplished, but give us hands to reach out to lift up one another, to enable each to succeed in discovering and using the skills and talents with which You have endowed them.

Do not let us get caught up in the noise of compliments and accolades or even criticisms and disparagements but give us ears to listen to Your wisdom that we would hear Your own “well done” when the day has ended.

You, O Lord, are the first and the last, the alpha and the omega. May our time and talents be used to glorify Your eternal name, in which we pray. Amen.

Monday, December 16, 2024

Senate – Rev. Lisa Wink Schultz

God of all comfort, we thank You that Your steadfast love endures forever. Today, we offer our thanksgiving for Your word that counsels us, for Your Spirit that guides us, and for prayer that sustains us.

Give our Senators grace and wisdom to fix their eyes on You and to meditate on all Your ways, knowing that Your testimonies are better than silver and gold. As we anticipate the end of Advent and look forward to the wondrous beginning of Christmas, we ask You to come light our world.

We pray in Your mighty Name. Amen.

House of Representatives – Rear Admiral Gregory Todd

Eternal Father, ruler of wind and wave, You establish the heavens and order all of creation. Behold Your humble people, seeking only to serve and not to be served. Grant all who labor in this House a heart of humble service.

While the U.S. Navy Chaplain Corps celebrates 249 years of a sacred mission of caring for the souls of sailors, marines, coastguardsmen, and their families, we are recently reminded of the relevance of our mission as U.S. sailors in the Red Sea have faced the enemy in combat, wielding the sword for our Nation and facing their own mortality. Grant Your divine protection to all of our ships at sea and all who labor to defend our Nation. Keep their families in Your care while they are deployed, and grant them a joyful, joyful reunion.

Lord, as Navy chaplains seek to care for our flock, by Your mercy, send us more chaplains to fill our ranks. The need is great, but the laborers are few. Grant us more Navy chaplains to care for our Nation’s greatest treasure: our sons and daughters.

Into Your divine hands we commit our prayer, trusting in Your divine mercy. Amen.

Thursday, December 12, 2024

Senate – Rev. Lisa Wink Schultz

Eternal Lord God, Your Word says that those who do not walk in the counsel of the ungodly will be blessed. You also tell us that those who delight in Your Word day and night are like fruitful trees planted by streams of water.

Today, let Your Word guide those who serve here on Capitol Hill. Infuse our Senators and their staff with Your presence, power, and peace. Lord, make Your power available to them hour by hour so that they will have the physical, intellectual, emotional, and spiritual stamina to complete the duties of this day.

We pray in Your gracious Name. Amen.

House of Representatives – Reverend Margaret Grun Kibben

Almighty God, our shield and defender, our guide and friend, we praise You. For it is You who provides us counsel every hour of every day. Even at night, You instruct our hearts. We will never be shaken if we keep our eyes on You. With You at our right hand, we will not be led astray.

Therefore, on this day, may our hearts be glad and our tongues rejoice. May our bodies rest secure, for You will not abandon us to destruction, nor will You let those who remain faithful to You see the end of hope.

For You make known to us the path of life. You fill us with joy as You make Your presence known to us each day.

On this day, may we live, work, and love reflecting our gratitude for the bounty of countless and unimaginable gifts You have bestowed on us. May we reveal the joy of our faith in the eternal pleasure You desire for us.

In Your generous and gracious name we pray. Amen.

Wednesday, December 11, 2024

Senate – Rev. Lisa Wink Schultz

Almighty God, You have given us this Nation for our heritage. Today, we ask that You keep us mindful of Your favor and glad to do Your will.

Use the Members of this body to labor for justice, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with You. Give them the wisdom to use their power for the healing of our land. Keep their goals high, vision clear, and minds keen. Lord, do for them more than they can ask or imagine, according to Your power, working in and through them.

We pray in Your righteous Name. Amen.

House of Representatives – Reverend Margaret Grun Kibben

Sovereign God, You and You alone know the plans You have for each one of us, for this body, and for this Nation. In Your mercy, You have promised that what You have designed for us is for our welfare and not for our harm, to give us a future with hope.

We call upon You then and pray to You, trusting in Your divine provision, claiming what You have promised, even when Your will is not always clear to us, even when the problems of the present prevent us from imagining the favorable future You have foretold.

In the concerns and confusions that clutter our lives, we search for You. We seek You with our whole hearts. Lord, let us find You.

Restore to us the fortune of faith: the assuredness, the confidence, and the conviction that is ours when we acknowledge Your divine hand in our lives and Your favor upon us. It is in Your merciful name we dare to pray. Amen.

Tuesday, December 10, 2024

Senate – Dr. Barry C. Black

O God of light and truth, in these tumultuous times, enable our Senators to hear Your still, small voice. May this awareness of Your presence renew their spirit and lift their vision of what this Nation can become by Your grace. May they be people dedicated to moral values and determined to live by the highest ethical standards possible.

Lord, keep them from success that is purchased by deviating from the path of wholehearted obedience. Enable them to experience the constancy of Your presence so that they will choose the harder right and leave a legacy that honors You.

We pray in Your mighty Name. Amen.

House of Representatives – Reverend Margaret Grun Kibben

Holy and eternal God, the source of light in our darkness and the hope of our world in these days and always, help us in opening our eyes to and rejoice in the hope that is ours on this day.

Teach us how to be patient in tribulation, to refrain from getting caught up in the arguments that pit one side against one another, to avoid fueling fires of discord and division. Show us instead how to reach within our souls and draw from Your deep well of mercy and Your steadfast loving kindness, that the urgency and sense of instancy to react would dissolve into forbearance with one another and a calm that will enable us to see Your will.

Even as we pause to bow our heads in this moment, may we be inspired to be constant in prayer, to realize that You walk with us throughout the day, ever available to receive our petitions, to hear our pleadings, and to respond to our deepest needs.

Reveal Your divine spirit among us today as we claim Your name in prayer. Amen.

Monday, December 9, 2024

Senate – Dr. Barry C. Black

Eternal God, in a turbulent world, our eyes look to You. Today, give our Senators Your grace and wisdom. Because of Your grace, may they find such inner peace that it will prompt them to reach out to one another and accomplish great things for Your glory. Because of Your wisdom, may they face today’s challenges with confidence, knowing that You order the steps of good people.

Lord, give all who work on Capitol Hill a special discernment to know and do Your will. Remove their strain and stress, and let their ordered lives confess the beauty of Your peace.

We pray in Your magnificent Name. Amen.

House of Representatives – Reverend Margaret Grun Kibben

The Earth belongs to You, O Lord, and the fullness thereof. Therefore, let the fullness of this day remain in Your care and keeping.

May everything that comes to our minds be filled with Your wisdom and discernment. Let every sentiment that passes through our souls reflect the fullness of Your compassion and mercy.

In all that we do or say today may our words and actions be fully laden with Your message of love and grace for Your people.

We lift up our heads, our hands, and our hearts to seek Your face. We lift up our heads, our hands, and our hearts to You, O God, the king of glory, that You would enter in.

May Your strength and might lead us in the way we should go, and may You be glorified in all that we accomplish.

In Your sovereign name, we pray. Amen.

Friday, December 6, 2024

House of Representatives – Reverend Christopher Legg

O Lord, King of Kings, Abba Father, and friend, help me to remember that every prayer is before You, the creator of all things and the lover of our souls.

Whether we acknowledge You or not, guard us and guide us. Be our vision and our wisdom, and protect us from our own.

Search us, know us, try us, and reveal us. See if there be any grievous way in us, and lead us in the way everlasting.

Forgive us our pride, our lies, lack of appreciation for Your truth and Your love. We know You are doing a new thing. We see it springing up. Make known to us the path of life, help us experience the full joy of Your presence and the eternal pleasures at Your right hand.

We ask all of this according to the sanctifying work of Your spirit, for obedience to Your Son and the sprinkling of His blood, and according to Your perfect knowledge. Amen.

Thursday, December 5, 2024

Senate – Dr. Barry C. Black

Author of Life, who put into our hearts such deep desires that we cannot be at peace until we rest in You, mercifully guide our lawmakers on the path of Your choosing. May Your Holy Word be for them a lamp and a light in these challenging times. Lord, keep them mindful of the importance of being people of integrity, striving to please You in all that they do. Make them women and men of principle, who share a strong vision of a godly nation with a promising future. May their humility match Your willingness to help them and their dependence on You liberate them from anxiety about what the future holds.

We pray in Your sovereign Name. Amen.

House of Representatives – Reverend Margaret Grun Kibben

Creator God, You have privileged us with the mandate to sow seeds of peace and love, justice and mercy. You, who are the source of all life, have entrusted us with the care for one another in the time we share together on this great Earth.

On these men and women in these Chambers You have laid the mantle of governance and leadership, calling on them to be wise in the sowing of wisdom, careful in the establishment of laws, discerning when making choices which will direct the future of our Nation.

As they bear the concerns of their constituents, give them both clarity and conscientiousness. May they aim for civility and not division.

May all of us who gather in this place who labor for both the welfare of our country and the common good of its citizens reap the joy of our labors and the fruit of our faithfulness as we each seek to be good stewards of Your generous bounty.

With the guidance of Your spirit to lead us this day, we offer our prayer in Your sovereign name. Amen.

Wednesday, December 4, 2024

Senate – Dr. Barry C. Black

Eternal Lord God, You inhabit all ages and all worlds. Dwell among our Senators today. Tune their hearts to Your purposes, and open their lips to speak Your wisdom.

Lord, infuse them with Your Spirit so that their work will make a positive impact on our Nation and world. Banish their anxieties as You provide them with a faith strong enough to face whatever challenges they must confront. Give them openness of mind in order that they might perceive Your will more clearly, sincerity of heart that they might love You more profoundly, and clarity of purpose that they might serve You more devotedly.

We pray in Your loving Name. Amen.

House of Representatives – Reverend Margaret Grun Kibben

Gracious and generous God, prepare our hearts and minds to receive all that You provide, both seen and unseen, in the days that lay ahead of us.

You have opened wide doors of opportunities for us to make a difference in this place, our communities, and our world. May we walk through those doors with confidence and with firm conviction, and may we glorify You in our work today.

When those moments prove challenging, when adversaries attempt to thwart our efforts to serve as vessels for the goodness, hope, love, and peace You have poured into us, may we stand firm in our faith. May our lives in the face of all trials serve as a testament to Your mercy and grace.

We entrust this day our deliberations and our discussions into Your care, sure of Your steadfast love and emboldened by Your abiding presence.

In Your sovereign name we pray. Amen.

Tuesday, December 3, 2024

Senate – Dr. Barry C. Black

Eternal, unchanging God, You are our rock, our fortress, and our stronghold. Empower our lawmakers to change in ways that will render them more faithful to Your will and more responsive to Your call. May they develop such moral and ethical fitness that they will clearly comprehend Your desires and be eager to do Your will.

Lord, as they grow in grace and in knowledge of You, deliver them from the bonds of fear as You turn their spirits toward the light of Your presence. May the knowledge of Your blessings to our Nation and world bring us all to a deeper commitment to You.

We pray in Your merciful Name. Amen.

House of Representatives – Reverend Margaret Grun Kibben

Emmanuel, God with us, come and ransom us from all that seeks to hold us captive. Release us from our fears, attend to us in our loneliness, bring us back from our exile, and receive us once again into the certainty of Your favor.

You who are wisdom, who has ordered all things, show us the path of Your knowledge, and teach us the ways we should go.

Bright morning star, bring us Your comfort. Divine dayspring, shine down on us the promise of Your kingdom and bring us Your consolation. Light of the world, dispel the shadows of our night and turn our darkness into day.

O come, O King of kings, come and bind our hearts to Your own. Bid cease all our sad divisions. Shake all the nations so that our deepest desires for Your justice and mercy would be revealed. Fill this House and our lives with Your glory. King of peace, reign in our lives this day.

For it is in Your sovereign name we pray. Amen.

Monday, December 2, 2024

Senate – Dr. Barry C. Black

Eternal God, we give You our lives, for You alone are our mighty fortress. You have been our help in ages past. You continue to be our hope for the years to come. Remind us that those who trust You are on the road to peace. You show us the path of integrity and point out the way that we should follow.

Lord, continue to lead our lawmakers by Your truth, for You are the God who sustains them. May they find delight in the knowledge of Your holiness so that their lives will glorify You. Guide them as they seek to find common ground.

We pray in Your great Name. Amen.

(Prayers from the Senate and the House of Representatives. Photo Credit: Canva)