Prayer is such a powerful force.
On November 13, 2014 a senate staffer in Washington fax over a copy of a powerful opening prayer in the US Senate – the guest Chaplain on that day, Dr. George S. Dillard III, pastor of Peachtree City Christian Church of Peachtree City, GA:
“Let us pray.
Father, You are the maker of us all. You are sovereign over every nation. You are the giver of wisdom, and Your wisdom teaches all of us and most certainly our leaders in this Senate, whom I lead in prayer today.
I ask You to help them to heed Your wisdom which teaches all of us to be humble, to help them seek humility, to be honest with themselves first, then each other and then us, to be just and seek justice for all. Teach them to hunger and thirst for righteousness and not self-righteousness, to embrace repentance when they fall. Most of all, teach them to walk in integrity and not to fear accountability and most of all to seek unity and not position. Have mercy on us. Give us grace. Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done on Earth, in this Nation, and in this Senate, as it is in Heaven.
Through Jesus, I lift this prayer to You, O God.
Amen. “
Note: The Chaplain of the United States Senate opens each session of the United States Senate with a prayer, and provides and coordinates religious programs and pastoral care support for Senators, their staffs, and their families. The Chaplain is appointed by a majority vote of the members of the Senate on a resolution nominating an individual for the position.
The Chaplain of the United States Senate is chosen to “perform ceremonial, symbolic, and pastoral duties.”
These responsibilities include opening Senate sessions with a prayer or coordinating the delivery of the prayer by guest chaplains recommended by members of the Senate. The Chaplain’s prayer is referred to as “one of the Senate’s most enduring traditions” in the official Senate pamphlet “Traditions of the U.S. Senate.”
The Senate Chaplain is also responsible for “hosting” Guest Chaplains on the day they deliver prayers.According to the U.S. Senate website, these guest chaplains have represented “all the world’s major religious faiths,” and their participation is a sign that the Senate is sensitive to the “increasing religious diversity of the nation.”