Lord, still our hearts and minds from the busyness of the world for just a moment and turn our attention to the eternal and the transcendent.
Holy God, who loves us, Your love is always nearer than we know. We seem to only see weariness and strife with victories hard won and failures too many to number. We thank You for Your grace and forgiveness in the midst of our struggle, and we thank You for sharing Your vision of a world beyond partisan struggle, beyond violence, beyond division.
We pray, Lord, that this vision might be made real here and now: Peace over victory. Forgiveness over pride. Love over all.
I pray for the House Members and their constituents, who work together to be citizens of a better world.
I pray for their staff and families, especially, who support them in this extraordinary responsibility for our country. I pray for all of Congress, the court, and the executive office, that all may see beyond ideology and self–serving ends and work for the common good of the country that is made up of so many different people.
Send us into our work with stilled hearts and clear minds and this vision of love ever before us. Amen.
To be chosen by God so often means at one and the same time a crown of joy and a cross of sorrow. The piercing truth is that God does not choose a person for ease and comfort and selfish joy but for a task that will take all that head and heart and hand can bring to it. God chooses us in order to use us.
—William Barclay (1907-1978)
Join us for an open house to introduce the new Interfaith Staff Prayer Room (467 Cannon) – which will be open for staff (and interns) to use for prayer, meditation and quiet time. For information – staffprayerroom@mail.house.gov