Senate chaplain's prayers are brief, but memorable By John H. Adams The Layman Online Tuesday, December 17, 2002 On average, the prayer of the chaplain to the United States Senate will last about a minute. Some have been barely more than 30 seconds. When it comes to beseeching God on behalf of the men and women who are some of the most powerful people in the world, Lloyd John Ogilvie is a man of few words. But they are memorable words, prayers, such as that on Feb. 11, 2002, to the God who "never lets go; whose mercy never ends; whose strength is always available; whose guidance shows the way; whose Spirit provides a supernatural power; whose presence is our courage; whose joy transforms our gloom; whose peace calms our pressured hearts; whose light illuminates our path; whose goodness provides the wondrous gifts of loved ones, family, and friends; whose will has brought us to the awesome tasks of this Senate today; and whose calling lifts us above party politics to put You and the good of our Nation first …" Ogilvie, the 14th Presbyterian minister to serve as chaplain to the Senate, has been praying for, teaching and encouraging senators and their families since 1995. He is expected to retire soon after a career as a pastor, writer and chaplain. "There is no finer person in the entire world than Lloyd Ogilvie," said outgoing Sen. Bob Smith, R-N.H., "He is one of the most Christian men and such an inspiration to all of us in the Senate, a friendship I will have with me forever." The members of the Senate know Ogilvie as their pastor, their Bible study leader, their confidant. And, more than anyone else, he is their prayer leader. Guest ministers selected by Senate members open many of the sessions. The following are some of Ogilvie's prayers gleaned from The Congressional Record in 2002: February 25, 2002 On this day when George Washington's Farewell Address is read, it is appropriate that our prayer today be his ``Prayer for the United States of America,'' exactly as it is preserved in the chapel at Valley Forge. Let us pray. ``Almighty God; We make our earnest prayer that Thou wilt keep the United States in Thy Holy protection; that Thou wilt incline the hearts of the Citizens to cultivate a spirit of subordination and obedience to Government, and entertain a brotherly affection and love for one another and for their fellow Citizens of the United States at large. ``And finally that Thou wilt most graciously be pleased to dispose us all to do justice, to love mercy, and to demean ourselves with that Charity, humility, and pacific temper of mind which were the Characteristics of the Divine Author of our blessed Religion, and without a humble imitation of whose example in these things we can never hope to be a happy nation. ``Grant our supplication, we beseech Thee, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.'' March 1, 2002 Loving Father, You have shown us that the antidote to pride is praise. In this time of prayer, we intentionally praise You for all that we might be tempted to think we have achieved or acquired on our own. Pride stunts our spiritual growth, creates tension in our relationships, and makes us difficult for You to bless. Thank You for breaking the bubble of the illusion that we are where we are because of our own cleverness or cunning. Humbly we acknowledge that we could not think a thought without Your guidance and inspiration or accomplish anything of lasting value without Your strength and courage. We dedicate this day to praise You for the privilege of serving You here in the Senate, for supernatural gifts of wisdom, discernment, and vision to maximize the talents that You have given us, and for the power to press on with opportunities that You have opened for us. All glory, honor, and praise be to You. Amen. March 5, 2002 Dear God, we praise You for Your love that embraces us and gives us security, Your joy that uplifts us and gives us resiliency, Your peace that floods our hearts and gives us serenity, Your Spirit that fills us and gives us strength and endurance. Be with us, Lord, so we can maximize the hours of this week. Help us to think clearly without confusion, to speak honestly without rancor, to debate without division, and to decide courageously without contention. May our rhetoric honor You and deal with issues and not personalities. Grant the Senators Your grace to work this week as patriots who love You and count it a high privilege to serve as leaders of our beloved Nation. Amen. March 20, 2002 Lord God of truth, who calls us to absolute honesty in everything we say, we renew our commitment to truth. In a time in which people no longer expect to hear the truth, or what's worse, don't see the need consistently to speak it, make us straight arrows who hit the target of absolute honesty. Help us to be people on whom others always can depend for unswerving integrity. May the reliability of our words earn us the right to give righteous leadership. Thank You for the wonderful freedom that comes from a consistency between what we promise and what we do. You are present where truth is spoken. Thank You for reigning supreme in this Senate Chamber today. In the name of our Lord and Saviour. Amen. April 15, 2002 This week, as we celebrate Jewish Heritage Week, we pray for the Jewish people and for the crisis in the Middle East. My prayer is taken from the Jewish Book of Service, Daily Prayers. Let us pray. We gratefully acknowledge that You are the Eternal One, our God, and the God of our fathers evermore; the Rock of our life and the Shield of our salvation. You are He who exists to all ages. We will therefore render thanks unto You and declare Your praise for our lives, which are delivered into Your hand and for our souls, which are confided in Your care; for Your goodness, which is displayed to us daily; for Your wonders and Your bounty, which are at all times given to us. You are the most gracious, for Your mercies never fail. Evermore we hope in You, O Lord our God. Amen. April 22, 2002 Everloving God, we thank You for the rest and renewal of the weekend, for the promise that comes with this new week, and the hope we feel. We ask you to implant the eyes of our minds with trifocal lenses so that we may behold Your signature in the natural world around us, see the needs of people so we can care for them with sensitivity, and visualize the work that we must do. With minds alert and hearts full of gratitude, we honor You as our Sovereign. Thank You for meeting all the needs of our bodies, souls, and spirits so that we can serve You with renewed dedication. Now, as You hover around us as we pray, grant us wisdom throughout this day. In the name of Him who is our amazing grace. Amen. May 1, 2002 Spirit of the living God, fall afresh on us. We need Your strength. The wells of our own resources run dry. We need Your strength to fill up our diminished reserves – silent strength that flows into us with artesian resourcefulness, quietly filling us with renewed power. You alone can provide strength to think clearly and to decide decisively. Bless the Senators today as they trust You as Lord in the inner tribunal of their own hearts. You are sovereign of this land, but You are also sovereign of the inner person of each Senator. May these hours of discussion and debate bring exposure of truth and resolution. O God of righteousness and grace, guide this Senate at this decisive hour. You are our Lord and Saviour. Amen. May 8, 2002 Gracious Lord, You have taught us, ``If you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, `Move from here to there' and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.'' – Matthew 17:20. Is Your promise applicable to us in our circumstances? Will You give us power to remove the mountainous differences that often divide us if we have faith in You – even as small as a mustard seed? We dare to claim that You will. Give us the gift of faith to trust You completely. Therefore, we ask You to guide us to resolve our present concerns. Bring us together in unity around what is most creative for our Nation. We place our trust in You. Nothing is impossible for You. Help us Lord; we need You. Amen. May 22, 2002 Dear God, You give the day and show the way. You guide what we are to do and say and help us without delay. Whatever challenges we must face, You promise us Your strength and grace. You never give us more than we can take, and guide the decisions we must make. Help us to look for vision from above and rejoice in Your unlimited love. When this day comes to an end, may we praise You for being our Father and our Friend. Amen. May 23, 2002 Dear God, You have ordained that there is one decision we must make every day. It is the most crucial decision in the midst of all the other decisions we will be called to make. We hear Elijah's challenge, ``Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve.'' – Joshua 24:15b. You have given us the freedom to choose whom we will serve today. We want to renew our decision to serve You as the only Lord of our lives. We know that without this decisive intentionality, we will drift into secondary loyalties. You entrust Your strength, gifts of leadership, and vision to those who start each day with a fresh decision to do everything for Your glory and according to Your specific guidance. In the quiet of this moment we make our decision to worship You with our work. You alone are our Lord and Saviour. Amen. June 5, 2002 Almighty God, we behold Your majesty and we praise You. You are the Creator, Sustainer, and Lord of all; You are omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent. Especially today, we are filled with awe and wonder over Your prevenience, Your beforehand presence and provision. You are always ahead of us; You have answers to our questions before we ask; You have solutions to our problems waiting for us to grasp. There is nowhere we can go where You have not preceded us and no person You have not prepared for us to communicate affirmation, encouragement, and hope. Therefore, we press on with the work of the day, alert to feel Your hand upon our shoulder, Your Spirit flowing into our minds, and Your guidance to help us know and do Your will. You are our Lord and Saviour. Amen. June 7, 2002 Gracious God, we are irresistibly drawn into Your presence by the magnitude of Your love. You place a homing spirit within us and call us home to Your heart. Thank You for the strength, security, and serenity that You provide in the midst of the strain and stress of public service. In Your presence we experience perfect peace for the pressure of conflict, the tyranny of the urgent, and late night legislation. It is when we return to You that we find each other. You help us discover unity and diversity and oneness in spite of differences. We feel the bond of loyalty of a shared patriotism. Remind us that all power is derived through You and authority is divinely delegated for the fulfillment of Your purposes. May we never forget that You are in control and our task is to seek and do Your will. Bless this Senate as Senators and staff confess again that You are absolute Lord of all, the One to whom we are accountable and, ultimately, the only One we must please. You are sovereign. Amen. June 12, 2002 Gracious God, You have revealed that commitment is the key to opening the floodgate for the inflow of Your Spirit. Repeatedly, You have responded to our unreserved commitment to You when faced with challenges and problems. You have provided us with clarity of thought and ingenious solutions. Unexpected blessings happen; serendipitous events occur; people respond; and the tangled mess of details is untangled. Amazed, we look back and realize that it was the moment when we gave up, You took over; when we let go, You took hold; when we rested in You, our strength was replenished. Today, we prayerfully personalize the assurance of the psalmist: ``We commit our way to You, Lord. We also trust in You, and You will bring Your plans to pass. We rest in You, and wait patiently for You.'' – Psalm 37:5,7. Lord, help us to commit our lives, our work, this Senate, and our hopes and dreams for our beloved Nation to You. Amen. June 24, 2002 Almighty God, Sovereign of this Nation, we press on with the work of the Senate in this final week before the Independence Day recess. Be with us, Lord, so we can maximize the hours of this day. Help us to think clearly without confusion, to speak honestly without rancor, to debate without division, and to decide courageously without contention. May our rhetoric honor You and deal with issues and not personalities. Grant the Senators Your grace to finish this week as patriots who love You and count it a high privilege to serve as leaders of our beloved Nation. Lord, we ask for Your protection for the people in Colorado and Arizona who are victims of conflagration on the forests, now consuming homes and entire towns. Bless the courageous firefighters as they seek to bring this fire under control. We trust this and all our need to You. You are our Lord and Saviour. Amen. July 8, 2002 Gracious, liberating God, who has created us as free women and men to love You and serve You by working to assure the personal, spiritual, religious, political, and economic freedom of all people, today we celebrate the anniversary of the first public reading of the Declaration of Independence by Colonel John Nixon, and the ringing of the Liberty Bell. We remember the words of Leviticus 25:10 inscribed on the bell: ``Proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto the inhabitants thereof.'' We seek to do that today. You have revealed to us Your mandate that all Your people should be free to worship You. Help us to maintain this strong fabric of our Republic. You have placed a liberty bell in all our hearts that rings this afternoon calling us on in the battle for justice, righteousness, and freedom for all Americans and, through our world mission, for the world. You are our Lord and Saviour. Amen. July 12, 2002 Blessed God, we praise You for this new day. You gave us good rest last night, replenishing our souls and our bodies. You awakened us with the reminder that this is Your day and You will show the way. With awe and wonder we acknowledge that any wisdom we will have will be a gift from You. You have given the Senators oversight of this Nation; now give them insight to know and do Your will. Give them humility to ask for a clear picture of Your best for each of the challenges ahead and for how they are to vote on the crucial legislation before them. You give wisdom to the humble, vision to the open-minded, and guidance to the receptive. Bless these Senators today, dear God. You are our Lord and Saviour. Amen. July 15, 2002 Almighty God, strong source of strength for those who stretch the human limits and go beyond, we praise You for courage to stand firm for truth as You have revealed it to us. Give us convictions that require Your courage. We know that courage is fear that has said its prayers. Here we are, Lord, relinquishing any fears that may cripple us in being bold leaders. We can take hold of courage because You have taken hold of us. You give us power to overcome rather than overreact. We accept the admonition of the psalmist: Wait on the Lord, be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart. Wait, I say, on the Lord – (Psalm 27:14). Bless the women and men of this Senate as You solidify their convictions and then give them the gift of courage. You are our Lord and Saviour. Amen. July 19, 2002 Gracious Father, our morning prayer is like being amazed by deposits in our checking account from unexpected sources. We are astounded by Your goodness. You know what we will need for today and You deposit the required amounts of insight, discernment, and vision in our minds. You fill the wells of our hearts to overflowing with the added courage and determination that are necessary for the demands of today. Even now, we feel the fresh strength of Your Spirit energizing our bodies. We should not be surprised. You have promised that, ``As your days, so shall your strength be''. – (Deuteronomy 33:25). Bless the women and men of this Senate and all who work with and for them that this will be a day in which we draw on Your limitless resources for dynamic leadership. You are our Lord and Saviour. Amen. July 22, 2002 Almighty God, Your Presence surrounds us, Your love affirms us, Your strength sustains us, Your courage empowers us, Your guidance directs us, and Your joy uplifts us. Thank You for this new day in which we can love You by serving our Nation in the U.S. Senate. Give us a renewed conviction that we are here by Your appointment. As You have placed us in positions of responsibility, You will provide us with exactly what we need in each hour this day. We commit the day to You and look expectantly for Your interventions and inspiration. You are the source of our vision, hope, and perseverance. Bless the Senators and all of us who work with and for them. Remind us that we are all working for You and for Your best for our Nation. You are our Lord and Saviour. Amen. July 23, 2002 Almighty God, Power to equalize the pressures of life, we need You! The day stretches out before us. There is more to do than time will allow; there are more people to see than the schedule can accommodate; there are more problems to solve than we have strength to endure. Life becomes a pressure cooker. Thank You for this moment of prayer in which Your peace equalizes our pressure. We press on with the duties of this day knowing that there is enough time today to do what You want us to do. There is no panic in heaven; may there be none in our hearts. Give us the gift of a productive day. You are our Lord and Saviour. Amen. July 26, 2002 You have promised leaders who trust You the gift of discernment. We claim that gift today. Give the Senators x-ray penetration into the deeper issues in each decision they must make. Remind them that You are ready to give them the discernment for what is not only good, but Your best, not only expedient, but excellent. Help them to know that the need before them will bring forth the gift of discernment You have inspired within them. You have done this for the great leaders of our history and we claim nothing less today. You are our Lord and Saviour. Amen. July 31, 2002 Almighty God, Source of strength for those who seek to serve You, we praise You for that second wind of Your power that comes when we feel pressure or stress. You have promised that, ``As your days so shall your strength be.'' Well, Lord, You know what these days are like before the August recess. The Senators and all who work with them feel the pressure of the work and the little time to accomplish it. In days like these, stress mounts and our reserves are drained. Physical tiredness can invade our effectiveness and relationships can be strained. In this quiet moment, we open ourselves to the infilling of Your strength. We admit our dependence on You, submit to Your guidance, and commit our work to You. Give us that healing assurance that You will provide strength to do what You guide and that there will always be enough time in any one day to do what You have planned for us to do. In Your all-powerful name. Amen. September 5, 2002 Gracious God, we are grateful for the assurance of Your presence, available at all times, dependable in all circumstances, bracing when we need correction, and inspiring when we need courage. Lead on, Lord, as we press on. The day stretches out before us filled with debate, deliberations, and decisions. Keep us calm as we trust You and reassured as You replenish our reserves. You have promised never to leave or forsake us. Grant the Senators a renewed assurance of Your wisdom for each complex problem. You are the source of creative insight, inventive solutions, and decisive intentionality. Fill this Chamber with Your presence, each Senator with an acute sense of accountability to You, and all of America with the privilege of being one Nation under Your providential care and Your protective concern. You are our Lord and Saviour. Amen. September 18, 2002 Our gracious God, we praise You for the privilege of being alive. Thank You for the gift of breath. We breathe in Your peace and breathe out stress and worry. We feel our pulses beat reminding us of the gift of circulation. Our minds form the images of thought about the opportunities of this new day. We are grateful for our intellects, the education we've had in this free land, and the opportunity to think creatively today. You have created us with emotions so we could love, feel deeply for others, and rejoice in our friendship with You, our Creator and Friend. And so we accept this day as a gift and join the psalmist in exulting, Bless the Lord, O my soul and all that is within me bless His holy Name. Bless the Lord, O my soul and forget not all of his benefits! – Psalm 103:1. Amen. September 20, 2002 Almighty God, we claim Your promise: ``I will not forget you. See, I have inscribed you on the palms of my hands.'' So with confidence we pray the ancient Hebrew childhood prayer from the 31st Psalm: ``Father, into Your hands I commit my spirit.'' As we pray that prayer, we get ourselves off our own hands and into Your strong, competent hands. We take each of the fears in our jumbled mass of worries and concerns and commit them to You. You have promised to keep us in perfect peace, if we allow You to keep our minds stayed on You. Interrupt us when we get too busy and remind us that we are here to serve You. When we forget You, remind us that You never forget or forsake us. May that awesome assurance steady our course and fill our sails with the wind of Your power. You are our Lord and Saviour. Amen. September 26, 2002 Dear God, our hearts are often restless; we long to rest in You. We feel an inner emptiness only You can fill, a hunger only You can satisfy, a thirst only You can quench. All our needs are small in comparison to our deepest need for You. No human love can fulfill our yearning for Your grace. No position can satisfy our quest for significance. No achievement can substitute for Your acceptance. Our relationship with You is ultimately all that counts. There is no joy greater than knowing You, no peace more lasting than Your shalom in our souls, no power more energizing than Your enabling Spirit empowering us. This is the day You have made for us to enjoy and to serve You. Grant us the greatness of seeking Your best for our Nation and working together as patriots. You are our Lord and Saviour. Amen. September 30, 2002 Almighty God, Sovereign of this Nation and Lord of our lives, grant us Your peace for the pressures of this week. May Your peace keep us calm when tensions mount and serene when strain causes stress. Remind us that You are in control and that there is enough time to do what You want us to accomplish. Fill this Senate chamber with Your presence. May we hear Your whisper in our souls: ``Be not afraid; I am with you.'' Bless the women and men of this Senate with a special measure of Your strength for the demanding schedule ahead. You are our Lord and Saviour. Amen. October 4, 2002 Gracious God, You have endowed us with a thinking brain so we could think Your thoughts after You. That is awesome, Father. You are omniscient; You know everything. You also know what is best for our future as a Nation and our continuing battle with terrorism. This is Your Nation; we are Your people; we are a Nation under Your sovereignty. In response, we make Proverbs 16:3 the motto for this day, ``Commit Your works to the Lord and Your thoughts will be established.'' Throughout this day, we intentionally will submit the work of this Senate to You and seek Your guidance for the resolution on war with Iraq. We claim Your promise for clarified direction in keeping with Your will. We say with the psalmist: I commit my way to the Lord and trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass . . . I rest in the Lord and wait patiently for Him – (Psalm 37:5,7). Speak to our minds; we are listening. You are our Lord and Saviour. Amen. October 7, 2002 Almighty God, strength for those who seek You, hope for those who trust You, courage for those who rely on You, peace for those who follow You, wisdom for those who humble themselves before You, and power for those who seek to glorify You, we begin this new week filled with awesome responsibilities and soul-sized issues and confess our need for You. We are irresistibly drawn into Your presence by the magnetism of Your love and by the magnitude of challenges we face. Our desire to know Your will is motivated by Your greater desire to help us. We thank You for the women and men of this Senate. Bless them as they debate the resolution on war with Iraq. Help them maintain a spirit of unity as they press on with honest, open discussion and come to a conclusion which is best for our Nation and the world. You are our Lord and Saviour. Amen

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