[Page H702]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                                 PRAYER

  The Chaplain, the Reverend Margaret Grun Kibben, offered the 
following prayer:
  O sovereign Lord, 2 years into this unrelenting conflict between 
Russia and Ukraine, we appeal to You to act in condemnation against the 
unprovoked and the unjustified aggression and the heinous and hateful 
crimes against the Ukrainian people.
  Uphold the cause of justice and defend these men and women who have 
called to You in their need. For they have been a testimony to faith, 
waiting patiently for You, fearing not when evil people have succeeded, 
and never losing heart even as the wicked carry out their schemes.
  Protect them from their enemy but preserve them also from themselves, 
that they would refrain from acting out in anger and responding in 
wrath. In the horror of this interminable war, prevent them from 
resorting to vengeance, deliver them from exercising the very evil they 
are now enduring.
  May all who suffer at the hands of such aggressors be assured that 
You, O Lord, laugh at the wicked for You know their day is coming. 
Though they draw the sword and bend the bow, You, O righteous one, will 
cause their weapons to pierce their own hearts. You will cause their 
strongholds to break.
  Make firm the steps of those who delight in You. Though they may 
stumble, they will not fall, for You, O Lord, will uphold them with 
Your hand.
  In the strength found only in Your name do we pray.
  Amen.

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