The Office of the Chaplain United States House of Representatives

Opening Prayer

09/16/2026
Chaplain Margaret Grun Kibben

Holy God, we cannot fathom your mysteries. We cannot probe the limits of your being. For they are higher than the heavens above and deeper than the depths below.

And yet you allow us, in the finitude of our lives and the brevity of our days, to receive the wideness of your mercy, which is wider than the sea. You offer us the kindness of your justice which is more than freedom from our transgressions.

For your love, O God, is broader than we can measure. Your heart is eternally and wonderfully kind.

In this moment, may we, with open minds and contrite hearts, receive the bounty of your mercy and submit ourselves to the greatness of your sovereignty, that we may, as servants of the Most High God, honor you in all that we do and say this day and all the days you have numbered for us.

In the light of your Word and the power of your name we dare pray. Amen.

Job 11:7–9
There’s a Wideness in God’s Mercy, Frederick William Faber, 1862

Thought of the Week

Never in peace or war, commit your virtue of your happiness to the future. Happy work is best done by the man who takes his long–term plans somewhat lightly and works from moment to moment “as to the Lord”. It is only our daily bread that we are encouraged to ask for. The present is the only time in which any duty can be done or any grace received.

—C.S. Lewis

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