The Office of the Chaplain United States House of Representatives

Opening Prayer

06/29/2026
Chaplain Margaret Grun Kibben

Eternal Lord, let Your favor rest upon these United States. For 250 years, You have been our shield and defender, our guardian, guide, and stay, and we pray You would abide with us now and always.
 
As we reflect on the noble history of this Republic, it is easy to boast in our accomplishments: the growth of our Nation's power, the resilience of its democratic principles, the bounty of our resources. All that we have and all that we are today are evidence of Your divine grace upon us.
 
Lest we base our pride in our own efforts, remind us again that You alone have established the work of our hands. We humbly acknowledge that the blessings we enjoy remain ours only as we remain faithful to You.
 
We rejoice in our freedoms, but we are not really free if we fail to protect and defend faithfully this sacred treasure You alone have bestowed on us.
 
In defending the great experiment in self–government, may our devotion to You, and not our own personal desires, shape the course of our country.
 
Lord, You are our dwelling place and have been throughout all generations. We offer to You ourselves, our trust, and our devotion that You would establish the work of our hands and continue to guide us in the years ahead.
 
In Your eternal name we pray.  Amen.

Thought of the Week

Fear God in the true sense of the word means to love God, respect God, honor God, and all of this can only be done by loving your neighbor, treating him justly and mercifully, and in all ways endeavoring to protect him from injustice and cruelty, thus obeying, as far as our human frailty will permit, the great immutable law of righteousness.  

—Theodore Roosevelt

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