Let us pray. Our Father, our
God, Creator of heaven and earth, Redeemer of mankind, in less
than 24 days we will acknowledge that 2,000 years ago you, the
infinite God, came to earth in the form of an infant. You condescended
to this earth and stooped to our level. You were Emmanuel,
God with us. Are you still with us? Many of
us in this solemn assembly clearly understand why you are not speaking
to us. You, as in the days of the weeping
prophet Jeremiah, are like a man who has turned to stone. Our
president has said we are not a Christian nation, and some
of us here this morning do not wear that as a badge of honor,
but of shame. Lord, since you've been banned
from America, Things just haven't been the same since you've been
gone and without your forming hand, we have degenerated into
chaos. We know that you know that since
you've been gone, life has lost its sacredness. Lord, since you've
been gone, the institution of marriage, the family, the building
block of a solid society, the social glue that holds society
together has disintegrated. We know that God in the family
is its brightest ornament and its best security. Lord, since
you've been gone, men and women have lost their sense of parenthood.
And we have 800,000 children in America without a mother or
father. Since you've been gone, the state has been attempting
to be a parent and it's not working. Lord, since you've been gone,
we've taught our children that there is no creator, that they're
nothing but the accidental formation of gas and dust. that they have
no real purpose in life. While you've been gone, we have
tried to substitute the multiplicity of material things for you, and
it seems our children no longer have a point of reference and
cannot cope with the pains of life, and are killing themselves
and one another. Lord, since you've been gone,
our prisons have filled and our churches have emptied. Dear God,
many of us here this morning in this Senate would like to
invite you back. Please keep us from ruin. We
know that a sparrow does not fall to the ground without your
notice. We know that a nation cannot rise without your aid.
We know this morning that the spiritual weapons of this great
nation are our most powerful resource in peace and war. We
know that neither the wisest constitution nor the wisest laws
will secure the liberty and happiness of a people who refuse to acknowledge
the existence of God. Our confidence this morning is
not in big government, but in a big God. If you will accept
our invitation to revisit America, we promise we will never disengage
ourselves from the culture in which we live. We have learned
our lesson that entitlement programs do not work. and big government
passing out checks has failed to solve the social ills that
plague us. Guide the thoughts and decisions
that are made in these chambers today and in the days to come.
Bless and protect our men and women in the armed forces around
the world. Hold back the enemies of liberty.
God bless America. Stand beside her and guide her
through this night with a light from above. Amen.