Prayer Offered for January 3, 2022

As we begin this New Year of 2022, we ponder the words of Howard Thurman:

When the song of the angels is stilled,

When the star in the sky is gone,

When the kings and princes are home,

When the shepherds are back with their flocks,

Then the work [of the new year] begins:

To find the lost,

To heal the broken,

To feed the hungry,

To release the prisoner,

To rebuild the nation, [and the State,]

To bring peace among people,

To make music in the heart.

_{(The Mood of Christmas and Other Celebrations by Howard Thurman)}

This is the work that we are about to do in the Senate; and we pray:

May the Lord bless us and keep us.

May God’s face shine upon us, and be as gracious to us.

May God look upon us kindly and give us peace.—AMEN.

_{(Numbers 6:24–26)}