Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) President Clint Pressley gave the opening prayer for the U.S. Senate on Wednesday morning (July 9).
Pressley is the senior pastor at Hickory Grove Baptist Church in Charlotte, North Carolina, and was recently re-elected president of the SBC at the convention’s annual meeting in Dallas last month.
In a social media post he shared on Tuesday night, Pressley said it was “great to be in Washington with @RepMarkWalker,” adding, “I look forward to saying the opening prayer for the Senate tomorrow morning.”
“Father in Heaven, we come to you in the name of Jesus, by the power of the Spirit, seeking your blessings on this deliberative body,” Pressley prayed on Wednesday morning. “We thank you for your constant grace, your providing hand, and your guiding Word.”
Pressley continued by asking God to “fill us with the knowledge of your will in all wisdom and understanding, that we might walk in a manner worthy of being called your people.”
“Father, we ask that you make us a righteous people—joyful in adversity, hopeful in struggle, and just in our dealings,” he said. “We pray that you would make us a prosperous and happy people. You have told us what is good: to do justice, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with you, our God.”
“May we flourish in kindness and strive for goodness under your gracious and sovereign hand,” Pressley asked God. “We confess how good it is to live in this country, and we pray that you would continually empower us to be the land of the free and the home of the brave.”
The Southern Baptist preacher concluded his prayer with: “Help us, bless us, and be honored through us. We ask this in the name and for the sake of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.”