Senate Chaplain Amplified Prayers as Debt Deadline Approached

As the country lurched toward a potential default on its debt, U.S. senators got a daily reminder of what was at stake and where their duty lies from their chaplain, retired Rear Adm. Barry Black. The Seventh-Day Adventist minister’s daily prayer became more dire as time ticked down, The Washington Post reported.

Retired Rear Adm. Barry Black prays for God's guidance for lawmakers. (AP Photo)

On July 20, the Navy chaplain asked God to “give to our lawmakers the wisdom to know the role they should play, in keeping freedom’s holy light bright.” Seven days later, he prayed, “Lord, as our nation faces the potentially catastrophic, inspire our lawmakers to seek your counsel, which will stand forever,” the Post reported.

On Friday, Black intoned, “Lord, help them to comprehend the global repercussions of some poor decisions, and the irreversibility of some tragic consequences. Quicken their ears to hear, their eyes to see, their hearts to believe, and their wills to obey you — before it is too late.”

As the debt ceiling deadline approached with no deal in sight, the chaplain was quoting sections of Scripture, speaking of death. And by Sunday, the day the deal finally was made, he brought a sinking ship to mind.

“The waters are coming in upon us,” the Post quotes Black as praying. “We are weary from the struggle, tempted to throw in the towel. But quitting isn’t an option.”