These morning prayers will set you on the right path for the day.

The morning Senate prayer, a tradition dating back to 1789, is a pitch for civility and strength in a place perhaps best known for divisions. Senate Chaplain Barry Black is the pitchman.

In Judaism, the morning prayer service, called “Shacharit” because it starts after dawn — shachar in Hebrew — typically lasts 30 to 40 minutes when recited communally.

In 1982, when eight Israeli soldiers were abducted — an event that sparked the First Lebanon War — modern rabbis wrote an original standalone prayer for captives.

You know things are bad in Congress when the chaplain’s morning prayer on the House floor sounds like an exorcism. On Thursday, the Rev. Patrick Conroy said during his prayer that it had been a ...

Senate Chaplain Barry C. Black has been using his morning prayer to express his displeasure with political gridlock. Drew Angerer/AP hide caption ...