- In this deeply partisanpolitical climate,

it may come as a surprise to many people

that a group of SenateDemocrats and Republicans

come together each week to pray.

- It is literally themost liberal Democrats

and the most conservative Republicans.

It's not just the centrist group.

- [Abigail] DemocraticSenator Chris Coons,

who leads the group withRepublican Senator James Lankford,

tells CBN News it's thebest hour of his week.

- We do two things we don't otherwise do.

We listen to each other,and we trust each other.

- [Abigail] The only non-senator present

is Senate Chaplain Barry Black.

Each week, a different senator is picked

to share a message to the group.

- 'Cause what you're sharing

is exactly what an opposition research guy

would love to know in your next campaign,

your weakness.

How have you fallen short?

What's been difficultabout your childhood,

about your marriage, aboutyour public service, about...?

These aren't just sortof easy, two-dimensional.

These are folks reallysharing of themselves.

- [Abigail] They close eachmeeting holding hands in prayer.

Coons says friendshipsmade in the prayer group

have helped improve his workingrelationships with members.

- Look, it is reallytough to throw a punch,

at least verbally, onthe floor of the Senate

or in an interview when that morning

you were holding hands in prayer.

And that's powerful.

That's important.

- From your perspective being here,

do you feel like Washington is as divided

as it feels like on the news?

- Yes.

I'll tell you that thething that's easy to miss

is that we've got someincredibly smart and capable

and motivated senators who all came here

intending to make the country better.

Yet, we find it awfullyhard to compromise.

- [Abigail] One of thetrends hurting relationships

on The Hill is a lackof social interaction,

because lawmakers don't live here anymore.

- A generation or two ago,

all senators moved their families here,

and so they knew each other as parents

on the edge of a soccer or baseball field

as much as they kneweach other as combatants

on the Senate floor.

- And when you got uphere, what did you expect

as far as relationships with members

of the other side of the aisle,

and what have they been like?

- Well Joe Biden, who precededme, talked a lot at home

about his strong relationships.

When I was much younger and in politics,

he'd talk about, "My friend, Orrin Hatch

and my friend, John McCain."

And I'd think, oh, come on, you guys are,

right, you don't shareany core political views.

And as I got here and I got the experience

and I'd have to say theblessing of serving with,

legislating with, travelingwith Senator McCain,

Senator Hatch, and adozen other colleagues,

I gradually came to realizeit really is possible

to be genuine friends.

- [Abigail] Coons saysone of his best friends

and mentors here is someone

with whom he shares no political views,

Republican Senator JohnnyIsakson of Georgia.

- If you're willing to do the work,

if you're willing to travel together,

meet each other's families,spend time listening,

you can build amazing relationships here.

- [Abigail] He admits thoughsome take a long time to heal

such as the recentSupreme Court confirmation

of Justice Brett Kavanaugh.

- There was a particularly heated exchange

with Senator Graham, who I really,

I have traveled with,I've legislated with.

I'm fairly close to Senator Graham.

And that was a particularlyhard moment for me.

- [Abigail] A week later,Graham reached out to Coons

with an invitation tomeet with Jared Kushner

and hear the administration's plan

for peace in the Middle East.

He admitted it took afew days of consideration

before finally accepting.

- I came home and my wife said,

"What are you doingmeeting with (mumbling)?"

And I said, "Honey, I'm still mad

"about the Kavanaugh hearings."

Don't get me wrong, I'mstill upset about that.

But it was a meeting about peace.

And my job is to figure out a way

to keep working with Senator Graham

on the things that we share

and we care about and areimportant to our country.

- [Abigail] Coons hopes intime they can overcome the past

and reconcile.

- It is hard.

It is not easy to get over someof the fights we have here.

But that's what I thinkthe people of Delaware

hired me to do, is to stickto principle on issues

of core principle but workacross the aisle and find ways

to respect each other and work together.

- [Abigail] A strong motivation for Coons

to restore relationships is his awareness

that the world is watching.

- And in dozens ofcountries around the world,

they look at the Senate, andthey look at the Congress,

and they look at the United States,

and they say, "Democracy doesn't work."

That's bad, so I remind my colleagues,

"Look folks, it's not justour kids who are watching.'

It's our kids, it's the rest of the world,

and it's history.

And we have to show thatthis is the best way

to resolve conflict peaceablyand that we can really

solve those problemsthat the average American

wants us to tackle.

- Coons tells me he hopesthe upcoming divided Congress

can force both parties tocompromise on major issues

that Americans are ready to see resolved.

Reporting from Capitol Hill,Abigail Robertson, CBN News.