A TIMELESS PRAYER

Sir Francis Drake
1540-1598

Remember studying Sir Francis Drake in school? He served under Queen Elizabeth I as Vice Admiral of the English fleet in the sixteenth century.  

Drake may be best remembered for leading the second successful circumnavigation of the world. He was the first captain to complete the entire journey.

While his prayer must certainly been part of his spiritual  preparation for his explorations, it seems as fresh to me as the day he penned it.

I thought I'd share it with you.

Disturb us, Lord, when we are too well pleased with ourselves, when our dreams have come true because we have dreamed too little, when we arrived safely because we sailed too close to the shore.

Disturb us, Lord, when with the abundance of things we possess we have lost our thirst for the waters of life; having fallen in love with life, we have ceased to dream of eternity. And in our efforts to build a new earth, we have allowed our vision of the new Heaven to dim.

Disturb us, Lord, to dare more boldly, to venture on wider seas where storms will show your mastery; where losing sight of land, we shall find the stars. We ask You to push back the horizons of our hopes; and to push into the future.

May we summon the faith to explore God's plans for our lives.

"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”

Joshua 1:9

Labels: Circumnavigation, Explorers, Prayer, Sir Francis Drake