Disturb us O Lord

Christians have played a vital role in events that have shaped history.  It is good to be reminded of those who have gone before. It is good for our children to learn of the courage, accomplishments and prayers of those who have trusted Christ.  One such example is English navigator and seaman Sir Francis Drake (circa 1542 – 1598).  Drake was the first Englishman to circumnavigate the globe and was instrumental in defeating the Spanish Armada. Drake was the son of a Protestant preacher.  Drake, like all figures of history, had strengths and weakness.  But, as you can see from the prayer below, he was passionate about his faith in Christ.  In 1577, while on his voyage around the world he penned the prayer below. This prayer applies as equally to our lives as it did to his. May we have the courage to pray it again.

“Disturb us, O Lord, when we are too pleased with ourselves, when our dreams come true because we dream too little; when we have arrived in safety because we have sailed too close to the shore. Disturb us, O Lord, when with the abundance of the things we possess, we have lost our thirst for the water of life;  when having fallen in love with time, we have ceased to dream of eternity, and in our efforts to build the new earth, have allowed our vision of the new heaven to grow dim. Stir us, O Lord, to dare more boldly, to venture on wider seas where storms shall show thy mastery and, when losing sight of land, we shall find the stars. In the name of Him who pushed back the horizons of our hopes and invited the brave to follow, even the name of Christ Jesus, our Lord.”

Sir Francis Drake

 

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