From my book A Calendar of Classic Prayer, a prayer from what might seem an unlikely candidate concerning the need to always seek new horizons in faith.
Introduction
Not all prayers have been written by outwardly religious people. The one I’ve chosen for today, for example, comes from an unlikely source indeed, being attributed to Sir Francis Drake (c. 1540–1596) – a bold hero to some but merciless pirate to others. His love of the sea and adventurous spirit are well in evidence here, but so too is a surprisingly deep faith in the God who calls us, in every aspect of life and faith, to explore ever new horizons.
Prayer
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 us into the future in strength,
courage,
hope
and love.
Amen.