A prayer attributed to Sir Francis Drake
Disturb us, Lord, when we are too pleased with ourselves,
when our dreams have come true because we 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 water of life;
when having fallen in love with life, we have ceased to dream of eternity;
and when in our efforts to build a new earth, we have allowed our vision
of the new Heavens to dim.
Stir 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.
This we ask in the name of our Captain, who is Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
O God, of your goodness, give me yourself;
for you are enough for me,
and I can ask for nothing that is less which will pay you full worship.
And if I ask for anything that is less, always am I in want.
For only in you do I have everything.
Dame Julian of Norwich
