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

  In strength, courage, hope, and love.

                  -- attributed to Sir Frances Drake, 1577

                  -- reprinted from In Touch January 2007