DISTURB ME
The prayer was first prayed by Sir Francis Drake, who sailed around the world for England in 1577. The prayer goes like this:
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 arrive safely because we have 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.
Now you see why I cautioned you about this prayer. It is dangerous! As I travel and talk with many people, however, it is a prayer that many desperately need to pray, perhaps even you.
SHRINKING BACK
I have been looking at a passage in Hebrews 10:35-39 that address the issues raised in the prayer:
So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised. For in just a very little while, 'He who is coming will come and not delay. But my righteous one will live by faith. And if he shrinks back, I will not be pleased with him.' But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who believe and are saved.Many will say they are living by faith, but perhaps that is because they are living so small. Their goals are timid, their fears overwhelming and their vision limiting. They are not doing anything big, so of course it appears that they are living a full life. Instead, they are living woefully below what God has for them. They have shrunk back to their comfort zone but describe it as only a place of respite. In actuality, it is a place of refuge from which they have little intention of venturing out.
I hope you aren't among those whom I describe in the previous paragraph. If you are, however, and you know it, now is the time to do something about it. It's time to set some goals and live by faith once again. The beauty of doing this is that you don't need to have any idea how you will do those things; that's where the faith comes in. If you've decided, however, that faith is just too demanding or stressful, then you may be guilty of shrinking back and incurring God's displeasure.
So the choice is clear: have faith and please God, shrink back and displease God. The choice is yours and I do hope you will choose wisely. If you choose faith, then go back to the beginning and pray the "Disturb Us" prayer every day this week. As you do, I know God will hear you and will certainly disturb you with new visions and dreams before very long. Have a great week!
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KENYA UPDATE: As I try to do every week, I have posted the latest from Kenya so you know what's going on and can have a chance to contribute. Thank you to all who did last week. I am sending Mary's tuition to her (we raised almost $750), we have $750 for Peter's van and a few other donations came in. Plus, I saw a whole mound of stuff at church that will go toward our next shipment. God is good, and you are wonderful. You can give this week through my website or by sending a check to PurposeQuest, PO Box 8882, Pittsburgh, PA 15221-0882.
MONDAY MEMO ANNIVERSARY: In honor of the Monday Memo's 12th anniversary, I am once again attaching below 12 of my best Monday Memos. Thank you for your faithful readership and support.
Love! Thank you for this "push"! Though I didn't know it, that was just what I needed called out on.
Posted by: Ericavance | March 18, 2013 at 09:44 AM