Rather, as it is written: “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no heart has imagined, what God has prepared for those who love Him.” 1 Corinthians 2:9
The Prayer of Sir Francis Drake
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.
Sir Francis Drake (c. 1540-1596) as recounted in No Retreat, No Surrender by Dena Sherwood (Bloomington: WestBow, 2012) ix.
Drake was a famous English sea captain. He undoubtedly saw lots of amazing things in circumnavigating the world. In this famous prayer he rightly reminds us not to be too enamored with earthly things which can cause us to lose sight of that which is eternal.
Father in heaven, thank you for the unimaginable splendor you are preparing for those who love You! Fill us with strength by your Holy Spirit to serve you generously this week and live all our earthly days in light of eternity. Make it so I ask in the name of Jesus. Amen.