Sabbath Quiet: Disturb Us When We Attempt Too Little

Cowardice asks the question, ‘Is it safe?’ Expediency asks the question, ‘Is it politic?’ But conscience asks the question, ‘Is it right?’

And there comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular but because conscience tells one it is right. ~Martin Luther King, Jr.

Disturb Us, Lord

Disturb us, O Lord
when we are too well-pleased with ourselves
when our dreams have come true because we dreamed too little,
because we sailed too close to the shore.

Disturb us, O 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 time,
we have ceased to dream of eternity
and in our efforts to build a new earth,
we have allowed our vision of Heaven to grow dim.

Stir us, O Lord
to dare more boldly, to venture into wider seas
where storms show Thy mastery,
where losing sight of land, we shall find the stars.

In the name of Him who pushed back the horizons of our hopes
and invited the brave to follow.

Amen.

~by Desmond Tutu, based on a prayer attributed to Sir Frances Drake

Disturbing Questions

Do you dream small, hugging the shore so in your own strength you can’t fail? Is your hope shallow, praying for a quick fix rather than deep change? Is God calling you to launch out, trusting his Spirit to guide? Will you pray, “Disturb me, Lord?”