{"id":58,"date":"2011-10-09T09:37:26","date_gmt":"2011-10-09T15:37:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hugodlr.com\/?p=58"},"modified":"2016-02-11T21:10:03","modified_gmt":"2016-02-12T02:10:03","slug":"disturb-us-o-god","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hugodlr.com\/?p=58","title":{"rendered":"Disturb us, O God"},"content":{"rendered":"

I used a prayer by Sir Francis Drake<\/a> for our staff meeting this past Wednesday. As much as I like the prayer (I was quite excited when I found it, and doubly so to share it with my peers, mostly because it’s such an interesting quality to ask for – disturbance instead of peace), I don’t think I actually meant it, or at least not in any concrete way – I wasn’t really<\/em> giving God permission to disrupt my comfortable life!<\/p>\n

It now seems that the God of all creation, the ontological ground of all being, the inscrutable and mysterious Presence that both is and is not part of our cosmos . . . this Divine Jokester has actually seen fit to answer this lowly supplicant’s half-hearted prayer.<\/p>\n

Why, O why couldn’t God answer my fervent prayers to win the lottery? (Wouldn’t that be a disturbance as well?) Or deposit on my doorstep a miraculous way to lose weight, get in shape and enjoy pain-free living that doesn’t involve any form of exercise whatsoever? (I’m sure that would cause a disturbance as I walked around in my new, vampire-like physique!)<\/p>\n

No, God had to cause an actual disturbance in my life, one that caused me (and, truth to tell, is still causing me) some degree of stress and which upset what was a nicely angst-free ride in the boat of life. (Hmm . . . that’s probably a bad simile – sorry!)<\/p>\n

So if you’ve ever wondered if God does in fact “answer prayers” . . . I’m here to tell you that God, in fact, does. It just may not be the prayer you were hoping for \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n

Disturb us, Lord, when
\nWe are too pleased with ourselves,
\nWhen our dreams have come true
\nBecause we dreamed too little,
\nWhen we arrived safely
\nBecause we sailed too close to the shore.<\/p>\n

Disturb us, Lord, when
\nwith the abundance of things we possess
\nWe have lost our thirst
\nFor the waters of life;
\nHaving fallen in love with life,
\nWe have ceased to dream of eternity
\nAnd in our efforts to build a new earth,
\nWe have allowed our vision
\nOf the new Heaven to dim.<\/p>\n

Disturb us, Lord, to dare more boldly,
\nTo venture on wilder seas
\nWhere storms will show Your mastery;
\nWhere losing sight of land,
\nWe shall find the stars.<\/p>\n

We ask you to push back
\nThe horizons of our hopes;
\nAnd to push back the future
\nIn strength, courage, hope, and love.<\/p>\n

This we ask in the name of our Captain,
\nWho is Jesus Christ.<\/p>\n

 <\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Blessings & Peace
\nHugo<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I used a prayer by Sir Francis Drake for our staff meeting this past Wednesday. As much as I like<\/p>\n

Continue readingDisturb us, O God<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

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