Words from a friend

My "forever friend", Melissa, sent me this prayer the other day. It spoke to me so deeply.

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 Francis Drake, 1577 

It was written by Sir Francis Drake?  I only remember learning about him in history books and historical novels I've read, but never anything about him being a believer. I quickly ran a search on his name and noticed he had a really bad reputation as a pirate, politician, and slave trader. Just as Melissa reminded me, even Paul was a Christian killer before he started his ministry. I wonder what was going on in Drake's heart when he wrote this? What kind of change was happening in him and how did it affect him and others who are influenced by him? Regardless, what he wrote over three centuries ago, still rings true to this day. Jesus is timeless!