02:57

Shake Us Out Of Our Complacency

by Tony Brady

Rated
4.9
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talks
Activity
Meditation
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In the well-known prayer of Saint Francis, we use the words "Lord make me an instrument of your peace" But sometimes the situation in which we find ourselves challenges us to critically examine the status quo which leads us to this prayer designed to shake us out of our complacency. Image: Unsplash+ in collaboration with Susan Wilkinson. Background music" “string e” by Alexander Nakarada

JusticePeaceChangeComplacencySaint Francis PrayerSocial JusticePeacefulnessDisturbancesVoice For The VoicelessCritical SituationAlternative PrayersInquiryPrayersVoices

Transcript

Dear friends,

Many of us will be familiar with the well-known prayer of St.

Francis,

Lord,

Make me an instrument of your peace.

And,

God knows,

There has never been in our lifetimes such a need for the promotion of peace in our troubled world.

But sometimes the situation in which we find ourselves challenges us to critically examine the status quo.

We need to raise a few ripples in order to relieve the suffering of other people.

I've come across a prayer,

A reverse form of that well-known prayer.

I find it mentioned in numerous places across the internet and it is said to be by an author unknown.

Many of us are lucky enough to enjoy reasonably trouble-free lives.

I think you'll agree that this prayer helps to shake us lucky ones out of the comfort zone of complacency.

Lord,

Make me a channel of disturbance.

Where there is apathy,

Let me provoke.

Where there is compliance,

Let me bring questioning.

Where there is silence,

May I be a voice.

Where there is too much comfort and too little action,

Grant disruption.

Where there are doors closed and hearts locked,

Grant the willingness to listen.

Where laws dictate and pain is overlooked,

When tradition speaks louder than need,

Grant that I may seek rather to do justice than to talk about it.

Disturb us,

O Lord,

To be with as well as for the alienated.

To love the unlovable as well as the lovely.

Lord,

Make me a channel of disturbance.

Namaste.

Meet your Teacher

Tony BradyDublin

4.9 (75)

Recent Reviews

Ditte

March 17, 2025

More needed than ever. Thank you for your wholehearted sharings 🙏

Mia

May 3, 2024

A very thoughtful prayer. So helpful since complacency is devastating. Thank you Tony. Namaste 🙏

Monica

February 28, 2024

Prayer with a challenge to work for peac and justice. Thank you Tony.

Barb

February 27, 2024

I’m not sure I’ve ever heard this prayer before but the words are really beautiful. It could be that I have but when read by you in your calming voice I really listened and heard the message in this prayer. Thank you Tony. 💕🙏🏻

Senga

February 27, 2024

Dear Tony, that's a very interesting prayer. I like it. Thank you for sharing it. 🙏🕊🦋

Adri

February 27, 2024

The worries and wars in the world benefit from complacency. Let’s indeed shake up this complacency and be true instruments for peace. Namaste 🤓🙏🏻

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© 2026 Tony Brady. All rights reserved. All copyright in this work remains with the original creator. No part of this material may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the copyright owner.

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