Fill Up the Chinks

Sample reading from Kneeling We Triumph Volume 2

Blessed is the man that heareth me, watching daily at my gates, waiting at the posts of my doors (Prov. 8:34).
Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on Thee (Isa. 26:3).

A devotional hour is vital for spiritual vigor, but it is insufficient. All the day through, in the chinks of time, there must be an atmosphere of prayer in which the soul lives.

A traveller hurrying down the road is often chafed by the delay caused by a stop sign or a red signal light as he approaches an intersection. What is to be done with that idle moment? Let him fill it with prayer. His own soul will be refreshed, and some weary, tempted Christian may receive renewed strength to carry on in the hard battle which is his.

There are so many moments that are lost in the daily performance of our duties. By carefully utilizing those moments with prayer we may change the course of many a soul. One great saint of an earlier age affirmed that he never used a blotter in letter writing. Instead, while the ink dried, he would simply close his eyes and offer a prayer for the one to whom he had written.

When one is compelled to wait at the corner for the overdue bus, or in the railroad depot for a delayed train, let him form the habit of praying for the many who are near despair because of frustrated hopes, or cherished plans that did not materialize. Perhaps someone is late to a business appointment and the minutes drag slowly by. Let the one who is compelled to wait use that time to pray. The atmosphere will be more wholesome and friendly when the delayed one finally arrives.

Is there work to be done? Then go at it bravely and in the spirit of prayer. Let the machinist, as he grinds and polishes the steel, ask God to grind and polish his soul. As the housewife sweeps and dusts her home, let her pray that the Spirit will sweep from her soul all the things that are not Christlike. Let the filing clerk pray that a clean record shall be kept in the books of eternity. Thus in every walk of life, while the mind and hands are occupied with common duties, let the soul be in the spirit of prayer.

In the little chinks of time between duties, let the soul turn to God in praise and petition. Make prayer a habit if you would climb the heights of spiritual greatness. —O. G. Wilson

“Certain thoughts alone,” said Victor Hugo, “are prayers. There are moments, when, whatever the attitude of the body, the soul is on its knees.” Another has said, “Our need of prayer is as frequent as the moments of the day; and as we grow in spirituality of mind, our continual need will be felt by us more and more.”

With us no melancholy void,
No period lingers unemployed
Or unimproved, below;
Our weariness of life is gone,
Who live to serve our God alone,
And only Thee to know.
—Charles Wesley

May God grant us grace to commune constantly with Himself. Prayer should not be a matter of mornings and evenings alone, but all the day our spirit should commune with God. Father, Thou art so near us, and yet how slow we are to speak to Thee. Teach us Thy children, to be always talking with Thee, so that while we walk on earth our conversation may be in Heaven. The Lord give us to hold holy commerce with Heaven, hearing what God the Lord will speak, and speaking to Him in return. . . . Perpetual communion with God is the highest state of joy which can be known on earth. Learn to say truthfully, “I have set the Lord always before me,” and you have the Lord’s secret. —C. H. Spurgeon