Daily Prayer
Daily Prayer“Seven times a day do I praise You because of Your righteous judgments.” (Ps. 119:164)
How many of us must realize that those who live in the house with us have a special blessing from God to get along with us! There are some dear women and children that would rather go into a bear pit than have to meet some of you before you have had your morning cup of tea or coffee. Does your family sigh with relief when you leave for a religious convention or a Bible conference, knowing that they will have a week of peace in the house with you away? The Lord never meant that any Christian should have to growl a later apology to husband or wife, saying, “Perhaps I did roar a bit, but I wasn’t fully awake, and you know I am not responsible until half an hour after I am out of bed.” The Lord will do away with all of that for you, and every side of the bed will be the right side of the bed for you to get out of, when you have committed your mind and your tongue to Him for those first moments of contact that you will have with others.
Now, I have learned experimentally, that the best thing for me to do is to have my day marked off in sections, and to come to God for a constant renewal of life as I go on. David says, “Seven times a day do I praise Thee because of Thy righteous judgments” (Ps. 119:164). You may find it necessary to mark your day into longer or shorter sections, but there must be a constant coming to Him in the midst of the activities of life. When I was in South India, I visited Miss Amy Carmichael at Dohnavur. One of the customs of what is perhaps the most beautiful mission station in the whole world, is to pause at the striking of the hour. In the tower of prayer that rises, flower–covered, above the chapel, there are chimes which can be heard throughout the compound. The whole outward activity of the mission ceases when the chimes begin the hour. The older girls, in their beautiful saris, walking along the flowered pathways, will stop and bow in meditation. The children in the playing fields will cease their games for a brief moment. The big brothers will get down from their bicycles as they go on some errand, and will stand a moment in silence while the chimes play. Unhappy the Christian life that does not have its chimes in it somewhere during the day, to stop the earthly activities while we listen to the heavenly peal, think upon the Savior a moment, talk directly to Him, listen to His voice in some verse that He will recall to mind, and then step on into the work and the activity of the moment.
