s the Lord is."

NOVEMBER The Twenty-third

_THE STRANGER_

1 KINGS viii. 37-53.

Yes, indeed, what space has "the stranger" in my supplications? Has he any
place at all? Are my intercessions private enclosures, intended only for
the select among my friends? Do I ever open the door to anyone outside my
family circle? Are my ecclesiastical sympathies large enough to include
"outsiders" from afar? What do I do with "the stranger"?

There is nothing which keeps prayer sweet and fresh and wholesome like the
letting in of "the stranger"! To let a new guest sit down at the feast of
my intercession is to give my own soul a most nutritious surprise. It is a
most healthy spiritual habit to see to it that we bring in a new
"stranger" every time we pray. Let me be continually enlarging the circle
of hospitality! Let some new and weary bird find a resting-place in the
branches of my supplications every time I hold communication with God.

A prayer which has no room for "the stranger" can have little or no room
for God.

NOVEMBER The Twenty-fourth

_THE PRAYER WHICH ENDS IN SACRIFICE_

1 KINGS viii. 54-66.

And that is the healthy order of all true worship. It begins in spacious
supplication in which "the stranger" finds a place. Then there is a lavish
consecration of self and substance. And then the wedding-bells begin to
ring, and "the joy of the Lord is our strength!" "_They went unto their
tents joyful and glad of heart for all the goodness that the Lord had
done._"

But so many suppliants miss the middle term, and therefore the gladness is
wanting. Supplication is not followed by consecration, and therefore there
is no exultation. It is a fatal omission. When we are asking for "the gift
of God" our request must be accompanied by the gift of ourselves to God.
If we want the water we must offer the vessel. No gift of self, no bounty
of God! No losing, no finding! "When the burnt offering began, the song of
the Lord began."

"Take my life, and let it be
Consecrated, Lord, to Thee."

NOVEMBER The Twenty-fifth

_AFTER THE PRAYER THE FIRE!_

"_When Solomon had made an end of praying the fire
came down from heaven._"
--2 CHRONICLES vii. 1-11.

And the fire is the symbol of the Holy God. Pure flame is our imperfect
mode of expressing the Incorruptible. This burning flame is heat and light
in one. And when Solomon had prayed, the holy Flame was in their midst.

But not only is the