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.