Hemmed In
Colorfully embroidered on a canvas and hung on the kitchen wall of a home I was visiting, were the following words:
A DAY HEMMED IN PRAYER
SELDOM COMES UNRAVELED!
To hem something is to completely surround it. We use the expression, “hemmed in.” In other words we are encircled by something and cannot move or escape. When my mother hemmed the cuffs of my pants when I was a boy, or the hem of my sister’s skirt, she went all the way around. In fact if she didn’t it would soon come unraveled.
Not only do we need to begin and end the day with prayer, but we need to completely “hem” it. All day long, wherever we are, we should be in the attitude of prayer. This is our power and resource, as we are exhorted, “Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit” (Ephesians 6:18). A day hemmed in prayer may not be an easy day, but it will be a blessed day.
