Let me learn from Ruth the gleaner. Just as she went out to gather grain in the fields, so must I go out into the fields of prayer, meditation, worship, and the preached word to gather spiritual food.

The gleaner gathers one stalk at a time. Her gains come little by little. So I must be content to search for single truths when there's no great harvest before me. Every stalk helps make a bundle. Every gospel lesson helps make us wise for salvation.

The gleaner keeps her eyes wide open. If she stumbled through the stubble in a dream, she would have no load to carry home rejoicing at evening. I must stay watchful in my spiritual exercises, or they will profit me nothing. I fear I've already lost so much! O that I may rightly value my opportunities and glean with greater diligence!

The gleaner stoops for every stalk she finds. So must I. High spirits criticize and object, but lowly minds gather and receive benefit. A humble heart is essential for hearing the gospel with profit. The soul-saving word cannot be engrafted without meekness. A stiff back makes a terrible gleaner. Down, master pride! You are a vile robber, not to be endured for a single moment!

What the gleaner gathers, she grips tightly. If she dropped one stalk to grab another, her day's work would be but scant. She's as careful to keep as she is to find, and so at last her gains are great. How often do I forget what I hear! The second truth pushes the first out of my head, and all my reading and hearing end in much ado about nothing! Do I truly feel the importance of storing up the truth?

A hungry belly makes the gleaner wise. If there's no grain in her hand, there will be no bread on her table. She labors under the sense of necessity, and so her step is quick and her grip is firm. I have an even greater necessity. Lord, help me to feel it! Let it urge me onward to glean in fields that yield such plenteous reward to diligence.