diff --git a/lib/devise/controllers/internal_helpers.rb b/lib/devise/controllers/internal_helpers.rb
index 25972282..b776679c 100644
--- a/lib/devise/controllers/internal_helpers.rb
+++ b/lib/devise/controllers/internal_helpers.rb
@@ -102,7 +102,8 @@ module Devise
         options[:scope] = "devise.#{controller_name}"
         options[:default] = Array(options[:default]).unshift(kind.to_sym)
         options[:resource_name] = resource_name
-        flash[key] = I18n.t("#{resource_name}.#{kind}", options)
+        message = I18n.t("#{resource_name}.#{kind}", options)
+        flash[key] = message.blank? ? nil : message
       end
 
       def clean_up_passwords(object) #:nodoc:
diff --git a/test/controllers/internal_helpers_test.rb b/test/controllers/internal_helpers_test.rb
index 20c3c994..415de63f 100644
--- a/test/controllers/internal_helpers_test.rb
+++ b/test/controllers/internal_helpers_test.rb
@@ -53,4 +53,20 @@ class HelpersTest < ActionController::TestCase
   test 'is a devise controller' do
     assert @controller.devise_controller?
   end
+  
+  test 'does not issue blank flash messages' do
+    MyController.send(:public, :set_flash_message)
+    I18n.stubs(:t).returns('   ')
+    @controller.set_flash_message :notice, :send_instructions
+    assert flash[:notice].nil?
+    MyController.send(:protected, :set_flash_message)
+  end
+  
+  test 'issues non-blank flash messages normally' do
+    MyController.send(:public, :set_flash_message)
+    I18n.stubs(:t).returns('non-blank')
+    @controller.set_flash_message :notice, :send_instructions
+    assert flash[:notice] == 'non-blank'
+    MyController.send(:protected, :set_flash_message)
+  end
 end