This is dedicated to Matt
I pray with my eyes open. When I close my eyes to pray, I always start imagining things, what God looks like, what heaven looks like, what angels are doing because I'm praying, etc. I've always associated closing my eyes to speak or think with my imagination. I know I'm weird, I've always had a vivid imagination.
Anyway, God is not make believe, therefore I do not close my eyes. Usually I kind of cover my head with my hands and look at the ground so no one knows my eyes are open. But, I've always wondered why we, "Bow our heads and close our eyes" to speak with God. There is absolutely no biblical mandate for it. To the contrary it seems proper to have our eyes open. David wrote;
"To You I lift up my eyes, O You who are enthroned in the heavens! " (Psalm 123:1, NASB95) [1]
and
"For my eyes are toward You, O God, the Lord; In You I take refuge; do not leave me defenseless. " (Psalm 141:8, NASB95)[1]
Also, in the longest recorded prayer in the Bible, John writes;
"Jesus spoke these things; and lifting up His eyes to heaven, He said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify Your Son, that the Son may glorify You,... " (John 17:1, NASB95) [1]
So, the man after God's own heart and Jesus both prayed with their eyes open. They also prayed with there heads lifted up towards heaven. Why do we pray in an opposite manner today, heads down, eyes closed?
[1] New American Standard Bible : 1995 update. 1995. The Lockman Foundation: LaHabra, CA
1 comment:
Harold,
First - thanks for the dedication. It's weird that you posted on this topic because I've actually thought a lot about this. I lead the opening prayer in our Sunday School class (we're Baptists, alright!?) and before starting, I take prayer requests. There are way too many praises and requests to remember, so I write them down on paper. I then pray off that list with my head bowed so it appears I have my eyes closed. I've often thought, man, this is better than closing my eyes and daydreaming. Since then, I often find myself praying in church, eyes open but looking down so as to not weird anyone out. Moses prayed standing up, so why do most Christians kneel? I assume it's out of reverence and therefore appropriate to take a prostrate position. I think it is more God-honoring to just pray though. Most Christians would tell you the one part of their walk that's lacking (besides reading the Word) is prayer. By the way, if you want to read an excellent book on prayer, check out Praying Backwards by Bryan Chapell.
Peace,
Matt
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