Praying with Eyes Wide Open

During a recent family vacation, God gave me some much needed inspiration about prayer that I believe might be helpful as you pursue developing your prayer life together as a couple.

Just moments ago I was sitting outside on a wooden bench made of split logs that matches the cabin I am sitting in now as I write this. I did not sit alone on that bench, I sat there with my lovely wife Cindy whom I have grown to love so much more this year. Later I will tell you about this year, but for now I would like for you to experience what I have here in the Rocky Mountains sitting on that bench. Now I realize it would not have been so special and intimate if you all would have been here with me, but I hope that you can experience even if just through my words what I felt and that God would use my story to tug at your heart strings as He has mine

So we were sitting on this bench exhausted from several trips down the hill in front of us on a sled, as we caught our breath, something that is quite difficult at this altitude. After several moments of silence except for the wind and our progressively slower breathing my wife said “Lets pray”. I of course love to pray as I have become very fond of my savior and in fact I had just been thinking how beautiful His creation was, but for some reason it came as a surprise this time. Then as I began to prepare as usual I started to close my eyes and then it was as if God reached down from the heavens and grabbed my heart, saying “ No need to close your eyes this time my son, You are already focused on me.” So as my wife began to thank our creator I continued to gaze at His breath taking creation. The troubles of the year that she spoke of seemed so far away and as she asked God to help us through them in the coming year, I felt the peace of God surround me and as the wind swirled I saw wisps of snow dancing as ghosts over the surface of the snow drifts with no where to go and then just as suddenly as they appeared they were gone. I felt God answering her prayers immediately; I felt He was giving me an answer. He was saying “You see the wisps of dancing snow, you see how quickly they just fly away? They are here for just a moment; the cold will always come and go, but like that cabin behind you with its warmth waits for you if you find you were not prepared for the amount of cold that comes your way, So I am always here for you with my arms open wide and when you are ready we can sit by the fire and talk for a while…

Somehow, even with my eyes open I did not miss a single word of my wife’s prayer and I also received a loving hug from my Daddy.

I have always believed in closing my eyes during prayer so as not to be distracted, but there was nothing to distract me here, if not for a distant airplane in the bright blue sky etching its trail to who knows where, I could have forgotten about the rest of the world. To me it is clear that sometimes it is best to close our eyes when we pray, but I think we should also look for times when we are not distracted to open our eyes while we pray.

If you are just too easily distracted, I would suggest that at least you can open your eyes metaphorically, Open your eyes so you can see what God is doing, so you can see His plan, His way not yours. Open your eyes and look, expecting Him to answer your prayers. Remember the scripture that talks about our faith, if we would only have the faith as small as a mustard seed then we could move mountains? Really? Did God mean that we could actually move one of the mountains that I am looking at here in the Rockies? I think what He is trying to impress on us, is that He is not limiting us, we are. Oh, How little faith we have and what an amazing and gracious Father.

The fading line of the overhead plane was a reminder to me that this time we have here to recuperate is only for a little while. In a few days after we have completely felt God’s love and peace we will return to the other life that God has planned for us, A life where there are others who need to feel God’s love and acceptance, others who are not as fortunate to experience retreat. That is why we are here, that is why God put us here on earth to share the love of Christ. I know you know that, but if you are like I am, it doesn’t take long to be distracted by our own problems, I guess that is why it is an expression of love, because it requires sacrifice. If you are needing some help with this concept, then I suggest you do another study of what Jesus went through when He made a choice to sacrifice His life for us, after all He is our strength and our example.

The fading evidence that a plane had passed overhead also reminded me that God could care less about where we have been except for us to learn from it. {No Condemnation} He cares much more about where we are headed. If we could only forgive ourselves and others, and forget the past like our heavenly Father, we could face the future with more confidence. We too often let the failures of the past cripple us, our fear that is most often based on the past can destroy our future.

I want you to pause for a moment, take your time, think about what holds you back. Now let it fade away just as the trail of the airplane fades to leave only blue sky. The clear blue sky is what your Father wants for you to see, limitless possibilities; He wants your dreams to come true. When you fail He will forgive you again and give you the clear blue sky. Why do we have such a hard time believing that? I’ll let you think about your view of your Creator; you will have to answer Him. Why don’t you believe that He loves you and that His love is not full of all the things He doesn’t want you to do, but instead all the things He wants for you. He does not want you to settle, He wants you to go for the mountain and not just any mountain, He wants you climb the mountain of Faith.

Read with Me!