Many times, when a surprise is involved the phrase "open your eyes" is used.
Well, baruch HaShem, today I am saying to you, "open your eyes!"
When someone says let’s pray, why do we close our eyes?
What’s the deal anyway? Are we approaching some demonic being or 25 foot grotesque idol statue that we are afraid to look at in the face?
Do we forget that we are approaching our Daddy, Abba, and our Papa Yah, who told us that our sins and our wickedness, he has forgotten?
If we have repented from all of our trespasses, Yeshua’s atoning blood has provided forgiveness and an offering for sins for us is no longer even needed.
We have confidence to walk into the holiest place because the blood of Yeshua has given us the assurance.
He inaugurated it for us as a new and living way through the inner curtain, by means of his own blood.
Now we may approach the holiest place with a sincere heart, trusting that our hearts have been cleansed from a bad conscience.
Let us go into the holy place wide-eyed in G-d’s presence with joy, thanksgiving and hope, knowing that we are going to our Daddy who doesn’t only have love. He is love.
We do not have to be as the tax-collector, who would not go near Yeshua, nor even raise his eyes toward heaven, but beat his breast and said, "God! Have mercy on me, sinner that I am!'
The Psalmist sang, I raise my eyes to you, whose throne is in heaven. As a servant looks to the hand of his master, or a slave-girl to the hand of her mistress, so our eyes turn to Adonai our God, until he has mercy on us.
As we strive to resemble Yeshua, we should not ignore the way he prayed.
When he took the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up toward heaven, made a b'rakhah. In the account of Yeshua raising El`azar from the dead, Yeshua looked upward and prayed, "Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I myself know that you always hear me, but I say this because of the crowd standing around, so that they may believe that you have sent me." Before Yeshua’s last Pesach with his closest followers, he gave them many instructions and then looked up toward heaven and said, "Father, the time has come. Glorify your Son, so that the Son may glorify you.
Proverbs actually gives an example of a violent cruel man closing his eyes to think about devising perversity.
You probably have never been in a non-Messianic synagogue and experienced an ongoing custom of the congregants closing their eyes except possibly when singing the Shema or saying the barucha over the candles. It is not the norm and it shouldn’t be the norm of our prayer life.
When we close our eyes do we sense more of his presence? Have you ever wondered why? Selah!
Okay, selah a biesala more.
What would happen if we opened our eyes when praying?
Could it be that we would then become more cognizant of the presence of the Spirit of G-d more often, no matter where we are, no matter what we are doing and no matter who the people are around us?
Visualize a group of people, as echad, seeking G-d’s presence and genuinely communicating with him, with eyes open. Would this not be the epitome of corporate prayer?
Would this not touch the hearts of those present who need to be redeemed by their Messiah?
If we begin to pray with our eyes open more often, we may begin to sense our invisible Father and his son the Messiah and their power of influence becoming greater and the power of influence of visible people and things around us diminishing no matter where we are, no matter what we are doing and no matter who the people are around us.
Applying this in our own home and workplace, would enable us to stay focused on the things above and not those on earth.
Let’s get so close to G-d with our eyes open, that the people and the things around us loose their sting of distraction when we are praying in our home and workplaces.
When we sense his presence, because we have prayed with our eyes open, we will be more likely to be not only more aware of
G-d’s presence, but be more likely to have ongoing communication with him.
I have a surprise for you! Open your eyes!