Open Our Eyes, Dear Lord!

Many of us wear sight-enhancement devices such as eyeglasses and contact lenses. We do so primarily because we want to see clearly and farther. Some of us are nearsighted while others are farsighted. Few of us have what is considered as normal, 20/20 vision, or 6/6 vision under the metric system.

Invariably, many of us with normal visions or corrected visions suffer from the same condition: spiritual blindness, a condition that opticians, ophthalmologists, optometrists, and other eye professionals cannot cure. Only the Almighty God can cure spiritual blindness so we should pray to God to open our eyes.

If God were to open our eyes, we may see something similar to what the servant of the Prophet Elisha saw when the King of Aram sent an army of chariots of horses to Israel to capture Elisha. As recorded in 2 Kings Chapter 6, the King of Aram had declared war against Israel. However, God revealed to Elisha the war plans made by the King of Aram, and Elisha shared them with the King of Israel so that those plans were foiled. When the King of Aram found out about Elisha’s interference with his war efforts, he was very angry. He sent horses, chariots, and a strong army at night to capture Elisha in Dothan, Israel.

The servant of Elisha woke up in the morning to find that the army had surrounded the city. The servant reported to Elisha and asked what they should do. Elisha told the servant not to be afraid because “those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” Elisha then prayed, “O Lord, open his eyes so he may see.” The Lord opened the servant’s eyes and he saw “the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.” Elisha prayed that the Lord should strike the Aramean army with blindness and when that was done, he led them into Samaria, the then capital of Israel. When Elijah prayed again and they regained their eyesight, they found themselves right inside Samaria. Elisha told the King of Israel to give the army food to eat and water to drink and send them back unharmed, and that lovely gesture ended the war (2 Kings 6:8-23).

Like Elisha’s servant, we are naturally afraid when confronted by seemingly insurmountable forces. In the moment of fear, we sometimes forget that we serve the Almighty God who is the Creator of heaven and earth. We forget that the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob is on our side fighting battles for us. We also forget that our Lord Jesus Christ is alive and that the Comforter - the Holy Spirit – whom he promised to send is comforting, empowering, and sustaining us. We just have to exercise our faith that those who are with us are more than those who are with them, and to look upon the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around us.

Open our eyes, Dear Lord. Open our eyes to see you seated majestically on your throne and to call on your name knowing that your name is a strong tower and those who call on your name and run to you are safe (Proverbs 18:10).

Open our eyes, Dear Lord. Open our eyes to read and understand what your Word tells us that those directing evil towards us will fail because no weapon aimed at us will succeed (Isaiah 54:17).

Open our eyes, Dear Lord. Open our eyes to see a thousand falling at our side, and ten thousand at our right hand, but danger or calamity will not come near us, and that we will only observe with our eyes and see the punishment of the wicked (Psalm 91:7-8).

Open our eyes, Dear Lord. Open our eyes to see ourselves the way you see us, and help us to recognize the devil and sin and flee from them.

From our vantage point as children of God with assurance of divine protection, open our eyes to see the blessings you have showered on us so that we will be a blessing to others. Open our eyes to see beyond our families, our friends, and ourselves. Open our eyes to see and help others whom we consider as strangers or even enemies. Open our eyes to see and help the poor, the needy, the hungry, the sick, the lonely, and all who yearn for just a little of what we have in abundance. What we have in abundance could be love, grace, mercy, empathy, prayer, healing, knowledge, wisdom, advice, encouragement, wealth, money or other material things, according to the circumstances.

For example, when the crippled beggar at the temple gate called Beautiful in Jerusalem begged Peter and John for money, Peter responded that he did not have silver or gold, but he would give him what he had. Invoking the name of Jesus Christ, Peter prayed and the man walked (Acts 3:1-10). Peter did not have money, but he had something better – a prayer of faith that healed the man. No one expects you to give what you do not have, but do not be too quick to ignore opportunities to help; your alternative may be even better.

Also, note that opportunities to help may be available among the rich and the poor, within rich and poor neighborhoods, and under circumstances you least expect. After all, who would have thought that at the temple gate called Beautiful, something that challenges our sense of beauty, like the sight of a crippled beggar, would be on display, but thank God that something beautiful did happen there. And so open our eyes, Dear Lord, to see and help those who are rich in things, but poor in soul.

Here are few conclusions we can draw. First, God does reveal some of the wicked plans of the enemy to some of His children. Second, there is more to this world than what our natural eyes – aided by the most powerful eyeglasses, contact lenses, microscopes, and telescopes - can see. Third, God opens the eyes of some of His children so that they can see what others may not readily see. Fourth, only God can cure all of us of our spiritual blindness.

Elisha could hear or know what the King of Aram was planning, and could see what his servant could not see. However, Elisha did not profit from God’s gifts or use them for his own personal gain. He also showed love to the enemy soldiers the way Christ teaches us to do. If by the grace of God we are privy to a revelation through the opening of our eyes, a dream, a vision etc., we should act on it by faith selflessly and for His glory. Therefore, Dear Lord, cure us of our spiritual and willful blindness; open our eyes to see all you want us to see; and give us the grace, love, courage, and all the resources we need to handle them accordingly.

Prayer is the key. May God grant us the grace to seek Him daily through our prayers.

Dr. Daniel Gyebi, Attorney-at-Law, Texas, U.S.A., and Founder, PrayerHouse Ministry, Kumasi, Ghana.

PrayerHouse Ministry is dedicated to providing a quiet facility for Christians to pray individually by themselves without any intermediary priest, pastor or any other person. This is a free service. No money is demanded or accepted. One facility is located at Kyerekrom / Fumesua, near Building and Road Research Institute Offices, one mile off the Kumasi-Accra Road and next to a house called Grace Castle. If you are interested, please contact Agnes at 027-7423815. Another is located at Kantinkyiren, at the junction of Kantinkyiren and Konkori, off the Kumasi-Obuasi Road, branching left at Trede junction. Contact Kwadwo at 020-8768461 / 0246-989413.