The Bible, Learning "Continually," and Praying with Your Eyes Open
Have you ever thought about why we close our eyes, bow our heads, or clasp our hands when we pray? None of those actions are mentioned in the Bible with regards to prayer. In fact, it is rare that prayer is associated with any physical actions. (Incidentally, head-bowing is mentioned in association with worship (II Chron. 29:30) and fasting/grieving [Psa. 35:13-14; Isa. 58:5; Lam. 2:10], both of which are related to prayer but not the same thing.) The only ones I know of are "go into your room, close the door, and pray..." (Matt. 6:6; intended to avoid hypocritical, overtly religious prayer like the Pharisees did in the synagogues and on street corners) and "Lift up holy hands in prayer" (I Tim. 2:8).
However, the Bible does say, "Pray continually" (I Thess. 5:17), which is hard to misinterpret; "Pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests" (Eph. 6:18); "in everything, by prayer and petition...present your requests to God" (Phil. 4:6); "Devote yourselves to prayer" (Col. 4:2); "I urge...first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession, and thanksgiving be made for everyone" (I Tim. 2:1); as well as Jesus telling his disciples "that they should always pray" (Luke 18:1).
If, then, we are to be praying so frequently as to be virtually praying all the time without stopping, it follows that it is impractical to often close one's eyes or change posture while praying. The apostle Paul, who was extremely busy while he was on earth, had a lot of other things to do like traveling and ministering, and "prayed continually" while he was doing those things. I believe this is the key to an active prayer life, doing it simultaneously while living life rather than stopping and setting aside time to pray (though that may also be necessary, even on a daily basis).
Certainly, there are times when it may be appropriate or necessary to close one's eyes when praying, in order to shut out distractions from other things around you. I find personally, however, that praying with my eyes open makes prayer a more natural thing any time that I do it, and makes activities like driving and walking great times for prayer. Knowing God and His desire for us to be intimate and natural with Him, I would encourage you learn the practice of praying with your eyes open.
However, the Bible does say, "Pray continually" (I Thess. 5:17), which is hard to misinterpret; "Pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests" (Eph. 6:18); "in everything, by prayer and petition...present your requests to God" (Phil. 4:6); "Devote yourselves to prayer" (Col. 4:2); "I urge...first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession, and thanksgiving be made for everyone" (I Tim. 2:1); as well as Jesus telling his disciples "that they should always pray" (Luke 18:1).
If, then, we are to be praying so frequently as to be virtually praying all the time without stopping, it follows that it is impractical to often close one's eyes or change posture while praying. The apostle Paul, who was extremely busy while he was on earth, had a lot of other things to do like traveling and ministering, and "prayed continually" while he was doing those things. I believe this is the key to an active prayer life, doing it simultaneously while living life rather than stopping and setting aside time to pray (though that may also be necessary, even on a daily basis).
Certainly, there are times when it may be appropriate or necessary to close one's eyes when praying, in order to shut out distractions from other things around you. I find personally, however, that praying with my eyes open makes prayer a more natural thing any time that I do it, and makes activities like driving and walking great times for prayer. Knowing God and His desire for us to be intimate and natural with Him, I would encourage you learn the practice of praying with your eyes open.
posted by Luke at 11:14 AM
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