Editorial February 8, 1993 Issue

A simple prayer for open eyes

Russ Gerber

When we're looking earnestly for answers, we may find ourselves praying as never before just to see some evidence, any evidence, of God's presence; of His wisdom when we need to make choices, or His order when our lives seem to be in disarray. We can think of this deep yearning as a prayer for open eyes, not unlike the Psalmist's desire: "Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law." This is actually a profound prayer because it acknowledges that God, good, is present, that His law is in operation, and that what we truly long for is to become aware of His presence; to see the effect of His perfect government in our lives.

Why can we expect such a prayer to be helpful? Because we're always capable of perceiving and understanding Spirit, God, and His spiritual laws that govern true existence. And this is what opens the way to healing. What we're striving for isn't to get something we don't already have available to us. It's to awaken to what God has already provided for His offspring. It's to awaken to His constant care. We're approaching God, who is infinite Spirit and Love, not with the thought that He is at a distance from us or is unknowable or has deprived us of something needful, but with the understanding that He is eternal good and that man is inseparable from good.

A consistent longing that our eyes be open tends to lift our thought above any confusion or fear and enables us, through our God-given spiritual sense, to discern His clear, intelligent message to us. In this way we learn that man is immeasurably loved and cared for under all circumstances; that he's never forsaken, never deprived of intelligence, never unknown to God, because man is His spiritual idea, His image and likeness. The spiritual nature of man and of his inseparable relation to God, divine Love, becomes more apparent through just such heartfelt prayer.

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