Open the eyes of my heart (1)

Paul Baloche, the famous worship leader and songwriter, says that the “bottom line of praise and worship music is to get people to sing their prayers.” He certainly got this right for me when he wrote ‘Open the eyes of my heart, Lord’.

Open the eyes of my heart Lord

Open the eyes of my heart

I want to see you

I want to see you

To see You high and lifted up

Shining in the light of Your glory

Pour out Your power and love

As we sing holy, holy, holy

Over the years I have been involved in many outreaches (9 countries) where we would use one of several strategies to present the good news regarding Jesus to groups of people. This was particularly exciting in places where the good news had not been shared before. Wherever or however we did it, we would mostly start the event with music. Depending on the influence I had on the team, I would demand, insist or beg that we play this song. It is a prayer that expresses perfectly what needs to happen for people to enter the Kingdom of God. They need to see Jesus.

In all that I have seen of people and their response to God, I am convinced that no one on the face of this planet can resist him. We were all made for him and are drawn to him. The only thing that can cause us to reject him is a warped or incorrect understanding of who he is.

For most of my life, I have been fascinated by people who reject God or live as if he does not exist. My fascination has drawn me into many long conversations with such people, not arguing but enquiring, seeking to understand. More times than I can remember my response to their explanations was:

• But that was not him…
• That is not what he does…
• If only you knew him when this or that happened…
• You are so very mistaken about who he is…

People reject Jesus because they do not know who he is! They ascribe things to him that he did not do. They expect things of him that he is not going to do. They are blinded, deceived or ignorant. No one would reject Jesus if they only knew him for who he really is!

As a result, this prayer in Paul Baloche’s words has stirred my heart deeply and, in this series, I want to encourage you to pray it too. Our problem is that, by implication, we do not know what we do not know. This is true when you stand outside the Kingdom of God but can be equally true inside it. Our salvation is that we know someone who knows what we need to see.

1. We need to see more of him.

What we know is that when Christ is openly revealed, we'll see him—and in seeing him, become like him. (1Jn 3:2 MSG)

1. We need to see our lives with greater clarity.

your eyes focused and clear, so that you can see exactly what it is he is calling you to do, grasp the immensity of this glorious way of life he has for Christians, (Eph 1:18 MSG)

Will you join me on this journey? Just think what can happen if you and I were to pray this prayer! Just imagine the ways in which God can answer it!!

Open the eyes of our hearts Lord! Open the eyes of our hearts!

@reonlouw

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Previous series

God's Frequently Asked Questions

It is very helpful to access the FAQ folder whenever you are struggling with something. Very often you will find that you are not alone in struggling to understand something. And understanding the questions on somebody’s heart will give you great insight into who that person is, especially if you are intent on a relationship with that person. Knowing the questions God frequently asks will help you in many ways.

Image by Simon Wijers from Pixabay

Previously published here