WIDE-EYED PRAYERS.

"Bow your head and close your eyes. This is how we talk with God." As children, many of us were taught to do these steps before we prayed! Not bad advice. Closed eyes and bowed heads help control the busyness and the inability to focus inherent in many little bodies. Even today, in my empty-nest  life, I need those times of bowed head and closed eyes--to help block out distractions and worries.

I find, though, that going through my day with "eyes wide open" presents me with NUMEROUS opportunities to pray. Wide-eyed prayers are a combination of physically begin attentive to the world around me and spiritually asking God to reveal himself to me. It's a Christian worldVIEW in a different sense!

The mountains in western North Carolina display themselves as one of the most beautiful areas in the United States. The majesty and colorful foliage of the mountains evoke praise and thanksgiving for God's strength and artistic mastery. The lakes, snow, abundant flora, and wildlife elicit gasps of wonder for God's creation. The baby birds in my yard, the crocuses on the walking path, the new-born calf in Farmer Scotty's field-- all these give me joy and remind me of the new life we have because of Christ's death and resurrection.

Other wide-eyed prayers are not as obvious. I find that if I ask the LORD each morning what he would have me do that day, new and unusual prayers arise. Take Facebook (FB), for example. Not only do I receive direct prayer requests from friends but I discover there are many not-so-obvious prayer needs. As I scan the FB posts, I am often filled with prayers of thanksgiving for friends old and new, as well as for distant family members that I've lost touch with through the years. Unsolicited "Meta-picture" and "God-vine" videos can touch me to the core of my being. Seeing a Father reunited with his children after active duty abroad, or watching an animal save the life of its owner, arouses joy and gratitude and sometimes prayers for healing.

Lately, I've been disturbed by the content of several television shows and commercials--actually, I've been appalled. I summon the courage and then contact the producers of the shows and the companies marketing themselves through those commercials. However, more and more, I'm drawn to pray for them. Yes, we must put feet on our prayers and actively protest wrongs we see, but let's not forget to pray.

A pastor of mine encouraged his congregation to take note of  "God-Sightings"--unexpected places where we saw God at work in the lives and events around us. Wonderful stories emerged as people stepped up to share their discoveries.  I think wide-eyed prayers take God-sightings a step-further. Let's see God in and through the people and events of our lives but don't stop there. With eyes wide open, let's give thanks and praise, confess the sin in our lives, and intercede for the needs we see.

JOYFULLY
and with EYES WIDE OPEN,
Susan