Worshipping With Our Eyes Closed

I once asked my mom why we had to pray with our eyes closed. I was a little girl then, and I wondered if God only answered prayers if our eyes were closed or if there was something extra holy about closing our eyes somehow. That was a long time ago, but I still remember her answer. She said there was nothing special about praying with our eyes closed or open. God didn’t mind either, but we closed our eyes to remove distractions while we talked to God.

In our fast-paced world, we have endless supplies of distractions biding for our immediate attention. Even when we close our eyes, intrusive and anxious thoughts can derail our train of thought in every which direction while we try to absent-mindedly “talk to God .”Quieting our minds and being still before God can sometimes take enormous effort requiring sheer discipline.

Lately, I felt like God had been putting the idea of ‘worshipping Him with my eyes close’ on my heart. This made me wonder why it would matter if I closed my eyes during worship? Why would it make a difference to blot out my surroundings…?

It reminds me of the story of the prophet Samuel who was about to anoint a new king. He looked at each of Jesse’s sons and judged them based on their outward appearance. But God told Samuel, “People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” (1 Samuel 16:7b). Sometimes we do this with circumstances; we think God isn’t moving, there isn’t any good fruit, or someone is too far gone, but God does not look at the outward appearance of neither people nor circumstances.

Similarly, in the story of the prophet Elijah in 1 Kings 19, we also learn that appearances can be deceiving. In that chapter, we find Elijah in a dark place, but God told him to stand on a mountain because God was about to ‘pass by .’There was a “powerful wind,” but “the Lord was not in the wind .”Then there was an earthquake, “but the Lord was not in the earthquake .”Then there was a fire, “but the Lord was not in the fire .”Then “after the fire came a gentle whisper.” (1 Kings 19:11-12)

Sometimes in seasons of waiting, God calls us to worship with our eyes closed. He calls us to praise Him without being distracted by our environment, without being disheartened by the lack of changes or by the lack of breakthroughs. He asks us to pursue Him without taking note of those around us who might be lukewarm, and their lack of support might cause us to second-guess our own faith. He asks us to focus on Him even when the answers aren’t coming right now, or things don’t make sense. By shutting our eyes to the distractions around us, God invites us to focus on something else and to rely on Him more deeply.

Does your situation look hopeless? Does it look as though God is not moving? Take heart, appearances can be misleading, and God calls us to focus on Him without getting distracted. Let’s worship Him with our eyes close.

Heavenly Father, You understand; You know what is happening and the struggles we face today. God, in the midst of what we are going through, help us fix our eyes on You so that the ‘world will grow strangely dim.’ Please give us wisdom and peace as we pursue You in this season. Holy Spirit, come and meet us where we are right now. In Jesus’ name, we pray, amen.