Open My Eyes!
“Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law.” Psalm 119:18
As a believer in Jesus, your times in God's word are always rich with meaning to you, right? Every time your pastor preaches the Scriptures, the words illuminate your mind and stir up your desire for the Lord, correct? If you are squirming while thinking about those questions, you are not alone. As followers of Jesus, we love and want His word, but also sometimes are frustrated by our lack of understanding. David's prayer in the above verse is for all of us.
Let's think about the prayer. First, it comes from an attitude of hunger and dependence. He wants to see more of God's word and he recognizes his need of God's help. God is pleased with and will honor this attitude. Second, it is a prayer that honors God because it acknowledges Him as the source of light, wisdom and truth. In a culture where people aren't sure who they can trust, we can rest assured that God is the perfect source of truth. Third, it honors the Scriptures themselves. David isn't asking for a dream, vision or new revelation from God. Rather, He is asking God to reveal more of what He has already written in the Bible! Finally, this prayer honors the work of grace the Holy Spirit has performed in the hearts of believers. David believes (and every believer should) he can grow in understanding. The Bible is not a book reserved for the minds of an elite group of clergy. No, every believer can examine and rejoice in its riches.
The prayer itself says, “Open my eyes.” The Hebrew word translated 'open' has the idea of making naked, uncovering, revealing. We don't want the word hidden from us! But for this process to be successful, God not only opens His word to our eyes, but also opens our eyes to the Word! Said another way, we need God to make us naked too! We need Him to strip away things that hinder our view. Some of those obstacles could be:
God is able to strip those obstacles away, and we should regularly seek His grace to do so. What is the result? That I may behold wondrous things out of thy law! Never forget the goal of the pursuit. It is not just to acquire more dry data about Biblical information. It is to look with delight on what God's word contains: a revelation of Himself; of Jesus Christ; of His great salvation; of His will for us to walk in; of His great promises; of the beatiful function of the church; and of glory to come. All these themes tie together in the great theme of Scripture: God bringing a rebellious people to glory through the work of Jesus Christ.
Will you pray Psalm 119:18 with sincerity and fervency? Do you get excited thinking about God answering that prayer? A final question—how do you expect God to answer it? Don't expect Him to fill you with light if you are lazy and negligent. His normal way of answering such a prayer is blessing us as we run in the way of diligently pursuing Him. Expect the blessing to come as you read, meditate, study, memorize, discuss and hear the precious word of God.
“Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures.” Luke 24:45