Snavely PatersonOn a snowy and blustery winter day in Michigan, I took a walk with my dad. He has a daily routine of walking each morning after his time in the Scriptures. When I travel to visit my parents, I enter into the routine of their life, and one of the things I do is walk with him. As we neared the end of our walk, knowing I would soon be heading back to California, I asked if we could pray as we walked. My father gladly agreed.
Learning to Pray With Eyes Wide Open (Photo: Snavely Paterson).
As we began to pray, I was shocked when my dad bumped me into the snowbank on the edge of the road. As I fell, almost as if in slow motion, I instinctively knew what must be happening and looked back to see the vehicle I knew my dad must be saving me from. To my surprise there were no cars on the road.
I hit the snowbank with a gentle thud, looked up at my dad, and realized what really had happened. He was not saving me from a renegade car sliding toward me on the icy roads. Somehow, in the natural response of hearing someone say, “Let’s pray,” my father went into automatic prayer mode. As we began praying, he reflexively closed his eyes. This caused him to veer toward me and accidentally knock me into the snowbank.
We both laughed as he helped me up and brushed the snow off me. My dad and I ended up having a rich conversation about how, though it is appropriate to close our eyes in some situations, there are also many occasions when we are wise to keep our eyes wide open while we pray.
The next morning, I received this email from my father:
“Dear Sherry, I thought about you this morning while I was walking. I prayed with my eyes open. I even prayed out loud. I learned from you that if I pray with my eyes open, my time with God is limitless.”
He got it! When we learn to pray with our eyes wide open, our prayer life expands, heaven touches earth, and God’s power is unleashed.
My journey of prayer began long before that winter day walk with my dad. I grew up in a godly home with parents who taught me about Jesus and how to talk with him. At five years old I entered a life-transforming relationship with Jesus. I had heard about him. I had prayed to him. But on a quiet Sunday, late in the afternoon, I laid on the sofa in our living room and personally met the Savior.
I know, I was just a little girl, but I assure you that he entered my life and has never left. Decades later his presence is sweeter and his power more profound. Since that day I have grown to love and hunger for his Word.
The Bible whispers and, at times, shouts the truth of heaven when I read it. Sometimes the words of Scripture lift my spirit and inspire me. They resonate with and penetrate my soul. At other times the teaching of the Bible confuses me and weighs heavy on my heart. One such passage that troubled me for years and caused me to struggle is a seemingly simple two-word exhortation: “Pray continually” (1 Thess. 5:17). I wanted to obey God’s call and follow his teaching … but how? How was I to pray without ceasing? How could I stay aware of God every moment and communicate my love with every breath? How could anyone measure up to this spiritual expectation?
As a young girl and later as a mom of three boys, I continued to feel the weight and pressure of this command. I could not do it. The very idea of praying at all times, in all situations, every moment of every day, felt oppressive.
Then, after years of struggling with this passage, the Holy Spirit breathed a simple truth of understanding into my soul that changed everything. When the veil was lifted and I understood the real meaning of this passage, joy descended and prayers flowed with new freedom and passion. Here is what God taught me: It is not that we have to pray continually; it is that we get to pray continually!
