Friday, November 14, 2008

Confession No. 18: I'm Praying With My Eyes Open

Have you ever wondered what God looks like? If the Earth is his footstool (Matthew 5:35) and he created millions of galaxies, then I'm positive that we don't have the mental capacity to imagine how huge He is. In my effort to reignite my prayer life, I once asked a few people who I know and trust the following questions: "What do you imagine when you pray?" What does God look like when you close your eyes to talk to Him?"

I thought that if I could just picture Him, then surely I would be able to communicate with Him better. Some of the responses worked for a while, but I still struggled with lack of focus and drifting thoughts during my time with Him. My problem was that I didn't realize that God is really really real. He is always with us. He is not something that we just dream up and trying to create a mental image of God is almost like the Israelites creating a golden calf to worship. (No one has ever seen God. But the unique One, who is himself God,[a] is near to the Father’s heart. He has revealed God to us. John 1:18)

God is bigger than our hearts can contain and we must continually pursue more of Him in our lives, but making up some imaginary image of Him is not the answer to this. We must trust that God has revealed himself through His son. If you want to see God, then study Jesus. God lives within us and is omnipresent (present in all places at all times )... So my confession today is that I'm no longer praying with my eyes closed. God still lives and he is as close as your next breath. You are never alone. He is with you everywhere - every minute of everyday. Take time to acknowledge Him and start praying with your eyes wide open - He is here and He hears you.