Later
this week, I will be going for a routine eye examination at our
optometrist. Sight is something that we sometimes take for granted. We
assume that we are seeing fairly well and that our
vision is reliable. I have not had to wear glasses until recent years,
when reading glasses have been necessary. When I try to read a page of
printing now, it will look like a blur. Then I put on my reading glasses
and the words come into focus and I can easily
determine whatever is being communicated. I have also realized that
without my glasses, the windows look much cleaner and dust or dirt
around the house is not noticeable. This has me reflecting on the
importance of praying that God will assist us in seeing
things clearly and without distortion. If I insist that I am seeing
fine without my glasses, there could be messages misconstrued or I might
miss some important details all together. Through prayer, we can ask
God to reveal what He wants us to see and how
He wants us to see. Ultimately, we can be praying that God will allow
us to see more and more of Who He is and what He wants us to understand
in the world around us. Jesus speaks about this in
Matthew 5:8 when He says, “Blessed are the pure in heart for they will see God.”
When I go for my eye examination, there will be questions about my
general state of health and there will be procedures to determine if
there are any conditions that might affect my ability to see. What could
affect our ability to see as followers of Jesus?
If our minds, wills, and emotions are not centred in Jesus, then we
cannot expect to have pure hearts that will result in us seeing and
experiencing God as He intends. Thankfully, the truth of what Jesus says
is
not, “Blessed are the perfect for they will see God.” What God is
asking of us is to have a pure desire to see Him and to know Him. We
are humbled when we accurately recognize our clouded vision and then we
ask God to give us grace that will focus our
attention on Him and to bring what he wants us to see into clear view.
Please plan to set aside time for our
WEDNESDAY PRAYER TOGETHER tomorrow May 12th at 1 pm.
Praying that we will be blessed as we take time to pray, Pastor Lola
Here is a prayer we can use to guide us as we come to God and invite Him to examine our sight:
God of love and mercy You see me just as I am. Nothing is hidden from You. Other people may not fully understand or know me, but You do. It is a relief not to pretend anything with You, just to come as I am and to be accepted by You. God, I am wanting You to examine my sight. If there is anything in me that is interfering with my ability to see You and to see myself accurately, please deal with that. Sometimes I am convinced that I am already seeing clearly, but I am not. I want to take seriously Jesus’ words about the blessing that comes for those who are pure in heart. God, please make the intentions of my whole heart-mind, will, and emotions, what You want in me. Do Your holy work of correcting my vision as needed. Where I have not seen as You see, please show me that. Where I have had my gaze off of You, please redirect my attention back to you. I do not want the first concern of my life to be how other people see me Lord, but rather how You see me. And loving God, where there is a need for me to acknowledge my sin and to be restored to right relationship with You, please bring that about. Lord God, I am thanking You for all the places that You have allowed me to see you recently. Thank You that I can see You when love and compassion is displayed. Thank You that I can see You in the faces of those who are crying for help. Thank You that my response to each person does affect what I will see and know. Thank You God that Your response to me is always characterized by tender grace. You do not shame me for my mistakes and regrets. You see what I can be when I rely on You and You invite me to take that step. Our God, so many prayers have been brought to You during this Covid crisis. We continue to bring this pandemic to You in prayer. We pray for those whose reserve of strength is growing weak. Please reveal Yourself to them. If they can see you and know You God, they receive courage to keep going. When I can see and know You God, I am convinced that You will keep giving me Your perspective and what I need to see to hold on to faith in You. God, You know that sometimes my eyes get fixated on all that seems wrong. When this happens, please draw me back to You and the assurance that You are at work to make things right. How God do You want me to enter into that pursuit with You? Where is Your Divine plan playing out and how and where and when do You want me to step into that action? God, You know that if my focus is on me, I will miss Your cues and Your direction. When I am waiting for things to turn out the way that I want, I will miss seeing and recognizing things turning out the way that You want. Thank You God that the sight of You does restore my soul. I see that You are with me and have been with me all along and life seems hopeful again. God, You know how much this sight of You and Your Spirit at work is needed. Please be at work in me to make my pure desire one of wanting to see You and to see and know myself as You do. Turn our hearts and our eyes toward You and allow us to continue with hearts made pure by You. We express to You our God with deep sincerity, “Open our eyes, Lord. We want to see Jesus. To reach out and touch Him and say that we love Him. Open our ears Lord and help us to listen. Open our eyes, Lord. we want to see Jesus.” May this be so LORD! We do want to see Jesus in whose Name we pray. AMEN.