open my eyes, lord

By Yodit Kifle Smith

“Open my eyes that I may behold wondrous things from your law.”
(Psalm 119:18)
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The Psalmist in Psalm 119:18 prayed, “Open my eyes that I may behold wondrous things from your law.”

This should be the consistent prayer of the Believer’s heart. It’s a prayer that confesses that without God’s doing, we would not and could not see Him. We would not see the depth of our sin to rightly see the height, width, depth and length of His love and mercy towards us (Ephesians 3:18).

What’s ironic and profound about the posture of that prayer is that it’s now needed because there was a time when our eyes weren’t supposed to be open.

It all started in the Garden of Eden in Genesis.  God, in His infinite and eternal goodness, created mankind to fully enjoy all that He created. And in complete unity with God, Adam and Eve enjoyed relationship with God.

He provided all that they would need for fulfillment which included the blessing of eating from the hundreds (if not thousands) of trees in the Garden EXCEPT for the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Genesis 2:17). He tells them that if they eat of that tree than they “should surely die.” (Genesis 2:17) A death that would separate them from His presence.

We know how the story goes. The crafty serpent (Satan) makes them question God’s goodness by deceiving them to see His commandment as a way to hinder them from life and not as way of loving them to life. And as soon as they eat the fruit from the tree, Scripture says,

“Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked” (Genesis 3:7)

Their eyes were open but tragically, it wasn’t open to God’s goodness. Rather, it was now open to how sin would wreak destruction and death. It was open to what God’s love wanted to protect us from: separation from Him. And from that moment, opened eyes became closed hearts. Hearts that would choose rebellion over obedience.

Satan uses the same tactic he used back in the Garden, today.

He wants to blind us from “seeing the light of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.” (2 Corinthians 4:4) so that we would focus on what “looks” like life. Adam and Even thought that knowing good and evil would be life. They believed the lie that wisdom would be better than God. Just like them, we easily settle for what we think would give meaning to our life when all along, life is found in Him. (John 11:25-26)

Satan also wants us to question God’s goodness. How easy is it for us to utter, God, I thought you loved me,” when we are caught in a hard a place or when we are questioning why things are happening the way they are? Adam and Eve thought God was withholding His goodness by commanding them to not eat ONE of the thousands of trees He put before them. Little did they know the depth of His love in giving that commandment.

And Satan seeks to make us think that because sin sometimes feels good for the moment, it must be void of consequences. God was very clear about the consequences of eating from the tree, yet they still ate it. Why? Because they really believed that what looked good for food, delightful to the eyes, and desirable to make one wise, (Genesis 3:6) would always be good. But we know what happened because we are still feeling the effects of the consequences. (Genesis 3:14-20)

But sisters, praise be to our loving God that through the finished work of Jesus Christ, He now opens our eyes to what will give us not just life but abundant life. Not the illusion of what can give us life, but true, eternal life (John 17:3). He opens our eyes to His eternal goodness so that we would choose Him over the misunderstanding of our circumstances. He opens our eyes to the consequences of sin so that we would be empowered to choose righteousness.

It’s always been Him. May we keep pleading each day that He would open our eyes and keep our eyes open because our “adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8).
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The weekly devotionals seek to encourage you to dig deeper into Scripture as you take the time to daily read, meditate, and internalize the verses in the devotional, along with the passages provided below to give greater context. Take the time to read them throughout the week (repetition is important) and ask the Holy Spirit to help you grasp what God is showing you about Himself, about you, and how to live in light of these truths. 

Passages to read/memorize/meditate:
Genesis (chapters 2-3)
Psalm 119:18
John 11:25-16
John 17:3
Ephesians 3:18
1 Peter 5:8
​Questions to Reflect on:

1. How has this devotional helped you see the importance of praying “God, open my eyes”?
2. When is it easiest for you to question God’s goodness?
3. How does seeing Satan’s tactics help you cling to God more?
4. What are ways you have sought life in other things outside of God?