Eyes To See

I pray all the time for eyes to see and ears to hear. Jesus said, “while seeing, they do not see, while hearing they do not hear (Matthew 13:13).”

I want to see and I want to hear. I want to understand what my Lord has to say. I want to understand what He has to show me. So I also pray for a heart of understanding. I pray it for everyone in my family.

Then I read this verse in Ezekiel: …who have eyes to see but do not see, ears to hear but do not hear, for they are a rebellious house (Ezekiel 12:2). They had eyes to see and ears to hear, but they didn’t do either. They were rebellious.

Am I rebellious? I guess that’s really what I’m praying about. Te heart of my prayer for eyes to see is that I receive, in humility, what Jesus shows me — that I would not be rebellious. When I pray for ears to hear, that even if what He speaks goes against my grain, challenges my flesh and very human desires and understanding, that I would not rebel against Him. When I pray for a heart of understanding, my longing is to hear and see with humility, to understand God’s ways.

It’s a big prayer because God’s ways are not my ways (Isaiah 55:8-9). Sometimes it’s hard to humble myself before Him. Sometimes it’s hard to not rebel.

The ways of the world are immediate, they’re generally tangible. I can see and hear them with my five senses. And while God gave me my five senses, He also gave me Himself. My five senses are not my God. He is. I do not serve my senses; they serve me.

I can see and hear this world with my five senses. I can take in the wonders of God’s creation. But humble understanding, and a humble response, comes from eyes to see Jesus and ears to hear Him.

The immediate and tangible ways of the world are not God’s ways. He uses those things, but His ways are not bound by my five senses. I need eyes to see, eyes that see Him, eyes that see His ways. I need ears that hear Him, that tune in to His words, not the voice of this loud, tangible world. I need a heart of understanding.

And when He shows me His ways, speaks a word to me, and stirs my heart, my prayer is that I see, hear, and receive Him. My prayer is for eyes to see and ears to hear without rebellion. My prayer is for a heart of understanding. My prayer is to see and hear Jesus and to know and be known by Him. My prayer is to be His friend.