This is the second instalment of this series about praying the life-changing prayer ‘Open the eyes of my heart, Lord’. You can find the first here. My hope is that you will join me in praying this prayer. The potential of your life can be multiplied as a result.

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They say that when somebody is blind, their other senses are enhanced. Such a person can with his or her other senses discover most or all the information that sight would have provided. This is great but consider this problem. If people think they are seeing but what they are seeing is not real they will act on false information as if it was true.

They are blind but they do not know it. They believe they are seeing.

People reject Jesus because they do not know who he is!

And sometimes they look at a picture of him that is untrue, thinking it is real. It is like driving your car wearing virtual reality glasses. What you are seeing has nothing to do with what is really out there. You are blind and do not know it. You are making assumptions, jumping to conclusions and basing decisions on incorrect information.

Let’s bring this closer to home. Let’s look at only two of many typical ways how you and I can build up an illusionary image of Jesus.

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1. Life happens

We all try to make sense of the sad or traumatic things that happen in our lives and for some reason, it brings comfort to make God responsible for the terrible thing that happened. The result is that suddenly we live in a world where the God we serve, love and worship is responsible for the worst thing that ever happened to us. D_o you see the problem with this?_ God’s sovereignty (he is in control of everything) is a big and difficult concept that we should not water down to easy clichés in difficult times. It is so easy to end up with a warped idea of who he is, as a result.

2. Love stinks

Broken relationships in which we experience personal and painful rejection are part of life. Complex relationships with parents or loved ones who fail us or hurt us seem to be extremely commonplace. All our significant relationships shape our ability to experience love and, in return, show love. In our broken lives, it is easy to become someone who struggles to experience God’s love. And sometimes it is not our formal theology that has shaped a false idea of God’s character. It can be as simple as the conclusions we draw from other relationships that shape our understanding of him.

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The goal of our lives is to get to the place where we love God with our whole beings in such a way where an eternity in his presence is an exciting and worthy goal. Can you see how difficult this will be if we do not see him for who he really is? Can you see how easy it is for our enemy to hurt us enough that loving God becomes a challenging thing?

I do not wish to set you on a path where you revisit every hurt and every broken relationship in your past to make sure that pain did not warp your understanding of God. It is not even to encourage you to read the Bible every day and attend church three times a week. These things will help but only with the right focus.

It is often frustrating to see how well-meaning people try their best to eradicate a lie by attacking it. This merely gives the lie more airtime or attention. I am convinced with all my heart that the best way to eradicate a lie is to hold up the truth.

As a result, it is not necessary for me to sit with you and show you how the conclusion you came to from this or that experience has negatively impacted your relationship with Jesus. We all have such things and it is of dire importance that we do not continue to live with those virtual or alternative reality glasses obscuring our sight. The answer is simple. Pray this prayer:

Open the eyes of my heart Lord

Open the eyes of my heart

I want to see you

I want to see you

To see You high and lifted up

Shining in the light of Your glory

Pour out Your power and love

As we sing holy, holy, holy

Pray it often! Pray it with faith! Then look as he reveals himself to you. Clearly and lovingly. The truth will set you free. He is the truth!

@reonlouw

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(Your comments will be welcomed and treasured, even if you disagree. Quite possibly you can add something of value. Please be bold and free to do so.

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Previous series

God's Frequently Asked Questions

It is very helpful to access the FAQ folder whenever you are struggling with something. Very often you will find that you are not alone in struggling to understand something. And understanding the questions on somebody’s heart will give you great insight into who that person is, especially if you are intent on a relationship with that person. Knowing the questions God frequently asks will help you in many ways.

Image by Jan Vašek from Pixabay

Previously published here