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christian, christianity, church history, gospels, heaven, John 11, John Calvin, prayer, Religion and Spirituality, The Reformation, tradition
Do you pray with your eyes closed? I normally do. It’s somewhat customary, at least in many of the churches I’ve attended, for people to bow their heads and close their eyes when it’s time to pray. Sometimes people are even specifically instructed to do so.
Why is that? I can think of practical reasons, like blocking out distractions, but I can’t think of a single instance in Scripture where anyone prayed with their eyes closed. The repentant tax collector in Luke 18 wouldn’t lift his eyes to heaven, but even then there’s no mention of him closing his eyes.
There are examples in the Psalms and in the gospels of people praying with eyes lifted up to heaven, though. Commenting on John 11:41, John Calvin notes that:
…this exercise is profitable, because men are aroused by it to seek God; and not only so, but the ardor of prayer often affects the body in such a manner that, without thinking of it, the body follows the mind of its own accord. Certainly, we cannot doubt that, when Christ raised his eyes to heaven, he was carried towards it with extraordinary vehemence. Besides, as all his thoughts were with the Father, so he also wished to bring others to the Father along with him.
Calvin’s argument here is that some physical actions like raising our eyes to heaven may simply be a reflection of spiritual fervor–“the body follows the mind of its own accord.” Elsewhere, though, Calvin seems to argue that rather than reflecting fervor, physical actions jolt us out of spiritual laziness and inflame passion, both in ourselves and in others. So whether our physical actions are reflecting fervor or inflaming it, Calvin seems to be conscious of an essential connection between physical posture and spiritual posture.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m not suggesting that praying with your eyes closed is wrong. But perhaps we would be less likely to fall asleep (closing our eyes is the first step!), and more likely to be fully engaged if we prayed with our eyes lifted to heaven. What do you think?
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If I’m sitting alone in the mornings for my quiet time I pray with my eyes open…otherwise I WILL fall asleep, not being quite the morning person I would like to be.
William almost always prays with his eyes open. If you watch him pray during corporate worship, it will freak you out a little! 😉
I do like the idea of lifting your eyes as a physical representation of spiritual posture, but I also like to pray as if He is in the room with me….because–amazingly–He is. 🙂
It’s odd, Glenna; I pray with my eyes open in private, and closed in public. I’m sure that says something unflattering about me.
Praying is dumb.
That is completely your own opinion and you are very much entitled to it. However you do need to be careful who and how you say your views to people. What you have said will offend people. Praying is something people from many backgrounds and religions or faiths do, including me. It is something that is important to thousands of people across the world. Saying praying is dumb is calling people who pray dumb. Instead you could state “I don’t agree with praying” or “praying isn’t my thing”. This avoids hurt and offence. Just thought I should say something
it’s not;
you should try it sometime.
God bless.
Agree
Thanks, Jonathan.
I’ve also thought about this and read some comments about other cultures praying with their eyes and hands lifted towards the heavens, almost like a toddler reaching for his father to pick him up.
Camille, I think God placed that longing in our hearts to look and reach heavenward. It’s more than symbolic.
Good thoughts! I think raising eyes up to God would focus me more on Him at times. I find it not always good to close my eyes.
Perhaps it has something to do with connecting with something beyond the physical. For me I have closed my eyes in an attempt to escape this world and reach for another. I remember times trying to kneel by my bedside and pray with my eyes open and I found my mind drifting to things like…wow, look how dirty this floor is and wow look at those cob webs in the ceiling. We all may have different preferences, but I really like a pitch dark room so it doesn’t matter if my eyes are open or not. I also like prayer gardens as a local church here has. It is filled with greenery and a small water stream…very serene. Maybe, at different time we need to try different approaches,environments and/or postures.
Moreover, I also think the struggle to reach a closer place is another tooth in the cog of our spiritual growth. Whatever muscle is needed for perseverance in the face of a struggling prayer life surely gets developed by a commitment to this process. I thinks it is telling as the Bible depicts the Fathers of our faith and Christ Himself going off to pray and you never have any clue as to how long they will be gone. I take from this you stay as long as it takes and if standing on your head with your eye crossed opens up the sky…the so be it.
I think you guys close your eyes to reality. That is all
Would you care to elaborate Cheesus ?
Reality was something Christ was firmly rooted in. Dig into the gospels and you’ll see someone who sees past all the ‘front’ of both the politics and religion of His day. If we fail to reflect His approach today shame on us, but not Him. He is still cutting to the reality of our world and our lives today and challenging us to face up and follow Him. I hope you give Him another chance Cheesus, and that you won’t let us put you off 🙂
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I like this observation! Thought provoking. I think that praying with ones’ eyes closed has more than practical reasons behind it though. For most of our Biblical examples of prayer, God’s people were praying to their Father in heaven. Today we have His Holy Spirit living within us. What better way to focus on our within than to shut our eyes and bow our heads to the Holy Spirit who resides in each one of His elect.
Thanks for visiting and sharing your thoughts, Pete. It’s certainly true that we have the Spirit of God living in our hearts, and that his presence makes a profound difference in the way we pray as well as in every other aspect of Christian living. The practice of lifting our eyes in prayer still seems relevant to me, though, because we still pray primarily to the Father, in the power of the Spirit, as Jesus taught and the apostles modeled. Many blessings to you!
Why question what’s on the outside appearance?…why worry what it looks like…..better we question what we are praying in content and what is in our hearts?
Some of my deepiest and most personal prayers to my Father were the simpliest just as a child talks with their father….as talking with Him in a relationship. If it takes me to close my eyes in that moment or bow in reverence to Him on my knees or to raise my arms up with tears streaming from the corner of my eyes…or to marvel at His works during the day and thank Him…or to be silent and listen…the Spirit moves me to do it without concern who is watching or what others (or myself) may think…it’s all in pure Adoration, Confession, Thankfulness, and Supplication (A.C.T.S.)…in short, my love for my God….I pray through Jesus Christ, who lives in reigns with God in the unity of the Holy Spirit, Amen!
The next time anyone questions themselves on their form in prayer, then their prayer should be simple… pray for salvation!
I would agree with you, RJ, up to a point.
“Why question what’s on the outside appearance?” Because it is, or should be, an accurate reflection of what’s on the inside. Why do we stubbornly adhere to a particular form (closing our eyes) in prayer, when the biblical pattern seems to be freely expressing with our eyes and lips and hands what’s in our heart?
Well, maybe I could’ve made my point a bit clearer. I’ll give it another try….
I like wearing jeans, to some those comfy ol’ jeans look unpresentable, they’d rather be in some business or more formal attire…however, I find it’s pure comfort. Whether I’m in jeans on my knees with my eyes closed …. or in formal wear, eyes wide open looking up to heavens to thank God for such a beautiful sun set, do you think the prayers aren’t heard because of what I’m wearing, or my form, or where I am at the moment the spirit moved me to pray to God??
My focus is away from the appearance of the jeans it’s my mindset while I was in those jeans…I was comfortable…and, for others, comfort may mean wearing clothing that’s more formal.
I strongly believe only God knows what’s in our hearts when a simple or elaborate prayer is spoken to Him….eyes wide open or shut…our hearts are His.
Thanks for clarifying your statement, RJ. My point in the original post was different from the point you’re making, but not necessarily opposed to it. I tried to make it clear that there’s nothing inherently wrong with praying with your eyes closed; it just doesn’t seem to be the biblical norm. Thanks for the dialogue!
Thank you, too, for the dialogue, Barry. It’s very interesting to get another’s perspective.
I also believe it’s wonderful to follow the Bible and what God is saying to us…it’s the best way to live life following God’s Word! Still keeping in mind not all Bibical norms are for today, e.g., animal sacrafices.
However, I believe what you might be suggesting for today’s Christian is to “let go and let God” in our prayer, which seems to me you’re leaning toward taking a more sincere approach rather than us getting stuck in a rut! I think this would be a great approach as long it’s not done with the heart of a Pharisee as in Christ’s time.
So I think we’re both on the same track, to prayfully show our love for God….from our hearts!
Thanks again…and may God continue to bless you with such wonderful suggestions!
That was my goal, RJ—to encourage readers to be fully engaged in prayer—heart, soul, mind and strength. Many blessings to you, too!
This was four years ago and I don’t know if you two will ever see this comment, but that back and fourth just made my day. All you see on the Internet is hatred and vulgarity. However, you take two Christian brothers who don’t know each other and will probably never meet, let them have a misunderstanding over the Internet, and they lovingly realize they were both just trying to say, “Let’s be more led by the Spirit.” I’d say that conversation itself was an example of being led by the Spirit. 🙂
I completely agree with you guys, also. God will hear your prayers no matter where you are or what your muscles are doing. It’s all about being led by Him. If you feel like having a quiet talk with Him bowing down with your eyes closed, go for it! If you want to stand with your arms raised shouting out to the sky, that’s great, too! As its something were not instructed on in scripture, and neither is a wrong thing to do, do whichever feels right to you.
I also agree that a lot of environmental and situational factors can affect which feels right at the moment. If I’m in church or running a soundbooth, sometimes I want to close my eyes and bow my head, it helps me feel centered and less distracted. If I’m out in the woods or just outside on a beautiful day, I may want to look up and thank the Lord for this beautiful creation He’s blessed me to be a part of.
Hope my comment helped for anybody else who found the on Google! 😛 Love you all and God Bless! 🙂
Hey, brother, thanks for stopping by. I don’t blog anymore, but I do still keep an eye on the comments, even on four year old posts! Thanks for the encouragement.
PRAYING WITH EYE CLOSED MAY NOT BE BIBLICAL. HENCE THERE IS NO REFRENCE FOR SUCH INSTRUCTION FROM THE SCRIPTURE. BUT PSYCHOLOGICALLY SPEAKING IT IS IDEAL FOR THE BELOW REASONS. > IT HELPS TO BE FOCUS AND CONCENTRATE >IT GUARD AGAINST ANY DISTRACTION THAT MAY LEADS TO SIN >IT AIDS QUICK CONNECTION TO THE REALM OF THE SPIRIT AND MANY OTHER ETC
I look up (often, but not always) because that’s how Christ prayed. I like to follow his examples. But, I think people should do what works best for them when talking with Almighty God. I like the scripture: “Enos walked with God.” I want to walk with God — his ways are blessed. Ü
That’s the best goal any of us could ever have–to walk with God. Thanks for stopping by!
Thanks for posting such an interesting subject (I shared it on facebook). I have come to be suspicious of church leaders who tell everyone to bow their heads and shut their eyes to pray. That sounds like a staged magician’s trick. And sometimes when I’m at a function and someone is called upon to pray over the proceedings, and that person goes on and on, and on and on – I think to myself: “If you’re boring me to tears, I can’t imagine how God must feel.” I know, that’s ornery of me – but true. It reminds me of Christ’s words, “They think they will be heard because of their many words” Matthew 6:7) ~ http://biblehub.com/matthew/6-7.htm. Ü
Thanks for sharing, Julie. I’m not actively blogging any more but still appreciate the feedback. Blessings in Christ!
you can close or open your eyes while you pray. the bible does not restrict us as such.