ByHaving been to countless church services in many places, I’ve seen people open their eyes to pray, and some opt to close their eyes to pray. But the question is, “As children of God, should we necessarily close our eyes when praying?” You may say “yes,” and another person reading this now may say “no.” None of them is wrong because there’s no particular Bible verse that condemns closing or opening the eyes during prayer.
What Prayer Is
Prayer is simply communication with God. So it’s a dialogue you have with the Maker. It can happen anywhere – in the classroom, workplace, church, bedroom, and cafeteria, just to mention a few. You don’t need to get secluded in a private place to know God hears you. Why? Because the Holy Spirit is in You. It’s written in Ephesians 3:20 (NKJV) that,
“Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us,”
Ephesians 3:20 NKJV [Emphasis Mine]
So from this scripture, God hears even what we think. In other words, He hears the voice of our hearts, especially concerning our heart desires.
Now, if God’s hearing capacity is so sharp to the point of knowing what goes on in our inner man, why is there the need for us to debate whether it’s necessary to close our eyes to pray or not? We are worshipping a God who isn’t limited by our physical actions to hear His children. From this, to close your eyes or not when praying is an individual choice you make as God’s child because it doesn’t limit Him. Either option you take is not a sin.
However, upon study, I’ve come across two reasons why it might be reasonable to close your eyes when praying. They aren’t really rooted scripturally, but they’re beneficial to some people.
Why you can choose to close your eyes when praying
You can opt to close your eyes to pray for the following reasons.
1. To prevent distractions from the physical environment
We live in a world littered with distractions. So many things are competing for man’s attention, especially with ever-increasing media production and internet-driven services. As such, it’s possible to get distracted during prayer, especially in a public space when you see an ad banner or flier by the roadside. Moreover, you can also be distracted by your phone notifications, especially when your internet connection is on.
To curb device distractions, you must set it on “Do Not Disturb” mode on Android and iOS devices or customise your “focus” settings on iOS devices only. But generally speaking, creating a separate space for prayer without environmental distractions help you make your prayer unidirectional and devoid of destructive interruptions.
You don’t have the power to control what comes into your mind, but you do have the divine power to decide which thoughts stay in it.
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2. To focus on what you’re praying about
Secondly, closing your eyes to pray helps you focus on what you’re praying about. It’ll enable you to gaze on what you’re praying about in your mind, even if you’re speaking in tongues. Thus, helping yourself with the scripture where Jesus says, “Watch and pray…” (Matthew 26:41).
I understand some people, even after closing their eyes, can still have their minds wandering about during prayer sessions. If you struggle with that, please note this. Before you continue with what you want to pray about, deal with those destructions in your mind. You don’t have the power to control what comes into your mind, but you do have the divine power to decide which thoughts stay in it. Pray those thoughts away first, and then focus on the Lord.
If you can focus on what God is telling you and your prayer topic with your eyes open, do so. If not, try closing your eyes and secluding yourself from the public space. God will still hear you.
