Open our eyes
`OPEN thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law.''1 This prayer of the Psalmist indicates a longing to see the goodness of God right where he was. His prayer expresses trust in God and confidence that there really is something wondrous to be seen. Most of us can understand that yearning to see something better. Perhaps we're faced with deprivation. Or maybe we fear for others when we hear reports of famine and homelessness. The Psalmist's prayer can be our prayer.
We can trust God. God is the creator, who on beholding His creation saw it as very good.2 Man, God's image, was given dominion and assured of abundant provision. While this may not be the view of reality we face day by day, still it's the spiritual truth of creation as God made it, and it's a view consistent with Christ Jesus' teachings about the nature of God as our Father, blessing us and providing the things that are needed.3 And Jesus' works verified that his teachings are practical, demonstrable in our lives.
God, infinite Spirit, must be everywhere -- inspiring, blessing, governing, continuously and abundantly! And the man and universe of God's creating are the very manifestation of all His activity. His spiritual kingdom, then, includes no wastelands, destructive forces, no threatened or uncared for beings. Instead, God's creation teems with life, with useful and productive ideas, all functioning within the bounty of His kingdom. In Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures Mary Baker Eddy, the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science, expresses it this way: ``The depth, breadth, height, might, majesty, and glory of infinite Love fill all space. That is enough!''4
If we could only see that wondrous creation of God! Our prayer, like the Psalmist's, can be to ask God to show us His perfect work. And we can expect the God who is Love itself to enable us to see what will care for our need.
There's a story in the Bible that illustrates this. A woman and her son were alone in the wilderness.5 When their water was gone, the woman wept in despair, sure of the impending death of her child. The Bible records, ``God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water.'' And both she and her son survived.
An acquaintance recently told me that in an arid area of the world that he had visited, forests are almost gone and wood for fuel is in short supply. People have to make a five hour round trip twice a week into the mountains to get enough wood for fuel for their families. My acquaintance had been praying for a solution to this problem. While visiting a similar geographic area, he noticed some discarded material that looked like sticks of wood. His guide identified the material as roots of a local plant, which instead of rotting would rapidly dry out and become wood-like. The man recognized the potential of that plant, and taking it home for testing he found no adverse effects for using the plant roots for fuel. Varieties of the plant grow wild and can be easily cultivated. Drying the roots into rootfuel takes only one week. Thus it seems this dry-land plant has the potential to solve a perplexing problem for many people.
When facing our own challenges or when concerned about others' problems, we can look to God for help. When our expectancy is grounded in a knowledge of God as infinite Spirit and of man as Spirit's beloved offspring, we will be shown what we need to see. Because God, Spirit, is everywhere, His ``wondrous'' creation must be everywhere. And because we inherently have the capacity of spiritual vision, we can see God's work.
Our prayer for this spiritual vision must include a willingness to look beyond the apparent rock-solid evidence that threatens us; and it must include the expectation that God can and will show us what we need to see. Then we may recognize a solution we had not seen before, or we may find our needs met in seemingly miraculous ways. Recall the woman in the Bible6 who, needing money to pay her creditors, found that her one pot of oil filled many vessels. When they were sold, she was able to pay her debts and live on the remainder.
The possibilities for good are as unlimited as is the creator, infinite Spirit. And with spiritual vision, cultivated through prayer, we can at least begin to see this. Then, what we ``see'' (what we accept into our heart, our thought, our living) takes tangible expression in human experience, and our needs are met.
1Psalms 119:18. 2See Genesis 1:26-31. 3See Matthew 6:25-34. 4Science and Health, p. 520. 5See Genesis 21:14-20. 6See II Kings 4:1-7. DAILY BIBLE VERSE: The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes. Psalms 19:8
