“Open the Eyes of My Heart, Lord”

“I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of his calling, what are the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints, and what is the surpassing greatness of his power toward us who believe.” (Eph. 1:18,19a)

I first heard the song that makes up our title on an album of Michael W. Smith. I’m pretty sure it came from this verse. In case you aren’t familiar with the song I offer one stanza below.

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
Shinin’ in the light of Your glory
Pour out Your power and love
As we sing holy, holy, holy

This is Paul’s prayer for the faithful saints at Ephesus. He prays that their hearts will be able to see God’s promised hope and the richest of his glory. He wants the faithful saints to understand the greatness of the power God is manifesting to them. To Paul, the heart represents the inner man, the part that can communicate with God. It is the spiritual center of man’s being.

Hearts can be hardened. The ears and eyes of the heart can be closed. Jesus often found hearts so hard that they couldn’t be opened. These were blind and deaf hearts. He kept telling these people to hear if they had ears. He wanted them to open their eyes. It’s really why he came he said (Luke 4:18). God had told Ezekiel “Son of man, you live in the midst of the rebellious house, who have eyes to see but do not see, ears to hear but do not hear; for they are a rebellious house” (12:2-3). NASU

Paul’s prayer is that faithful saints will open their hearts and see and hear. He wants all the faithful saints to know about God. God is the God of hope. God has riches to give us in a glorious inheritance. God is powerful. So powerful he can raise the dead. He wants us to have the benefit of that power.

Nothing can interfere with this hope, inheritance or power. Nothing. No government can keep it from the faithful saints. No demon, no power of this world. Nothing. Listen to Paul, “For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom. 8:38, 39). NKJV

1 Cor 2:9 “What no eye has seen and no ear has heard, and what has never come into a man’s heart, is what God has prepared for those who love Him.” (from Holman Christian Standard Bible® Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2005 by Holman Bible Publishers.)

Now, God wants our hearts to see and hear. Paul prays that we will see with our hearts. We can know all of what God has done. Open the eyes of our hearts Lord.