Does anyone know where the origin of closing one's eyes to pray came from? Is it okay to keep one's eyes open during prayer? Are there any religious quotes or articles on this issue that I could check out? Thanks!
I'll be curious to see responses to this thread. I find that closed eyes help me focus...but I don't DARE pray with eyes closed at church...that would be the moment my kids would do something...momentous...
Oh my...I laughed out loud reading that. No clue where it all came from. I am guessing it is just to help one stay focused. I don't always close my eyes when I pray.
I've never read any "rules" for praying!!! You may pray however you wish. I think it's better to concentrate when they're closed, but my mom use to pray driving to work in the AM, and she did NOT close HER eyes, lol!!! And if you're sitting alone in the woods, it's great to pray while looking at Creation around you.
Rofl! I love that! When we went to church, I ended up praying with constantly peeking eyes! :wink: very hard to concentrate! btw... my humble opinion. I believe that God is just happy that you are praying and I doubt (unless, obviously it says otherwise in the Bible) that it would matter. I think whatever makes you the most comfortable in talking to God.
The only time I recall being taught on prayer was that Jesus taught us HOW to pray using the "Lord's Prayer". I'll be interested to hear if there's scripture for having your eyes closed. I usually pray with mine closed to avoid distraction. But I never really THOUGHT about it before. Hmmmmmm......
I just assumed everyone prayed with their eyes closed. When we do go to church and pray, my eyes are half close. I focus on gettin the little to sit still with hands folded.
Just pray.... Good Morning I agree with several of the responses here. The Lord simply wants us to pray and spend time with Him. When I have the chance, I close my eyes so I can shut out distractions and focus on Him. There are other times I am cleaning the house or driving and am praying with my eyes open . He's glad we've chosen to "chat" with Him. Good question!! Susan
So, I did a little research on prayer. I cannot find any scriptures that talk about having the eyes closed, or any other physical instructions. In fact there are a variety of positions in the Bible that include sitting, bowing, kneeling, and standing. (1 Chronicles 17:16; Nehemiah 8:6; Daniel 6:10; Mark 11:25). But, I have to close my eyes when praying with others for sure. I wouldn't be able to concentrate otherwise! :angel:
I think it is to helps take away distraction to close your eyes. Their is times I don't close my eyes. I don't if I am driving, or praying while cleaning house. I close them good if Vicki is in Children's Church if she isn't I am always seeing what she is into.
I believe that closing our eyes, especially in church, is to give others privacy in prayer as well as to block out distractions. But I do not think we have to pray with our eyes open or shut. When I am driving I pray with them open.
My sister and were just talking about this the other day. We both agreed that we close our eyes to focus on the Lord when we pray.
Eyes wide shut? I have an opinion here. I believe prayer is like meditation. When you meditate you close your eyes to go within - to focus. Closing your eyes helps you to close out the external world and focus on yourself - to feel your chakras. This is my opinion. But I did get a chuckle from the church statement from oh so long ago!
Well, Jill, if you ever decide to try driving and praying at the same time, please let us know so we can get off the road !
