Open my eyes ...

(photo credit: freedomandjoy.org)

"Open my eyes to see the wonderful truths in your instructions." (Psalm 119:18, New Living Translation)

Do you ever feel as if you are "looking" but not "seeing"? You know how it is. You drive a familiar route and all of a sudden become aware that you have been so lost in thought that you have driven right past your intended destination. Or you read several paragraphs and can't remember one thing you just read.

Maybe it's just me.

If that's the case, indulge me for a moment. My mind is often such a whirling dervish of thoughts, plans, strategies, concerns ... I sometimes have difficulty calming my mind and focusing on what is before me.

I heard a quote not long ago that really grabbed me. I don't know the original source, but the quote is: "Wherever you are, be all there."

Each morning, when I come to spend time with God, I pray a prayer of surrender and petition to focus me. "Open my eyes to see You. Open my ears to hear You. Open my mind to know You. Open my heart to love You."

I'd love to tell you that this prayer always works to get me focused. Not always. A repeated prayer can become empty, mechanical ritual without deliberately focusing on being "all there" with God. The problem is not the prayer, but the pray-er.

I need God's help to see what He wants me to see, hear what He wants me to hear, know what He wants me to know, and love what He wants me to love.

Question: What ways have you found to help you be "all there" with God?

Leave a comment below.  I'd love to hear your perspective.