Praying with Eyes Wide Open--A Lesson Learned from a 3-Year-Old

Tonight at dinner Addie prayed for our meal. We held hands and she began, "Dear God, thank you for this day and for the sun, and for the cup, and the mac and cheese, and the fork, and for Jackson's family, and for the ketchup, and the milk, and for our friends and for our food. Amen." A few items into her list I realized she was looking around and thanking God for whatever she saw. She was praying with her eyes wide open.

For a few years I've been puzzled by the fact that most Christians close their eyes during prayer, especially during the Lord's Prayer. It's funny that we would pray a prayer beginning with "Our Father..." with our eyes closed. Shouldn't a corporate prayer be prayed in full view of one another such that we are opened to the outside, to the needs and gifts of others. The churches where I've attended have fallen prey to the understanding, or misunderstanding, that "it's all about me and Jesus." What might happen if we opened our eyes and our lives in prayerful action so that we see beyond ourselves? What if, like my daughter, with eyes wide open, we began naming those things in our world for which we are thankful and those things which we need God to set aright?