Why can't I open my eyes when I pray? What if I just stare at a Jesus figure when praying?

Answer 1

Who says you can't open your eyes when you pray? Are you talking about a specific mental block that you have or do you think that closing your eyes while praying is somehow a commandement?

I would argue that someone who doesn't ever pray with his/her eyes open either isn't praying enough or is a danger to him/herself and others! The bible says pray without ceasing...if God also required us to close our eyes while doing that we would all be forced to sit in a dark room 24/7. I can think of many different situations where I pray with my eyes wide open...driving my car, walking through a store, during exercise classes and more...closing my eyes at those times would be a bad idea!

Answer 2

Who says you can't open your eyes? I think everyone prays in their own way. It's common for people to close their eyes to stay focused and to visualize him, but everyone is different. If you want to stare at a figure of Jesus, I don't see anything wrong with that. Just be cautious that if your eyes are open, your mind might wander. Just do what's best for you - God knows you're talking to him eyes opened or closed.

Answer 3

No one has that kind of power over you.

If you chose not to open your eyes, then it is your choice. But you "can" open your eyes.

Prayer happens any time we want something, for ourselves or someone else, and acknowledge that it comes from Him, whatever name you call Him.

You do not need to be in church, in front of an alter, on your knees, hands clenched, head bent, eyes closed. You can pray while driving your car, skipping down the street, drying off from the shower, silently holding the hand of a sick person.

God--or Allah or whomever, it's all the same Being--does not care about the superficial stuff. God cares about what is in your heart and your soul, about how sincere you are, about your intentions.

You can cross your eyes while praying if you want to.

Answer 4

You can pray anytime, anywhere, and any way you want. There are no set rules for how to pray. Closing your eyes may help you to concentrate, but if looking at a figure of Jesus helps you, then by all means do it.

In the NewTestament during Jesus's time, there was some controversy over the appropriate way to pray. This was because the Pharisees had gotten so ritualistic and caught up in the process, that they had lost sight of the whole purpose for believing in God. To them, form was more important and they became pious in their practices, some even wearing scrolls with scriptural passages or phrases tied in obvious fashion to their heads.

Jesus came to change all that and to free the people from these false beliefs that somehow, worshiping God all according to manmade traditions would save you. Jesus came as the sacrificial Lamb of God so that by merely believing in him, you would be saved.

In an effort to demonstrate how simple prayer can be, Jesus gave us the Lord's prayer:

Our Father who art in Heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our tresspasses as we forgive those who tresspass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, for Thine is the Kingdom and the Power and the Glory, Forever. Amen.

These are the simple things we should pray for and not be all caught up in ritual such that we miss the whole point.

Run and shout your prayers to the heavens! Sing praises of joy. Your Lord has given you life so that you might live it more abundantly. And He has saved you as His own for all Eternity.

Peace Be With You.

Answer 5

you can open your eyes when you pray alright. Unless they are sleeping people usually live with their eyes opened, even when they converse; why? in the first place should you close your eyes. you don't even need to stare at anything or anybody.

Answer 6

you are told to close your eyes when you prayer because religion is ****** up basically. they reckon by closing your eyes you aren't distracted by anything. So basically its just a way of controlling what you do, rather than it having any effect on the strength of your 'prayer.'

... A reason why religion is BS



If ya want a bit of a laugh it's so the priest can give you a suprise when ya meant to be praying lol

Answer 7

You can pray with your eyes open or shut, whatever works best for you. If gazing upon a piece of artwork that represents Christ is helpful to you, then by all means, feel free to do so.

Answer 8

Sorry, I do not know what you are talking about. Of course you can pray with your eyes open. Most people who like to close their eyes do so because it eliminated distraction. It is not a prerequisite.

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Answer 9

Well you can.....if you can keep focused.

The idea is to concentrate, both on the message and the receiver.....in this case Jesus, so looking at a figure or an icon is in my eyes a good way - if it works for you.

I will keep my own eyes shut though, so I can concentrate fully.

Answer 10

My mom prays when she drives but of course she has to keep her eyes open. If you see and figure of him while you are praying I don't thing anything evil will happen to you. I don't believe in bad luck! :P :D :)