My children asked me the other day; “Daddy, must we close our eyes while praying? Why are we always told to close our eyes?” My response to them provided clarity on the subject of prayer; “It is not a must that we close our eyes when praying. But closing your eyes can help you avoid distractions.”
Friend, you need to avoid distractions in prayer (1 Kings 20:40). The reason a lot of people pray without result is because of distractions. Until you eliminate distractions in the place of prayer, you have not started to pray (Matthew 6:5). One man of God said in his book that the first couple of minutes in his prayer time is spent talking to the devil.
The devil is your biggest distraction in prayer (Luke 4:1-4). In fact, he sponsors every other distraction. While you are talking to God, the devil is talking to you. You need to shut your ears to what the devil is saying and tell him to keep quiet. Shut out doubts, guilt, sin consciousness, fear, and other negative thoughts (James 1:5-8).
Most of the distractions in our prayer time are in our minds. This is why the mind is where the greatest warfare takes place (2 Corinthians 10:4-5). When Jesus asked us to enter into our closet and shut the door. It is not only about shutting the physical doors. We need to shut the door of our minds against distractions (Matthew 6:6).
Your physical environment can be quiet, yet your mind is noisy. Being able to bring your heart and mind to a level of stillness and focus is the discipline of effective prayer (Psalm 46:10). For some people, their mind does not wander until they begin to pray. This is when you will start remembering things that are irrelevant to your prayer.
To overcome distractions in prayer, focus your mind on God and what you are praying about (Isaiah 26:3). Your mind must not be left unengaged. It is prayer focus because you need to focus on the prayer. Imagine yourself in the reality of the answer to your prayer (Ephesians 3:20). Like the disciples in Acts 12, you cannot be praying for Peter to be released from prison while thinking about his funeral (Acts 12:13-16).
‘Demola Awoyele
Lead Pastor,
Destiny Impact Church
Akure, Nigeria