The Campbell-Whites
Declare His glory among the nations…
Praying With My Eyes Open
Well, it’s been a while since I blogged. I’m sorry for that! We have been in and out and doing and experiencing… I just haven’t taken the time to sit and let you all know what we’ve been up to. So, since I have a little bit of “down” time, I’m going to try to write a series of blog posts that give you a picture of what we’ve been up to and how I’ve processed it. Since I last wrote a blog post, we have been to Myanmar to renew our visas, up to Northern Thailand for a bi-annual camp meeting of hill tribe churches, and out to Korat, a province in Isaan. I’ve also started teaching a new English class for church leaders and pastors. So I’d like to share a little of what I’ve seen and experienced wtih you all in the next few posts.
The title of this first post is one of the big lessons I’ve learned: to pray with my eyes open. When I was a child, I was taught to close my eyes and fold my hands to pray. Anyone else? There was a very good reason for this. Children are often distracted by what’s going on around them. So my closed eyes were to help me focus on what I was doing—talking to Jesus. My folded hands were to keep me from trying to do other things while praying. It was about focus.
As an adult it’s much the same. When I close my eyes, my thoughts turn inward before going upward. There is a time and place for this. I reflect on my relationship with Jesus, my spiritual life. I repent; I listen. I pray for the concerns closest to my heart. My folded hands keep me from multi-tasking (or attempting to). I have learned to be still before the Lord.
Lately, though, I find myself praying with open eyes and outstretched hands. When my eyes are open, I see the people around me. I see the hurt, the poverty, the illness, the struggles, the stresses, the burdens and needs of daily life. It can be quite overwhelming, but these are things that need to be brought to the foot of the cross.
When we travelled to Myanmar it was for the purpose of getting our visas renewed. Every 90 days we have to get our visa stamped. These are known as visa runs. Ours usually coincide with trips we need to take anyway. Our trip to Myanmar, was different. This was to basically get a new one year, multiple entry visa. Myanmar is closest place that will give us the same kind of visa we came to Thailand with. We arrived in Yangon on Sunday, turned our paperwork in on Monday and picked up our new visas on Tuesday and then went back to Bangkok. Sounds simple, right? Well, yes it was—and that was a total answer to prayer. I don’t think we spent more than an hour at the Thai Embassy in total. This is not a typical experience and we really felt that God orchestrated our time there.
While we were waiting for our visas we got to do some sightseeing and meet some wonderful people. On Monday we decided to do something pretty non-touristy. We took the train. Yangon has a train that runs the circumference of the city. This is the cheapest way to travel around the city. We paid less than a dollar per person to ride it. The entire ride took us about 3 hours. The train is not air-conditioned, it has no comfort features other than benches on which to sit. But we got to see real life along the tracks.
The fun parts: Vendors who hop on and off at every stop selling bottled water, fresh fruit, snacks, even toys. Waving to those we passed who were a little surprised to see the tall, pale foreigners riding the train, the beautiful countryside we passed, and sharing fruit we purchased with children on the train. The beautiful people with whom we could not really communicate, but who were always ready to return our smiles.
The not so fun: The poverty—the tracks run right past some of the poorest parts of the city. Some were living in what we would basically call a lean-to. We also saw empty lots full of garbage, lots of garbage. We saw an old man whose job was collecting recyclable and reusable water bottles.
The interesting: The farming happening right on the outskirts of the city, right next to the train tracks. The substance they paint on their faces to protect them from sun damage (a man came on our car selling this service as well). The array of foods layed out at one station we passed—a makeshift market of baskets on the ground.
As I rode, I watched the people, listened to sounds around me, and tasted the fruit we bought, was refreshed by the water for sale, smelled various ways of life along the tracks, felt the heat and the hard bench, and felt the wind in my face as the train chugged on. I watched and listened and tasted and smelled and felt and prayed.
The next day, we met Pastor Jubilee. He took us to the famous Shwedagon Pagoda in Yangon. There we saw many people who had trekked to this site to pray at the foot of a gold encrusted Pagoda, purchase gold to add to the site, to offer money and prayers in order to atone for sins and earn good luck (consequently, if all of the gold and jewels in this pagoda were sold, the money could provide food and clean water to all the people of Myanmar for many years to come). There were stations specifically for each day of the week, so you can light incense and pray at the station of your day of birth. There were shrines where people could meditate or listen to monks chant. Pastor Jubiliee lamented the time and money his people waste praying to stone statues; he grieved over how mislead they were. Here was their national treasure. They poured their money into it and were still both physically and spiritually empoverished. As I walked I looked, and listened, and prayed.
I discovered the value of praying with open eyes. When my eyes and hands are open something happens.
My open hands are waiting to be filled.
My outstretched arms can help and heal while I pray.
My moving feet can go.
When my eyes are open, I can also see all of the blessings flowing from the throne of God.
I see the people who God uses to teach and to speak to me.
I see the way God provides daily, hourly.
I see the beauty of His creation that reflects His creativity, imagination, wisdom, beauty and majesty.
I see the blessings, the things that God gives that are above and beyond what I really need and way beyond what I deserve,
I can see how to use those blessings. Through what I see and hear and touch, the Holy Spirit can guide me to opportunities to bless others, to share love, and to reflect His person.
Here’s a challenge: join me in praying with open eyes. Try it for one week. Intentionally, pray for what you see around you, for the people you see, for what you hear. Pray for the places you will go, the places where your feet touch the ground and the places you have been. Watch and listen. See how the Holy Spirit directs you to pray, at your home, your work, your school, your grocery store, your kid’s game…
Let’s see what happens when we watch and pray.
The Campbell-Whites 
This really spoke to me. I will join you and I will reflect on this daily. Thanks for the post. I was super tired and ready to go to bed but God was tugging on my heart to read this and I’m glad I did. You guys are still in my prayers! ❤️
LikeLike