Open My Eyes
(Luke 18:35-43)
Hallelujah! May the grace and peace of our Lord be with you all.
In life, everyone encounters unexpected crises. However, as the saying goes, “A crisis is an opportunity in disguise.” Even in difficult times, we must trust that God has a plan to bring about good.
The Bible declares: “And we know that for those who love God, all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” (Romans 8:28, ESV) The key condition here is “those who love God.”
Joseph faced many crises—he was sold into slavery due to his brothers’ jealousy and was later imprisoned unfairly. However, by God’s grace, he became the prime minister of Egypt and was given the opportunity to save many people. Joseph confessed his faith to his brothers in this way: “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.” (Genesis 50:20, ESV)
Despite his hardships, Joseph loved God, and God was with him.
Likewise, when we face crises in life, we must love and trust God even more, believing that He will work all things together for good.
The Prayer of Those Who Love God (Summary of Luke 18)
In John 14:23, Jesus said:
“If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.” (John 14:23, ESV)
Likewise, in Psalm 91:14-15, God promises: “Because he holds fast to me in love, I will deliver him; I will protect him, because he knows my name. When he calls to me, I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will rescue him and honor him.” (Psalm 91:14-15, ESV)
Those who love God believe in these promises and pray with faith. However, the content and attitude of our prayers must reflect our identity as children of God. I will share this in detail based on today’s scripture passage.
A summary of Luke 18 reveals that Jesus taught His disciples to pray always and not lose heart. He asked, “Will not God give justice to his elect, who cry to him day and night?” (Luke 18:7, ESV)
Jesus also explained how God hears prayers by using the example of the Pharisee and the tax collector: The Pharisee prayed boasting about his righteousness and listing his good deeds. The tax collector, however, humbly prayed, “God, be merciful to me, a sinner.” (Luke 18:13, ESV)
Yet, God accepted the tax collector’s prayer rather than the Pharisee’s.
Regarding eternal life, a man with a Pharisee-like faith claimed, “I have kept all the commandments since my youth.” But Jesus told him, “You still lack one thing: sell all that you have and distribute to the poor.” (Luke 18:22, ESV)
This statement was not merely about giving up wealth; rather, Jesus was revealing that the man loved his possessions more than God.
Jesus then spoke about His suffering and the cross. Through the atonement of the cross, we become children of God, and God becomes our Father. Through Him, we receive eternal life. Thus, eternal life is not earned by our righteousness, but it is a gift of God’s righteousness.
The passage we read continues with the story of a poor blind beggar who, upon hearing that Jesus was passing by, cried out: “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” (Luke 18:38, ESV)
A blind person is someone who cannot see. When Jesus asked him, “What do you want me to do for you?”, he replied, “Lord, let me recover my sight.” (Luke 18:41, ESV) If his eyes were opened, his life of poverty could change.
Those who received answers from Jesus had one thing in common: they sought first the kingdom of God and His righteousness.
They did not boast of their own righteousness; instead, they humbly confessed, “We are unworthy servants.” (Luke 17:10, ESV)
How Should We Pray? When you face a problem that you cannot solve on your own, how do you pray? Most people cry out earnestly, “God! Please solve this problem for me!”
However, the Lord already knows our needs before we ask. (Matthew 6:32, ESV)
And He taught us not to pray in this way. (Matthew 6:8, ESV)
Such prayers are what pagans pray.
How Should the Children of God Pray? God’s children must pray as Jesus taught us. When we follow His teaching, our problems will also be resolved.
“But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” (Matthew 6:33, ESV)
The prayers of the blind man and the tax collector were prayers seeking God’s kingdom and His righteousness.
The Prayer of Bartimaeus – Jesus, Son of David! Bartimaeus was a blind beggar who had no wealth. He had no choice but to live by begging. His life was miserable, and there was nothing he could do to change it by himself.
In this situation, how should he pray? He cried out: “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” (Luke 18:38, ESV)
The phrase “Son of David” is a confession that Jesus is the Messiah and the King. In other words, “Jesus, my King, rule over me as Your people!”
Similarly, the tax collector could not even lift his eyes to heaven but beat his chest and prayed: “God, be merciful to me, a sinner!” (Luke 18:13, ESV)
This kind of humble prayer, seeking God’s mercy, is the prayer that pleases the Lord.
What is the prayer that contains the kingdom of God and His righteousness?
It is the Lord’s Prayer.
The prayer seeking God’s kingdom is recorded in the first part of the Lord’s Prayer, which we discussed last week.
Today, I would like to emphasize its core message once again.
The One who hears our prayers is God the Father. As parents, when their children ask for something, wouldn’t they grant it if they can?
In the same way, when we pray, we must trust in the Father and pray with faith.
We pray, “Hallowed be Your name.”
Then, how can God’s name be hallowed through us?
Our lives must glorify God. In other words, our words and actions must reflect God’s holiness.
Jesus taught us to pray, “Your kingdom come.”
This prayer is a petition for the Holy Spirit to dwell within us. In other words, it is a prayer of commitment to live according to the Spirit, a confession of obedience to God’s Word as recorded in Scripture.
Jesus also taught us to pray, “Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”
This prayer is a confession that we will follow Jesus in living a life that saves souls.
Jesus taught us to pray, “Give us this day our daily bread.”
He also said, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to accomplish His work.” (John 4:34, ESV)
This means that daily bread is not merely perishable food but fulfilling God’s will completely. And God’s will is to save souls.
When we pray in this way, our present problems will also be resolved.
And through this process: The Father’s name will be glorified, God’s kingdom will be established, and God’s will—the salvation of souls—will be accomplished through us. This is the same principle as the prayer answered through Joseph’s life. Just as God saved many souls through Joseph, our lives too can become instruments of God’s salvation.
What is the prayer that seeks God’s righteousness?
It is the prayer: “As we also have forgiven our debtors.”
The Lord had compassion on us and died on the cross to forgive our sins. This is the love of God, illustrated in the parable of the unforgiving servant (Matthew 18:23-35),
where a servant was forgiven a debt of ten thousand talents.
God allows people who hurt and wrong us to be part of our lives, so that we may truly understand and experience His love and forgiveness in our hearts.
Through my own experience, I came to realize that compared to the ten thousand talents of debt that I was forgiven by the Lord, the offenses committed against me by my brothers and sisters were nothing more than a hundred denarii.
However, knowing forgiveness in our minds is different from practicing it in reality. When we are confronted with a real situation where we must forgive, we realize that we lack the strength to do so on our own. Without the help of the Holy Spirit, we cannot truly forgive or release the debts of those who have hurt us.
This is why the Lord promised that He would give the Holy Spirit to those who seek God’s kingdom and His righteousness (Luke 11:13).
If we trust in this promise and pray, we will find ourselves shedding tears as we forgive those who have wronged us.
This is the evidence that the Holy Spirit has come upon us
and the confirmation of having received the baptism of the Holy Spirit.
“Forgive Us Our Debts” What is our sin? It is loving wealth more than God, just like the Pharisees.
The Lord said in Matthew 6:24: “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.” (Matthew 6:24, ESV)
And in James 4:4, He also warned: “Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.” (James 4:4, ESV)
This means that if we love the world and set an example of this lifestyle for our children and fellow believers, not only do we live as enemies of God, but we also lead our children and fellow believers into a life that makes them enemies of God as well.
If our poor example causes those who follow us to receive eternal punishment in hell instead of entering heaven, we must recognize that we have caused the greatest harm to them.
This is why Jesus rebuked the Pharisees, who loved money, saying:
“You shut the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces. For you neither enter yourselves nor allow those who would enter to go in.” (Matthew 23:13, ESV)
Recognizing the seriousness of this sin, when we pray “Forgive us our debts”,
we must also commit to walking the narrow path to heaven and setting an example for those whom God has entrusted to us. By doing so, we will lead them out of sin and death, and into eternal life in the kingdom of God.
The next part of the Lord’s Prayer is “Lead us not into temptation.”
The devil tempted Jesus by saying, “All this I will give you if you will bow down and worship me” (Matthew 4:9, NIV).
To this, Jesus replied, “Worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only” (Matthew 4:10, NIV).
If we prioritize wealth and the pleasures of this world over worshiping God,
we are falling into the temptation of the devil.
This is why Jesus taught us to pray, “Lead us not into temptation.”
The Prayer: “Deliver Us from Evil” The Bible says, “Make the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil” (Ephesians 5:16, NIV).
The original Greek phrase here can be translated as “Redeeming the time,” which means “to buy back time at a cost.”
So, why must we redeem the time?
And how can we redeem it?
If we have lived without being concerned about saving souls, we have spent our time in a way that is evil in God’s sight.
However, Christ redeemed us so that we might walk in the light, be zealous for good works, and devote ourselves to saving souls (Titus 2:14, NIV).
Therefore, redeeming the time means paying the price so that we no longer live as slaves to sin.
The way we redeem our remaining days is by crucifying our flesh with Christ and continually devoting ourselves to prayer.
Such prayer is the price we must pay to redeem our time.
When we do this, we will not fall into evil and will not waste our remaining time.
This is the true meaning of the prayer, “Deliver us from evil.”
The Prayer: “For Yours Is the Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory Forever”
The devil always seeks to steal the kingdom, power, and glory that belong to God. Thus, the ultimate purpose of the prayer Jesus taught us is to bring salvation to those trapped in sin and death, so that the kingdom, power, and glory are given to God the Father.
However, we must recognize that Satan tries to keep us enslaved to our fleshly nature, causing us to fail in our mission of soul-winning, so that he himself may claim the kingdom, power, and glory.
Praying as Jesus taught us is evidence of our love for God.
When we pray in this way, we will surely experience God’s amazing grace, no matter the challenges we face. We will be filled with praise for the Lord and give glory to His name.
A crisis is an opportunity. If you have not been praying as Jesus taught, now is the time to begin. Pray without ceasing, offering up the spiritual prayer that Jesus taught us. Then you will experience God’s justice, as He avenges you against the enemy, Satan. Let us pray together.