Most Influential Book The World Has Ever Known Series

Open my eyes, that I may see wondrous things from Your law.”(Psalm 119:18)

There are many wondrous things in nature: the plants, the beaches, the sky, the rainbow, the butterflies, the smile of infants-- yet what are these things to us if we are blind? In the same way, unless the Lord opens our spiritual eyes, the wondrous things in the word of God will be of no value to us. Since we are helpless in ourselves to see spiritual beauty and the wonder of God in the teachings and events of the Bible without God's gracious illumination, we should ask him for spiritual insight.

The prayer that every living person should say is "Open my eyes." Because the Bible is clearly the most influential book the world has ever known. George Washington, the 1st President of the United States said “It is impossible to rightly govern the world without God and Bible.” Abraham Lincoln called it "the best gift God has given to man." Patrick Henry said, "It is worth all other books which were ever printed." Noted British statesman William Gladstone wrote that "an immeasurable distance separates it from all competitors" while the famous philosopher Immanuel Kant declared, "The Bible is the greatest benefit which the human race has ever experienced." King David said “I will worship toward your holy temple, and praise your name for your loving kindness and for your truth: for you have magnified your word above all your name. “ (Psalm 138:2.)

We must value word of God above every opinion of men because it is exalted above all things. It is a timeless book. (Psalm 119:8), a truthful book.) Psalm 119:142) and a treasured book. (Psalm 119:72) We must value Scripture above human reason, above scientific inquiry, and above all other sources of truth because God has exalted his word above all. You can pick up any other book and read it, but this is the book that reads you. It liberates a person from the prison-house of his myths, class, race, customs, standards and even his own beliefs and traditions. It is the fountain by which character is formed, mind is refined& intellect is sharpened, as a result, one can stand against all storms of life. It pulsates with life and power. It cuts, burns, crushes, and wields mountain-moving power. His Word has a life of its own. It is the voice of God to you. You cannot refuse it, deny it, distort it, or dilute it. You can only bow before it.

Therefore we must guard ourselves against lowering the standard of God’s Word to our level of understanding or political correctness. And we must guard ourselves against raising the standards of human philosophy and human traditions above the standard of His Word. The Bible is not meant to be paraded past the judgment bar of human mind. Bible says “See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces of this world rather than on Christ.”(Colossians 2:8) Wesley rightly prayed “Enlighten my mind by the light of thy Holy Spirit, and dispel all ignorance and error.”

Bible says “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge ;”( Hosea 4:6) Bible also state “Where there is no vision, the people perish” (Proverbs 29:18). Sight is a function of the eyes (physical). Vision is a function of the Heart (spiritual). Eyes restrict you with present (temporary), but vision releases you to the future (eternal). Vision makes the unseen visible and the unknown possible. Vision is the Source of hope and purpose of life. If we have a scratch on our glasses it may seem like everybody around us has scratches too, but the problem actually lies with us because our vision is impaired. If our heart becomes bitter, jealous, hurt or in some way infected, the lens of our heart is distorted. Vision is the lens that interprets the events of our life, the way we view people and our concept of God and his word. Therefore vision consists of foresight, insight and oversight that come from God’s sight. — David was physically not blind but he is praying to God for his eyes to be open. Therefore, the eyes referred to here are Spiritual eyes, something similar in verse 105: “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.”

We need God’s word to shine into our hearts. Helen Keller, probably the most recognized blind person who has ever lived, once said, “The only thing worse than being blind is having sight but no vision.” Like the writer of that great hymn, “Amazing Grace,” the believer is aware that “I once was blind, but now I see….if we do not see the beauty of God’s word, then we will not appreciate the word. If we do not appreciate the virtues of the Word of God, then we will have no desire to be appropriate the Word. So how do we assimilate the Word of God daily? We must pray over it, ponder it, Preserve it, Practice it and proclaim it. Apostle Paul prayed that the eyes of our heart would be enlightened. (Ephesians 1:18) so our prayer needs to be that of the Psalmist “Open my eyes, that I may see wondrous things from Your law.”