Open My Eyes

That is, they actually get out of their beds, and they start walking in a state of sleep. This practice of sleep walking is called Somnambulism

We are told by the experts that this occurs during the first 3 hours of sleep, and is characterized by the following things:

• Eyes are open but stare is blank

• Speech is mumbled, slurred and unintelligible

• Not well coordinated, but can do semi-purposeful acts, such as:

1. Dressing

2. Open and close doors

3. Turn on and off lights

• Lasts for 30 seconds to 30 minutes

• Unable to awaken during episode

Illus: One young teenage girl in Columbia, South Carolina, had such a problem with sleep walking. Her parents had to almost literally sleep with one eye open each night, because their daughter would actually get up out of bed and start walking. On several occasions, they caught her walking in the yard in the middle of the night.

Humor: But on a more cheerful note - Do you know what you call a sleep walking Nun? You call her a “Roaming Catholic”.

Humor: The only cure for sleep walking they have discovered so far, is to put roofing tacks around the bed of the sleep walker.

Sleep walking is a big problem for many folks. But in the spiritual realm, it is a serious problem for the Church.

That is, there are folks who can sit in church with their eyes wide open, and the Word of God can be preached, and they sit there with this spiritual stare.

Illus: It is obvious that their front porch light is on, but no one is home!

The Psalmist wanted the Lord to open his eyes, so he could see the WONDROUS THINGS OF GOD.

When the Psalmist talked about the Law in this verse of Scripture, he was talking about the Word of God. He wanted God to open his eyes to the TRUTH OF GOD’S WORD!

In order for our eyes to be open, we have to be exposed to the TRUTH OF GOD’S WORD.

The reason that many have not had their eyes opened to the TRUTH OF GOD’S WORD, is because of the liberal churches they attend, where so very little emphasis is placed on the preaching of God’s Word. Because of that:

• You can go to many churches today, and you will find people attending church without even a Bible in their hand

• You can go to many liberal churches today, and they may read a verse of Scripture from the Bible, then they take off on some social issue or political issue

• You can go to many churches today, and they will read from perverted translations that leave out the deity of Christ, and the virgin birth, and no one in the church will open their mouth about it

One of the great needs for Christians today, is for them to pray what the Psalmist prayed, “GOD OPEN OUR EYES TO THE TRUTH OF THY WORD.”

WHY DO WE NEED OUR EYES OPEN TO THE TRUTH OF GOD’S WORD?

Because God gave us the Bible for a very special reason, because it SHAPES and MOLDS our lives for Christ.

Illus: In Columbia, South Carolina, a man is on death row because he kidnapped a young woman from the convenience store where she worked. He brought her into the woods and raped her, and when he was through with her, he brutally tortured her and killed her.

WHAT COULD MAKE A MAN DO SUCH AN EVIL THING?

After he was captured, they invaded his home and discovered he was into violent pornography. He had read this sinful stuff, and it had gotten into his mind and his heart, and motivated him to do such an evil thing. This filthy literature had SHAPED HIM AND MOLDED him into the beast he had become.

But the Word of God, the Bible, has done more to shape and to mold lives in a positive way than all other books put together.

Illus: Martin Luther, the reformer, said, "For several years I have read the Bible through twice in 12 months. It is a great and powerful tree, each word of which is a mighty branch. Each of these branches have I well shaken, so desirous was I to know what each one bore and what it would give me. And the shaking of them has never disappointed me."

When we open this Bible, we are opening the pages of TRUTH.

Let us look at THREE THINGS the Psalmist has to say in this portion of Scripture. We see:

I. A PRAYER

Look at Ps. 119:18, we read, "Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law."

This is a prayer that he is praying to God. Notice, he is not praying for a brand new car, he is praying for something that can bring more delight in his life than a brand new car.