THE PILGRIMAGE OF PRAYER #2

To Pray Is to See

Many of us grow up hearing familiar clichés repeated throughout life:

Love is blind.

Ignorance is bliss.

What you don’t know won’t hurt you.

Blind faith. Blind obedience.

They sound wise on the surface. But when you examine them closely, they often fall apart.

As we journey through life, we are often given the privilege of hindsight. With time comes the ability to understand why we did what we did—to see the results of our past decisions and imagine the many alternatives that once stood before us.

Hindsight reveals paths that were previously hidden from view. It uncovers possibilities we never considered in the moment.

But only a stubborn heart refuses the wisdom that hindsight offers.

Is love really blind?

Absolutely not.

On the contrary, love often sees more clearly than anything else. It sees the beauty of what is good while still recognizing the potential pitfalls—and yet it chooses to say yes.

And what about the idea that what you don’t know won’t hurt you?

That simply isn’t true. What we do not know can—and often does—injure us. It can leave us with the quiet voice of regret, looking back and saying, If only I had known, perhaps I would have done differently.

And faith… well, faith is not blind either.

Faith is an assurance. It is an established conviction that governs the steps of a person. It is an unwavering determination rooted in truth—one that can even overthrow the evidence of what you see with your eyes, hear with your ears, or grasp with your limited understanding.

Faith is a clarity of sight so profound that it could cause a man to jump off a cliff without a parachute—because he has already seen the arms of the eternal Father waiting below to catch him.

Prayer Reveals What We Cannot See

The prayer of petition is often an inquiry to see.

Consider the words of Jesus as He approached the cross:

“Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me…” (Luke 22:42, NKJV)

This was not weakness—it was inquiry. It was the Son asking to see the will of the Father clearly.

At another moment Jesus said,

“Father, save Me from this hour? But for this purpose I came to this hour. Father, glorify Your name.” (John 12:27–28, NKJV)

What began as a question ended with clarity. What began as inquiry became conviction.

Jesus could now see.

And once the way became clear, obedience followed without hesitation.

Moses experienced something similar while standing on the banks of the Red Sea.

In all his wisdom and experience, a highway through the sea—complete with towering walls of water on either side—was not one of the obvious options.

Even a thousand of the world’s greatest scholars could not have conceived such an audacious solution.

Why?

Because it simply wasn’t within the realm of visible possibilities.

Yet when Moses cried out to the Lord, a new realm of possibility was revealed.

God showed him something no human mind could have imagined.

To pray is to see.

Hidden within the purposes of God are these unseen highways—ancient paths that, once revealed, our feet will inevitably walk. And when we walk them, they lead us to rest for our souls.

This is something greater than hindsight.

It is prayer sight.

It is the guiding wisdom of the Lord Himself—paving the way as “a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” (Psalm 119:105, NKJV)

For this reason, we must always endeavor to call upon the One who makes both the seeing eye and the hearing ear.

Because prayer is not merely asking God for direction.

It is learning to see the world the way He does.