I am actually talking about the eye of the mind - ὀφθαλμός
Eye of the mind
This word is used 100 time in 85 verses of the New Testament. It can be used to describe the physical eye as in Matt 5:29:
“If your right eye makes you stumble, tear it out and throw it from you; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body, than for your whole body to be thrown into hell."
Or it can be used in Luke 24:31:
"Then their eyes were opened and they recognized Him; and He vanished from their sight."
In the context of Luke 24, when the eyes of the 2 disciple were opened, they were able to recognize that it was Jesus that was walking and talking to them.
Another usage of the "eye of the mind" is in Ephesian 1:18:
"I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints,"
In fact in NASB, this is being translated as "eyes of our heart" and the description is not just to open but to be enlightened.
When we read the Bible we need to have our eye of our mind/heart be open and to be enlightened.
Implication to Sunday School
So in the context of Sunday School, both the teacher and the students has the responsibility to pray that the eye of the mind/heart be opened so that God's Word can make an impact in both the teacher
Spiritual Battle
Sunday School is not just the teacher talking or explaining the Bible it is in fact a spiritual battle. To fight the spiritual battle we need to use spiritual tools and the most effective tool is - prayer
How many hours have we pray for the Sunday School lesson?
If our spiritual mind is not opened it will not be enlightened by the Holy Spirit and we might understand God's Word but we will not be able to accept and to hold fast God's Word. (remember my last post on Parable of the Sower?).
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