When it comes to he things of God, all of us are blind and deaf and dumb.  It is just as imperative that we ask Jesus to open our eyes to see and our ears to hear as it was for those physically impaired while He was on earth.  A person born blind does not know what it is he is not seeing; one born deaf does not know what he is not hearing.  So it is with us; we cannot even guess what it is we do not see or hear in the realm of the spirit.  We think we understand, but we are in the dark. 

Jesus said to the Pharisees, "If you were blind, you would have no sin; but now you are saying, 'We see,' so your sin remains (Jn. 9:41).  Pride is thinking we are seeing clearly, whereas humility knows that it understands nothing and asks for sight.

Teresa of Avila said that to know oneself is to know God---but the hardest thing of all for us to see is what lies within our own hearts.  That is the area of our greatest blindness, the area that only God can reveal to us.  Unfortunately, we can see more clearly what is in others' hearts than what is in our own.

About 35 years ago, while in prayer, I had a vision where I was on a cloud overlooking a mountain.  I could see the top of the mountain, and all around it the paths leading to the top.  On those paths, I could see people climbing, but some had wandered off the path and were lost in the deep forest.  "Can I help them?" I asked the Lord, for I could see the path and where they had gone off.  "No," He said; "on the journey, they will come to know their Guide."  Suddenly, I knew that I, too, was at the base of an invisible mountain.  I could not see the mountain, nor any path leading upwards.  I was given to understand that I would not know where I was on the mountain, nor whether I was going up, or down, or backwards, or forwards, or even where I was going.  All I knew was the One Who led me on.

At that moment, I saw in front of me a library table with four small drawers.  I opened the first one and saw what looked like cards inside.  I understood these cards to represent the 10 Commandments.  The next drawer also held cards, which I understood to be the Beatitudes.  The cards in the third drawer represented the secrets of men's hearts, but the fourth drawer was stuck, opening just a couple of inches, but not enough for me to reach inside.  The Lord Himself had to open the drawer for me.  I withdrew a scroll, and I could hardly wait to see what it contained.  When I unrolled it, it appeared blank.  I knew there was something written on it, but I could not see what it was.  The Lord made me understand that from childhood, He had caused me to "read" and understand the Commandments, the Beatitudes, and even the secrets of men's hearts---the one thing I could not read was the secrets of my own heart.  But as I allowed Him to show me what was written therein, the scroll would unfold and lead me to heaven.  I begged Him to show me what was there, and at that time, He gave me the first word: Purity.  I did not understand that word then and am only now beginning to grasp its meaning---35 years later.  About 20 years after that, He showed me the second word, one I am still trying to understand.  But He is directing my understanding, and putting books in my hand that illumine what is in my own heart.

Isaiah 42:19 says this:

You who are deaf, listen,

you who are blind, look and see!

Who is blind but my servant,

or deaf but the messenger I send?

You see many things without taking note;

Your ears are open, but without hearing....

See, I am doing something new!

Now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?

Once we "see" that we are indeed blind and deaf and dumb, we can ask for sight and insight.  If we fail to perceive that we do not see, we will also fail to see the "new thing" the Lord is doing in us and for us.