WHY SHOULD I CLOSE MY EYES?

The first time I was asked to close my eyes in a prayer session, I was a bit disturbed because I found it very strange and upsetting. The question in my mind was why should I close my eyes, does God requires that I close my eyes before he listens to my prayers? Was there something the prayer leader wanted to hide from me?
Usually when some one asks you to close your eyes, it is because he wants to stop you from seeing something or to surprise you with something. This instead distracted me from prayers instead of helping me to pray because all through the prayer session I opened my eyes to pip so as to see what the leader was hiding from me. Though I ended up seeing nothing!
Praying with our eyes closed helps us pray without distractions. We all know that our eyes are fast at capturing images and transmitting them to our minds and once this happens, we loose focus on our prayer intentions. Prayer needs concentration and direct focus to God. Therefore when you pray with your eyes closed, it keeps you from seeing the environment you are and all that may be happening around you; and you can easily concentrate in your prayers. Even if you are in your house alone pray with your eyes close because a picture on the wall may take your mind to something else; your dress on the wall rope can distract you, etc. The things we see during prayer can divert our attentions to something else and as such cause what I call lack of prayer consciousness. In this case while you are praying the instead of your mind to be on your intention, you are either thinking of the dress to wear, or how you have to do one thing or the other.
In conclusion, praying with your eyes closed makes you to move away from your physical self to your spiritual self and communicate fully with God your father in heaven. With your eyes closed, you will stop seeing the physicals and focus on the spiritual for God is a Spirit. Why not try it and see? Amen.