Dove Award winner Paul Baloche believes the best worship songs spring from the act of worship itself. Case in point: "Open the Eyes of My Heart," birthed during prayer time at Community Christian Fellowship in Lindale, Texas, where he has served as worship pastor for more than 15 years.

Several years earlier Baloche heard a pastor pray, "Open the eyes of our hearts so that we can understand Your Word." The phrase stuck, inspiring Baloche to search the Scriptures—primarily Ephesians 1:18 and stories of biblical heroes who had seen the Lord in His glory.

Then one morning Baloche was lightly strumming his guitar as men and women came to the altar during a revival at his church. "The music had gone on for hours, and I had played everything I knew," he remembers. Aloud, he prayed, "Lord Jesus, we ask You to come and touch our hearts." At that moment "the phrase popped into my mind: 'Open the eyes of our hearts, Lord. We want to see You.'

"It felt right—a sincere prayer," he says. "I sang the phrase a few times and people started singing with me. I don't recall how the rest came about. I was just remembering when Isaiah saw the Lord, and thought, Lord, to see You high and lifted up. It's shining so bright, Lord. Shining in the light of Your glory."

Later that week, Baloche polished the idea into a simple prayer song. "I'd much rather stumble upon a song idea in the midst of worship or in the midst of prayer," he says, "because it rings more true than sitting in a room trying to come up with clever lyrics."

Baloche receives numerous e-mails from Christians sharing the impact the song has had in their lives. His voice cracks as he tells the story of a family that had gathered around the deathbed of a loved one who had asked them to sing "Open the Eyes of My Heart" together as his last prayer.

The song has been recorded many times and in many languages. According to Baloche, some of the most exciting moments on his recent world tour occurred in Sweden and Germany when he sang the song and the audience sang it back to him in their native language.

"It was beautiful," he says. "I feel extremely grateful to be part of a song that helps people connect with God."

Linda Owen is a freelance writer and the editor of www.saWorship.com in San Antonio, Texas.

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