Have You Opened the Door for God?

I once considered myself someone who prayed, but not all the time, and maybe not fervently, and maybe only when things didn’t always go as planned.  But isn’t it true that God says for everyone who asks, seeks, and knocks, the door will be opened, and your prayer answered?  I thought that was all I had to do.  Does that sound familiar?  Is that how you attempt prayer and your communion with God?

For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. ~Luke 11:10 (NIV)

I always felt confident that God heard my prayers, but I wasn’t always sure he would answer them.  Luke 11:10 says, “For everyone who asks, receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.” So, why weren’t my prayers answered. I asked. Why wasn’t I receiving?  Oh, there’s more to the verse.  Was I seeking God?  Did I knock?  Was the door opened?  And when the answer was no to all those questions, I had to ask myself why.

I had to ask myself, was I really seeking God?  Was I reading God’s word daily? Was I being renewed and strengthened by his Word and his promises? Was I willing to wait for God’s timing?  Was I asking for something because I thought it was right for me without going to God in prayer?  God will open doors, but he will also keep doors shut if they are not the right doors.  

I realized I could not just ask for something, sit back, and expect to have it all fall into place. I need to be fervent in prayer, approach with the right heart, and wait for God’s timing. God will open the door at the right time, with the right attitude, and being mindful of what God asks of me as well. I have shut the door on God many times and when that happened, nothing good came of it. When I let God in, when I have opened the door, I always see small and significant changes, things that only God could orchestrate. That’s when I know God is working in my life.

To open the door for God means letting God in and trusting Him in every area of my life; having faith and confidence that God will provide only what is best for me in all things but also understanding not all doors will be opened.  Not all requests will be answered, but in seeking God with continued and fervent prayer, allows God to work in my life and provide all things that I have been looking for, waiting for, and asking for. 

I have asked God to enter my heart, I have sought and found His unending and enduring love. I have knocked on the door of God’s house. He has opened His door so that I may have increased faith in Him and my relationship will be forever strengthened. 

Have you opened your door to God?