Will You Pray this Bold Prayer? By Lisa Burkhardt Worley
Have you ever asked God to close the doors in your life that you are no longer supposed to walk through? In the same vein, have you prayed for the Holy Spirit to make it obvious by supernaturally opening doors in your life? Would you like to know where this concept started?
You probably have heard about the story of Noah and how God used Noah to save a remnant from the flood that wiped out the landscape of the Earth, but once Noah loaded up his family and all the pairs of animals and birds, the Bible says, “Then the LORD closed the door behind them” (Genesis 7:16 NLT). Some say Noah spent ninety-nine years building the ark, and he was not allowed to put the final nail in the ark by closing the door?
I wonder if Noah felt some last minute angst about leaving his homeland. Maybe, the thought of being cooped up in a zoo for five months started to frighten him. Perhaps some doubt set in. Have you ever gotten to the end of a big project, then had your doubts about why you did it in the first place? God knows the thoughts of man, so He took it upon himself to close the door for Noah.
And when the waters that flooded the Earth receded, and it was time to disembark, God made his direction clear again, saying to Noah, “Leave the boat, all of you—you and your wife, and your sons and their wives. Release all the animals—the birds, the livestock, and the small animals that scurry along the ground—so they can be fruitful and multiply throughout the earth” (Genesis 8:16–17).
God closed the door to Noah’s past life and then he opened the door to a new beginning.
In 2020, will you boldly pray for God to close any doors to activities that you are no longer supposed to be involved in? Will you also pray that He opens doors to new opportunities? That’s how I am praying. I want to be in the center of His will for my life this year and ever year that He gives me after that.
You might be surprised by the doors He closes. They might involve a comfortable old shoe that you’ve been settled in for a long time. You may love what you are doing. I have some slippers that I love, but they’ve gotten lumpy and are hard to walk in. I finally replaced them this week. It’s the same way with our jobs and volunteer work. Every year, we need to lay them at God’s altar and pray a bold prayer: Lord, I need your direction. Please close any doors that you do not want me to proceed through, and open doors for me in 2020. And…will you make it obvious? When we can’t close a door ourselves, He will do it for us, if we ask.
Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight (Proverbs 3:5–7).