08/30/2026
DON’T PRY THE DOOR OPEN
Sometimes the closed door is just as much an answer to prayer as the open one.
“He opens and no one shuts, and shuts and no one opens.”
— Revelation 3:7 NKJV
Oh, how we love an open door.
There are moments in life when God suddenly opens something before us that we could never have opened ourselves.
A prayer is answered.
An opportunity appears.
Someone recognizes what God has placed inside of us.
A relationship begins.
A dream we have carried quietly for years suddenly starts taking shape.
And sometimes we walk through those doors with tears streaming down our faces, overwhelmed by the goodness of God.
We know He did it.
We couldn’t have arranged it.
We couldn’t have forced it.
God simply opened the door.
And when He does, we celebrate.
We testify.
We tell everyone, “Look what the Lord has done!”
But, dear friend, what about the doors He closes?
We don’t usually celebrate those.
We stand in front of them confused.
We knock again.
We jiggle the handle.
We push a little harder.
And sometimes, if we are not careful, we begin trying to pry open a door that God Himself has shut.
But the same God who opens doors also closes them.
And sometimes the closed door is His mercy.
You can see the door.
But He can see what is behind it.
You can see the opportunity.
He can see where it leads.
You can see what you want right now.
He can see five years down the road.
There are things on the other side of certain doors that could wound you, distract you, drain you, or pull you away from the very thing God has prepared for your life.
What looks like an opportunity may actually be a detour.
And some detours are expensive.
They don’t merely cost us a few days.
They can cost months.
Years.
Sometimes even decades.
That is why we must learn to trust God’s hand not only when He opens the door, but also when we hear the unmistakable sound of one closing.
“The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD.”
— Psalm 37:23 NKJV
Notice that Scripture speaks about our steps being ordered.
Sometimes the order of God says, “Walk through.”
Sometimes it says, “Wait.”
And sometimes it says, “Do not go this way.”
All three can be the leading of God.
I wonder how many times we have prayed, “Father, protect me,” and then became frustrated when He answered that prayer by closing a door.
Perhaps you prayed for His will.
Perhaps you asked Him to order your steps.
Perhaps you told Him that you wanted His best.
Then something you desperately wanted didn’t happen.
The relationship ended.
The invitation never came.
The opportunity disappeared.
The plans fell apart.
Someone said no.
And you stood before that closed door wondering where God was.
Oh, dear friend, perhaps He was standing right there.
Perhaps His hand was on the other side of that door.
Not rejecting you.
Protecting you.
There is a tremendous difference.
A closed door does not always mean you have failed.
It does not always mean the enemy has won.
It does not always mean you didn’t pray hard enough or have enough faith.
Sometimes it simply means:
Father knows what is on the other side.
And if Father has closed it, you don’t need to pry it open.
I have learned that anything I must manipulate to obtain will eventually become something I must struggle to maintain.
There is a beautiful rest that comes when we stop trying to manufacture what only God can give.
If He opens it, walk through with thanksgiving.
If He closes it, trust Him with thanksgiving.
Because your Father sees farther down the road than you do.
“The LORD will perfect that which concerns me.”
— Psalm 138:8 NKJV
Maybe you are standing in front of a closed door today.
You’ve knocked.
You’ve prayed.
You’ve waited.
And nothing seems to be moving.
Don’t bruise your shoulder trying to break down a door Father may have lovingly closed.
Take your hands off the handle.
Step back.
And whisper:
“Father, I trust You.”
There are other doors.
There are other paths.
There are things God has prepared for you that you haven’t even seen yet.
And one day, you may look back at that stubbornly closed door and realize that one of the greatest answers to prayer you ever received was the door God refused to let you walk through.
So don’t pry it open.
If God shut it, trust His hand.
Because sometimes His greatest protection doesn’t look like a miracle.
Sometimes it simply looks like a closed door.
With Love,
Steve Porter
www.morningglorydevo.com
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