The Door of Prayer
When you pray, don’t be like the hypocrites who love to pray publicly on street corners and in the synagogues where everyone can see them. I tell you the truth, that is all the reward they will ever get. But when you pray, go away by yourself, shut the door behind you, and pray to your Father in private. Then your Father, who sees everything, will reward you. -Matthew 6:5-6
Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. -Matthew 7:7-8
The function of prayer is not to influence God, but rather to change the nature of the one who prays. –Soren Kierkegaard
What is a struggle you have in your prayer life?
How are you going to make prayer a more active part of your life?
What do you think about the statement that the primary function of prayer is not to influence God but to influence the one who prays?
The Door Only You Can Open
Look! I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal together as friends. -Revelation 3:20
Opening the door and allowing Jesus into our lives gives us a loving, lifetime friendship with Jesus and community with God.
What does it mean to let Jesus in and share a meal with him?
What parts of our life is it easy to let Jesus in to?
What parts of our life is it not so easy to let Jesus in to?
The Door of Dysfunction
A wise woman builds her home, but a foolish woman tears it down with her own hands. –Proverbs 14:1
There are seeds of self-destruction in all of us that will bear only unhappiness if allowed to grow. –Dorothea Brande
What are some doors of dysfunction that people need to close?
Why is it so difficult to close doors of dysfunction?
What has worked for you in the past on closing the doors of dysfunction?
The Door of Freedom
A mob quickly formed against Paul and Silas, and the city officials ordered them stripped and beaten with wooden rods. They were severely beaten, and then they were thrown into prison. The jailer was ordered to make sure they didn’t escape. So the jailer put them into the inner dungeon and clamped their feet in the stocks. Around midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening. Suddenly, there was a massive earthquake, and the prison was shaken to its foundations. All the doors immediately flew open, and the chains of every prisoner fell off! -Acts 16:22-26
True freedom is not based on external surroundings. True freedom is a status of the soul.
Why do you think Paul and Silas were singing in prison?
What does it mean to be free?
What prisons do we find ourselves in?
Two Good Doors. Two Good Choices.
When I came to the city of Troas to preach the Good News of Christ, the Lord opened a door of opportunity for me. But I had no peace of mind because my dear brother Titus hadn’t yet arrived with a report from you. So I said good-bye and went on to Macedonia to find him. -2 Corinthians 2:12-13
Some of life’s most important decisions as you enter into the next chapter of your life will not be between right and wrong. Often, the most important choices we make are between two non-evil options. So we must choose between right and righter.
How do you choose between right and righter?
Do you ever look back and wonder if you made the “righter” decision?
Review
What is something you have learned from today’s lessons?
What is a practice or an idea from your life that you will seek to start or restart as you move into the next chapter of your life?
What is a door in your life you would like to close?
What is a door in your life you would like to see open?
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