Dear Lord, Please Don’t Open Doors I Am Not Supposed To Walk Through
Knowing that God doesn’t always answer prayers with a YES hasn’t always been a great consolation in my life. We all have prayers that we long to be answered, and most of the time we hope they will be answered in a specific way. Seven years ago a friend of mine introduced me to the Surrender Novena when we were trying to make a difficult school decision, and I now pray it perpetually. The shift in surrendering all my decisions, hopes, and struggles to Christ has made an incredible difference in the way I notice God working in my life. I recently received some bad news about a job application process that I really thought God wanted me to pursue. I spent hours preparing for the interviews, but at the heart of my discernment prayer was this one extra line, “please don’t open any doors I’m not supposed to walk through.” Then, when I received the news that I wasn't chosen for the position, I had such peace. I had confidence in their discernment because of the surrendering to Christ that I did daily. I knew God must have a different plan for me. This is promised in Philippians 4 :6-7, “Have no anxiety at about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, will keep your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
That closed door made me take myself back to prayer to reevaluate where I was next being led. I prayed, using the Lectio Divina method with the story of the prodigal son, and found myself identifying with the role of the servant who goes to fetch the ring. I had never even considered that the servant was a character in the story before, always having identified as the older brother in the past when praying with this Scripture. The process of applying for the position itself was incredibly fruitful, and combined with my prayer, led me to recognize my call was to serve others in the way I know best--through retreats and faith formation training. So today I launch my new website to open my heart to serve where God will call me. Welcome to my new adventure with Christ! I pray you are able to surrender to God’s will in your daily life and feel the unimaginable peace that comes from a firm faith in His Divine Will.
For everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. Matthew 7:8
