Knock or Open?
"Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him...Knock, and it shall be opened unto you" - Revelation 3:20, Matthew 7:7

Salvation is tearing down the sin-rotted doors of our hearts and giving way to our precious, crucified Savior, who has been patiently waiting outside an entire lifetime. Note that He stands when He should have been sat down along time ago and given full control to rule as He pleases and deserves. Note that He knocks, not portruding with force, because the only handle to the heart's door is on the inside and you must make the decision to recieve Him. Note that many people however cannot even hear the Savior's voice as they have filled their lives with foolishness and have become deaf to Christ's voice. Are you sure that you're saved? Are you sure that Christ is inside and not on the outside calling for you to let Him in?

Once He has entered the door, however, we are no longer commanded to go around pushing open doors, but to "knock" on them and wait. Impatient children are a frustration to parents, and our lives often impatiently shout, "Lord, I just don't believe you will live up to your promises!" One impatient man even prayed saying, "Lord I need patience...and I need it now!" "WAIT on the Lord: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart" (Psalms 27:14). Our patience proves the depth and reality of our faith. In Acts 12, Peter found himself in prison for his faithfulness. And on the night before his planned death, "the same night Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains" (Acts 12:6). Only God's divine strength could provide such an internal peace! We loose sleep over the smallest concerns in life, but Peter had the Savior's graceful peace wrapped tightly about his soul while literally in the valley of the shadow of death! Prayer is knocking until HE opens, not thinking that the key is in our hands! When Christ is on the outside, a soul must do all it can to pry open the door with all repentance; but once the Savior has entered, the soul must do all it can to wait for His doors to open of their own accord. "When they were past the first and the second ward, they came unto the iron gate that leadeth unto the city; which opened to them of his own accord" (Acts 12:10). Don't think that He's running late! The great iron gate of His will may open but only at the last moment, but those are the moments when the victory is sweetest; and we need to learn to savor those moments, not dread them! "But Peter continued knocking" (Acts 12:16). We should be so sincere in our desires to hear from Him that we would be willing to knock until the hinges on the door become worn apart! Think of your prayers as the flow of blood through your body...when the flow stops, so too does the life.