TD Jakes - The Door Prayer Won't Open
Separation anxiety disorder is a psychological disorder that happens mostly amongst children, but can affect adults, as well, where a child feels vulnerable because its parent or loved one leaves, and it develops separation anxiety disorder. And you give 'em a bottle, and they keep crying. And you try to walk the floor with them, and they keep crying, and you don't understand the anxiety is coming from separation. It is dominantly, predominantly, amongst children, but it can affect adults, too, where you're only happy if I'm there. Separation anxiety disorder.
This kind of prayer reminded me of separation anxiety disorder. It didn't seem like it had anything to do with the text, until I realized I'm dealing with a baby church. I'm dealing with a baby church, a church that has come out of the bleeding side of Jesus Christ, only to have him say, "I'm leaving you. I'm leaving you". Imagine your mama birthing you and saying, "I'm leaving you. I'm leaving you. I'm going away on a cloud. I don't know when I'm coming back. I'm outta here. Do the best you can". And they survived that in part because he had left on the day of Pentecost, which was the birth of the church.
He had left Peter, who he said was the rock, in charge, who delivered the inaugural address on the day of Pentecost, and Peter became a fill-in for where Jesus left off because he was covering them. But now, Peter... oh, you didn't get it. I'm trying to tell you it's happening again every time I get somebody that leave me. Every time I take two steps forward, I get knocked three steps back. Every time it looks like I got love in my life, it falls apart. Every time I'm about to get things under control with my finances, something breaks down, and I'm by...
I wanna talk to some people who have anxiety because it's happening again. Touch your neighbor and say, "It's happening again". This kind of prayer doesn't come because you have a prayer journal. This kind of prayer comes because you have anxiety and because you're afraid and because the enemy has brought your greatest fear down on your head, and you're saying, "God, if you don't get me out of this, I'm gonna lose my mind, 'cause here it is happening again". I need a hundred people who know what it's like to see themselves... to lose Peter, Peter, the one who Jesus said is the rock. "And upon this rock I will build my church".
And Peter is in jail, and don't tell me that he's gonna get out and everything is gonna go well, 'cause you remember what happened to Jesus. Suppose they kill him? If he's the rock, suppose they kill the rock? If he was the first voice I heard when I got saved, and 3.000 people were added to the church that day, and he is my mentor, and he is my teacher. I have nursed at the breast of the milk of his word and if they kill him where will I get the milk? Separation anxiety disorder has set in, and the church has gone into fervent prayer. Sometimes God will allow things to happen in your life to wake you up from being a spoiled brat and remind you that you got a devil to fight and put you on your knees so you can call on him with power and with clarity.
Let me talk to somebody over here. Sometimes God will allow you to be threatened in an area of your life because you've gotten too comfortable. You've gotten too relaxed. You've gotten too laid back. You think you can do it by yourself. You think you got enough money, you got enough education, you got enough power, but then all hell breaks loose to drive you to your knees because God wants to wake you up. The church folk is over in the house jumping around, hollering, and praying and singing and clapping their hands, and Peter is in the prison sleep. And in the middle of his sleeping...
Now, let me first prove that sleeping is faith, that sleeping is an act of faith. You remember when Jesus was in the storm on the boat, and everybody else was hysterical? And the Bible says Jesus was asleep on a pillow. God will take you through trouble, and you'll be sleep while other people are going crazy because you believe that God has already got that thing worked out. Who am I talking to? The very fact that you can sleep is a sign of faith.
So, the Bible says that the angel appeared in the prison, letting me know that hell can't make a prison God can't break into. Even yours, your prison, hell can't make a prison that God can't break into, even yours. The angel appeared, and the 16 soldiers didn't do nothing about it, 'cause the angel just broke all the rules, broke all the protocol, shwoop, and appeared. Slapped Pete upside the head and said, "Get up. Get up before you get comfortable being down".
I don't think they heard me. I'm gonna tell y'all over here. Get up before you get comfortable being down. Get up. Who am I talking? Yeah, maybe it's you. Get up before you get comfortable being down. Get your clothes on. You're getting ready to move. That's the Word of God for somebody in this room. Get up. Get your clothes on. You're getting ready to move into another dimension, and God says, "I'm gonna walk you past every 'I can't' that ever stood up in your life". God said, "I'm gonna walk you right past the threshold of everything that says that that's not for people like you".
Come on, I'm gonna show you how to go through it. An angel brought him through while the guard slept. This is a quiet deliverance. This is not a earthquake and the foundations of the prison are shaking, and the guard coming in ready to kill himself. This is a quiet deliverance. Have you ever come through something and don't even know how or when you came through it? You just looked around, and God had brought you through it. He brought him through the first door like that, and he brought him through the second door like that, and then when they got to the gate, the Bible said that when they got to the gate, everything else they went through, but when they got to the gate it just opened.
Take this Word if it's yours. You had to go through a lotta stuff to get where you are right now, but you have gone through your last go-through. In this next dimension something that you've been praying for a long time is just gonna... slap your neighbor and say, "It just opened". It just opened.
All of this is happening while the church is praying, but all of this is happening without them knowing. Wonder what God is doing that you don't even know. Wonder what God is moving that you don't even know. Wonder what God is fixing that you don't even know, so look here. When the angel got him back out free and loosed, the angel disappeared. Peter didn't go home. He went to where the prayer was. See, some of y'all get your blessing and now you're so blessed you gotta be at home. You need to go to where the prayer is.
Now watch this. The screens are about to collide. The prison screen and the prayer screen are about to collide. Every door that was closed, prayer opened it, except this last one. When you bring the supernatural into the natural... Peter gets to the door. The door is closed. They're on the other side singing and praying, "If you call on Jesus, he'll answer prayer". Watch this. Having church has become such a routine. That they're so busy having church, they have stopped expecting answers. They are happy to pray about it and shout about it, but not willing to have the faith to receive it when the opportunity comes. Here comes this nameless woman. No title, no position, no credentials, but she could hear. Sometime the person who makes the most noise don't have the best hearing.
She comes through the door and says, "Not only somebody is at the door, I recognize his voice. That's Peter's voice". This woman is so familiar with what she's praying for, that she don't have to see it to recognize it. She can hear it and be sure that's him. Have you familiarized yourself with what you're expecting God to do? Would you recognize it if it knocked? Because I see people pray for better all the time and reject better when it comes.
Now, I'm almost done. This is important for you to get this. Until you believe what you have been praying for enough to bring your actions into alignment with your prayer life, you will believe it, but you won't be able to receive it, because prayer will bring it to you, but you have to open up the door. Some people pray for better, but they're used to lesser, so when better comes they have no appetite for it. The children of Israel prayed that they would get out from under Pharaoh's hand, but when they got in the wilderness they didn't like the food, because all of their historical data was hooked on leeks and onions, slavery food, so freedom food tastes funny to people who grew up on slavery food.
Watch this. I'm almost done. You can dance about it and shout about it and pray about it, and then when it comes to the door you won't open the door, and you're waiting on God to do it. This is the only door in the story that prayer didn't open. This is the door that the church does not talk to you about. We tell you about prayer. We tell you about faith. We tell you about believing. We tell you about trusting. We do not tell you that you have a responsibility. That when you hear the knocking you have to stop praying, because prayer will not finish it. It brought it to you, but you have to...
Let's practice this. Stick your hand out. Twist the doorknob. Open the door. You're about to get the hang of this thing. Stick your hand out. Twist the doorknob. Open the door. You're about to get it. You're about to get it. You're about to get it. That thing that you've been believing God for, and you've been praying about, and you went through hell about, and you went through jail about, and you went through loneliness about, this time we're gonna open up the door. You ready? Stick your hand out. Twist the doorknob. Open up the door.
Hey! Hey! Watch this. Everybody is standing. I'm done. Everybody is standing. I'm done with this. Peter says it was like a dream. It was like a dream. It was like a dream. He came to it. He knocked on the door. Rhoda shouted about it. She got excited about it, she hollered about it, she testified about it, but she didn't open it. That's where the church is at. We have become more proficient about celebrating about it than we have at receiving it. Until you give yourself permission to open that door, until you give yourself the permission and the courage to open that door, you will continue to get more bitter at people who do and hate them because they went in and got what you shoulda had long time ago.
Watch this. I don't know if you can receive this or not. It might be somebody watching online, that it's for you. I don't know. It may be somebody in the balcony. The enemy fought you to get here this morning, and I know. I believe the storm came to keep you from getting here. The enemy will do anything he can to discourage you. The Lord told me to tell you that what you have been praying about and what you have been up under attack about and what you have gone through such warfare about and had shackles on your situation about, that that which was far off has drawn nigh, and your blessing is at the door.
I don't blame you. I would praise him, too. Everybody who know they're as blessed as you know that you're blessed, you ought to praise him just like that. There is a visitor that's in this place right now. You came all the way down here to get this one Word. You came all the way down here to get this one Word. This is a prophetic Word for you. Let me tell you your blessing is knocking right at the door. Stop making excuses. Stick your hand out. Turn that knob. Open that door. Open that door.
Glory. It seems like something is happening over here. I'm not saying y'all not getting it, but there is something about this section over here that seems like they have gone through the door and stepped into another dimension of power and glory and dominion and authority. What y'all gonna do? Y'all gonna watch them? Are y'all just gonna stand there and watch them, or are you gonna... We're opening up the door. We're opening up the door. Yeah! We're opening up the door. Yes, we will. Yes, we will. Yes, we will.