30-Day Open Door Prayer ChallengeSample

Not Every Door Is Yours

GOD’S WORD

“And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit.” – Revelation 9:1 KJV

Sometimes an opportunity glows until you step closer, and then you feel the draft of something hollow. I have found that not every platform is a promise; some are pits with better lighting. I’ve learned this slowly, noticing in my spirit what my pride wanted to ignore. Discernment isn’t suspicion; it’s love protecting what God entrusted to you. And it’s part of the open-door life: not every door should be opened, and wisdom knows the difference.

In Revelation 9 and at the fifth trumpet, John sees “a star” fallen from heaven to earth. This “star” is a person, not an object, understood by many interpreters to refer to Satan. He receives (is given) the key to the shaft of the Abyss—the bottomless pit where some fallen angels are confined. He opens the shaft, and destructive, locust-like tormentors are released for a limited time (Revelation 9:1–11). Some teachers connect this to Satan’s banishment from heaven in the middle of the tribulation and his ruthless pursuit of Israel (Revelation 12:1–10). Crucially, the key does not belong to Satan; God gives it. The permission is bounded, the timing is limited, and even in judgment, God remains sovereign, allowing evil to expose its own end.

The “key to the pit” cautions us: access exists to spaces we are not meant to inhabit. Jesus refused the devil’s glittering shortcuts in the wilderness because they were doors downward (Matthew 4). Daniel declined the king’s table and found favor by taking a different door (Daniel 1). Proverbs 7 sketches a doorway that lures toward ruin, while Psalm 1 blesses the one who refuses the counsel of the wicked. In our lives, discernment often sounds like a quiet no: let that door lock and walk away.

How do you recognize a downward door? Ask a few honest questions: Does this invitation require bending truth, wounding others, or abandoning rest? Does it feed vanity more than service? Would I want those I love most to imitate this choice? As you approach, does peace brighten or dim? If peace dims, treat that as an early mercy. The kingdom way may be a parallel path, quieter, cleaner, slower, that leads to life. At first, it can feel like a loss, especially when others cheer the louder door, but your soul knows the difference. Each time I’ve trusted that interior nudge, I’ve met God’s kindness on the less glamorous road.

Please remember that discernment grows with practice. Immerse your mind in Scripture so your instincts learn God’s cadence. Submit decisions to trusted people who will tell you the truth. Ask for a tender conscience that notices early. Better to seem cautious today than to spend next season climbing out of a hole God never asked you to enter. Pray for this grace: closed downward doors and open paths that protect love, truth, and rest, the kind of doors Jesus delights to open.

Soul Check

• Where does an attractive option feel “off” the longer you consider it?
• Who can help you test whether this is a platform or a pit?

Prayer

Lord Jesus, sharpen my discernment and expose illusions that would pull me downward. Close doors that deform the soul, and open paths that foster Your life in me and through me. Keep me near Your heart, steady in truth, and quick to heed Your peace. Amen.