Why My Dog Hates Closed Doors (And What It Revealed About My Prayer Life)

Have you ever noticed how dogs seem personally offended by a closed door?

In this episode, we explore how one simple dog behavior led to a surprising lesson about prayer, dependence on God, and how often we try to handle life on our own.

Core Scripture

1 Thessalonians 5:17
 "Pray without ceasing."

Explore the Trail

🐾 Shop Abiding Paws Apparel:
abidingpaws.com

🐾 Read the Blog:
abidingpaws.com/blog

🐾 Watch on YouTube:
youtube.com/@AbidingPaws

Transcript

0:00

Welcome back to Abiding Trails. Before we get started, if today's episode encourages you, you'll find additional resources, apparel, and links down in the episode description. Now let's hit the trail. Today we're talking about one of the greatest mysteries in dog ownership: closed doors. I don't know what it is about a closed door, but dogs seem personally offended by them. The moment a door closes, suddenly, whatever it is on the other side becomes the most important thing in the world. They'll scratch, they'll stare, they'll lay dramatically outside the door. Some will even act like they've been abandoned forever. The funny thing is that most of the time they don't even want anything specific. They just want access. They want to know they can get to you. And one day, while laughing at one of my dogs staring at a closed door, I realized there might be a lesson for me there too. In 1 Thessalonians 5.17, Paul gives one of the shortest commands in scripture, pray without ceasing. At first glance, that sounds impossible. After all, we have jobs, families, responsibilities, dogs to feed, laundry to fold, bills to pay. How can anyone pray without ceasing? But I don't think Paul is describing nonstop talking. I think he's describing continual access. Think about your closest relationships. You don't have to be speaking every second to remain connected. You simply know the relationship is there. You know access exists. That's how dogs seem to view us. They don't necessarily need constant interaction. They just want to know we're available, that they can come find us, and that we're still there. And honestly, that's how God invites us to approach Him. Not as someone we only call during emergencies, not as someone we visit once a week, but as someone we remain connected to throughout the day. Many of us treat prayer like a fire extinguisher. We break it out when things are falling apart, when money is tight, when relationships are struggling, when health concerns appear, when fear starts creeping in, and there's nothing wrong with bringing those things to God. He absolutely wants us to. But prayer was never meant to be reserved for emergencies. Prayer is relationship, it's connection. Prayer is access. It's inviting God into the ordinary moments, the drive to work, the walk with your dog, the dishes in the sink, the grocery store line, and the quiet moments nobody else sees. One thing dogs remind me of is that closeness matters. The reason they dislike closed doors isn't because they need something every second. It's because relationships matter to them. Presence matters, connection matters. And if that's true for dogs, how much more should it be true for us as believers? God has never closed the door. Through Christ, we have access to Him. Not just on our best days, not just when we have everything figured out, not just when we've checked all the spiritual boxes, every day, every moment, every situation. The invitation remains open. Maybe the lesson from our dogs isn't that we should scratch at every closed door. Maybe it's that we should remember the greatest door has already been opened, and God is inviting us to walk through it daily. Thanks for joining me on Abiding Trails. If this episode encouraged you, I'd love for you to share it with another dog lover who could use the reminder. And if you'd like to explore faith inspired teas and hats, you'll find everything linked below in the episode description. Until next time, keep abiding.