Coffee With Jesus
Have you ever been on a coffee date? I love hanging out with friends over a cup of chai at a local coffee shop. The atmosphere is always so cute and cozy. The air smells like fresh coffee beans. There is soft yet moody music playing in the background. Other customers are chatting fondly or productively surfing the web. The enjoyment I feel from sipping a hot tea while catching up with an old friend is beyond blissful. Sometimes just spending some one-on-one time with your mom over a hot chocolate is just what you need to lighten your mood. Have you ever taken your laptop to a coffee shop just to work on stuff? I sure have! That vibe you feel from being in a little booth by yourself is so enlightening to me. You feel inspired. You feel peaceful. You feel warmth. Think of a time that you have been to a coffee shop with no other agenda or rushed schedule. Coffee shops are such a great place to catch up with a friend visiting from out of town. Put your phone on silent and you’ll find yourself talking for hours. Your drink is long gone. Your empty mugs sit between you and your date, but time slows down in coffee shops. You finally sigh, hug your friend tight, say your goodbyes, and leave the coffee shop. The sun hits your face as you exit through the door, and the coffee bean smell drifts through the air. A thought comes to your mind, “That was exactly what I needed.” In confirmation, your phone buzzes with a text: “We need to do that again sometime!” And you can’t wait to plan the next coffee date already.
An improvement I wanted to make this year is in my prayer time. I tend to pray only before meals or if I am in need of something. That same coffee house vibes I felt earlier, I also wanted to feel from my prayer time with God. That’s when I decided to have coffee shop dates with Jesus. When I pray, I close my eyes and try to picture myself with the Son of God chatting over coffee. That’s the kind of relationship I strive to have with Jesus. I don’t have to dress up and prepare a speech beforehand. I don’t cave to the distractions of my phone or tv. The time I am setting aside for devotion should be similar to setting time aside to catch up with a lifelong friend. After worshiping or praying, I want to feel that same peaceful and reenergizing emotion like coming home from a coffee date.
Ephesians 1:18
“I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people,”
And at first, that sort of analogy sounded selfish to me. There are a lot of “I wants”. I think it is all in the mindset and attitude I had about praying. Before, prayer was a time to thank God quickly so I could chow down on my food. Before, prayer was a request list. When I made more and more connections between coffee dates and how I wanted my prayer time to feel, it became less selfish. If I talked the whole time and didn’t let my friend speak, it would not be a very enjoyable coffee date for them. The same thing with prayer, if I just talked the whole time and didn’t try to listen to what Jesus was attempting to speak to me, it wouldn’t be as enjoyable. If I was on my phone a lot while my friend from out of town was trying to have a conversation with me, I would be disrespecting their time. Same thing with my prayer time. I want to keep my phone on silent or even keep it in another room. I can throw on some soft worship music in the background. I can even make myself a cup of apple cider in my favorite mug. I can read my Bible and focus on what to apply from the verses. These habits seem easy, but when life gets busy, they take a back seat to errands, chores, making supper, and work. Maybe this analogy doesn’t make sense to you. Maybe coffee shops are overwhelming and not your “cup of tea”. If that’s the case, then find something that works for you! Jesus wants a personal relationship with you no matter where you are or what you are doing.
2 Chronicles 7:14
“If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”
If I am going to pursue this analogy of coffee with Jesus while I pray, I also need to keep in mind that it is not going to be a peaceful, cozy, and warm conversation every time. Sometimes I am mad at the Lord. I get upset when I make mistakes or don’t see answers to my prayers. Those are times that I definitely do not want to have a heart-to-heart with God. However, I know those are equally important conversations to have. I cannot solely have the “coffee date” chats and challenge my faith at the same time. Prayer and worship is such a powerful thing, and I want to pursue that.
James 5:13
“Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray. Is anyone happy? Let them sing songs of praise.”
Thank you for holding me accountable, dear reader. Thank you for reading through this story/ blog. I hope some part of it can stand out to you and inspire you to take an inventory of your own prayer time. Remember, Jesus wants to spend time with you and He knows you by name. Make a coffee date with him and it just might change your life.
