Coffee with Our Father in Heaven

Psalm 143:8 Let me hear of your unfailing love each morning, for I am trusting you. Show me where to walk, for I give myself to you. (NLT)

If you wake me each morning with the sound of your loving voice,

I’ll go to sleep each night trusting in you.

Point out the road I must travel;

I’m all ears, all eyes before you.

The Message

Going to Bed On Time Is Hard to Do

Most children

A: Do not want to go to bed.

B: Do not want to get up in the morning.

This is also true of many adults.

This is even true of some Christian leaders.

As a first-time full-time pastor and seminary student, I heard many older leaders wax on about the joys of arising before sunrise to spend time studying the Bible and praying. My active mind was missing an OFF switch. It was tough crawling into bed before midnight. This made getting up before the birds more challenging.

It took years, and a newly-formed coffee habit, to make it possible. The Folgers Coffee jingle is forever embedded in my mind. Sing it with me,

The best part of waking up is Folgers in your cup.

What goes in my cup these days is Peet’s House Blend or Peet’s Guatemala San Sebastian. Francisco’s Kona Blend is a nice weekend treat for my bride and me.

The Best Part of Waking Up

For many years now, my days have begun at a predawn hour. This is true even if I decide to sleep late. Our black dog has a stomach clock that is always on time. Two mornings ago, when I had to sleep in the recliner with my head elevated due to some minor surgery, she found it convenient to lick me in the face to alert me to the lateness of the hour.

Arising, not always shining, and ambling toward the Cuisinart is how I start my days. My bride, for some unknown reason, asked me a question en route to coffee this morning. After thirty-five years of marriage, you would think she would have figured out by now that I do not speak before consuming at least one steaming mug. If I do, it tends to come out less pleasantly than otherwise.

Coffee is not the end game. It is the starting point. Peet and I climb the stairs along with the dogs and arrive at the place where my first and focused attention belongs. My iPad alights and the YouVersion Bible app opens to my daily reading plan.

First Things First

First things first, I check in with our Father in heaven.

Another old commercial, this one for American Express, said, “Don’t leave home without it.” If at all possible, I do not go anywhere without starting in God’s presence listening for his voice in the quiet moments of each early morning. You get the idea this was King David’s habit. Look at what he says:

Let me hear of your unfailing love each morning, for I am trusting you.

His first thought in the morning was of God. He who made it possible for him to lie down and rest, who made it possible for him to awaken to the possibilities and opportunities of a new day, was the first one to whom he spoke. As David wrote in Psalm 4:8, “In peace I will lie down and sleep, for you alone, O LORD, will keep me safe,” (NLT).

The Message paraphrase of this verse says, “If you wake me each morning with the sound of your loving voice, I’ll go to sleep each night trusting in you.”

Evening and morning and all through the day, our Father is with us to show us the way.

A Prayer Worth Praying

David’s morning prayer was not merely a “Good morning, Lord” moment. It was a check-in for the day’s agenda. Listen to the second half of the verse: “Show me where to walk, for I give myself to you.” The NIV 1984 puts it this way: “Show me the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul.”

That’s a prayer worth praying each morning.

Coffee with our Father is the best way I know to begin the day. Listening for his wisdom, applying it to my plans, turning it into a prayer of commitment, and descending the stairs to serve under its direction day by day, week after week, month upon month, year after year is the best part of waking up. I dare not leave home without it.

Let’s enjoy coffee with our Father in heaven day by day.

Pray with me: Our Father, solitude and silence make it possible for these ears and this heart to hear what you are saying. Peaceful rest and strong coffee awaken my mind to discover your daily direction. You faithfully show me the way I should go. Thank you for meeting me here morning by morning. Thank you for guiding me all through the day. Thank you for peaceful rest as I prayerfully lay my head upon the pillow in preparation for our next meeting. Amen.