Philippians 1:4 (CSB)
always praying with joy for all of you in my every prayer,
Back a few years ago, I was browsing YouTube videos looking for some life hacks about intermittent fasting. Several of the videos explained that black coffee is an aid to fasting. Due to coffee’s low caloric value, it will not cause the person who is fasting to break out of the fasted state while suppressing their appetite. These videos went on to list several other health benefits of drinking black coffee while fasting.
So I thought, “Why not? I’ll give it a try.” The surprise came on the second morning of my adventure with coffee. I was sipping coffee when I was struck by a lightning bolt of sheer joy. I turned to Melissa and said, “I’m experiencing an intense amount of joy right now!” Don’t get me wrong; I’m not saying that coffee is my source of joy. However, I will say that coffee is boosting my Kingdom joy from a physical perspective. But the way I see it, we’re not only physical; God made us as multifaceted beings: physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual.
I’m not implying that coffee is my pocket-sized savior. What I’m saying is that as God weaves together His creation, He has woven in physical components that can serve as motivators to stir our affections for Him. God is sovereign over everything, even the seemingly mundane. From my perspective, I would say that something as seemingly insignificant as coffee can serve to amplify our Kingdom joy, keeping in mind that it is not the source of that joy. The source of Kingdom joy is and always will be Jesus.
Now let’s talk about weaving in a spiritual element of joy.
Along with coffee, I made another impactful discovery: an app with several written prayers. In order to interact with them, I had to set my religious misconceptions aside and open my heart to the possibility that reading a prayer might be just as effective (or spiritual) as any other form of praying. I began to work my way through them on a daily basis. At times, I would catch myself just “reading” the prayer out loud—just going through the motions. I would stop, backpedal, reread, and try to pour my heart into those words. This got a little frustrating, but I was determined to stick with it. Over time, I’ve learned that while reading the prayer out loud, I need to use the words as a guide. I’m learning to read them slowly and to pray from my heart while remaining mindful of the fact that I’m engaging in heart-to-heart communication with God—that I’m engaging in a relational exercise and not merely an intellectual exercise.
The surprise: Amplified joy
With these new tools in hand, what I experienced was nothing short of incredible. These prayers have provided me with a new set of tools. It’s like a new vocabulary that enhances my communication with God. Prayer has gone from something I need to do, to something I want to do. Man, I go to bed excited, looking forward to waking up the next morning, making some coffee, and spending time with Jesus.
So here I am, every morning, sitting in my office, coffee in hand, praying and writing these devotionals. This morning, as I watch the sun slowly peak over the trees in my front yard, I’m thankful to begin a new day with Jesus, coffee, and a renewed attitude of joy.
What about you? Are you feeling a little buried in the spiritual doldrums? You might use some new tools in your Kingdom toolbox. Here is a prayer guide I’ve written that you might find helpful. I would encourage you to scan through it, find a section that you would like to focus on, and spend a few minutes every day holding it before the Lord in prayer. If you give it a try, you might be struck by how it impacts your Kingdom joy.
Here are more devotionals about adding to your spiritual joy toolbox:
More Important than Eating and Sleeping