Coffee with God: He Speaks to His Kids

If you’ve have ever laid in bed praying for God to “show you His purpose for your life”, been told to “pray until something happens”, or wondered if God can even hear you, then then this story is specifically for you.

The box I had put around God responding to prayer broke open in September of 2016 before we had decided to commit to the World Race.

I decided to make an impromptu trip to visit one of the teams I coached. They were working on a project at Missouri State University in Springfield, MO. I planned the trip on Monday and drove to Springfield on Wednesday afternoon.

Thursday morning my alarm went off, I got up and was ready for a full day of meetings. About 15 minutes before the team and I had decided to head to campus together, the team wasn’t awake. Looking down at my watch, I realized I had gone from ET to CT and was up an hour early! With the decision of the World Race heavy on my mind, I decided to step out on the porch, turn on some worship music, and spend time talking it out with Jesus.

Having to decide to leave my job in Indianapolis wasn’t easy for me. I loved my job and the thought of stepping away from the process and the team we had built felt heart crushing. I knew I needed Jesus to show up in a serious way for me to say “yes”.

As the worship music played, I remember saying out loud “Jesus I’m listening, I need you to be clear… that this is truly a part of YOUR plan… Jesus, I’m listening!”. I wrote it in my journal and said “Jesus, I’m listening” over and over – at least 20 times.

In my mind, God responding looked like bumping into a missionary in the next month on a flight somewhere or Kayla feeling overwhelmingly at peace about applying. That’d be Jesus “answering prayer”. In reality, I wasn’t ready for what He had in mind.

After my prayer time, the team was awake and ready to head to campus.

It was a tough day. The stress of the project and holding back to back meetings all day set in. The time I spent on the porch faded out of my memory. I decided it would be best for me to give the team an opportunity to lead a couple meetings without me nearby. Selfishly, it was also a perfect chance to get a much-needed haircut. As I left the student center, I realized the barbershop was much closer than I thought. I was going to be 20 minutes early for my appointment and decided to spend the extra time exploring the local downtown.

As I turned a corner I saw a sign that said “Coffee” across the street with a golden crown logo. Everyone in my life knows I love local coffee shops – I’m addicted to the sense of community they inspire. As I got closer I realized the place was called “Kingdom Coffee”. I couldn’t help but walk in and found myself at the register talking to a guy named Isaac. He is one of the owners of the shop.

Me: “Hey man, can you tell me about the name Kingdom Coffee?”

Isaac: “yea man, it’s about a guy named Jesus, have you ever heard of him?”

We both laughed.

Me: “yea… he’s a good friend of mine.”

We stood there talking about the coffee shop, the community, what I did for a living, etc. when another guy walked up and introduced himself as Nathan. Nathan works at Kingdom Coffee with Isaac. After about 10 minutes of standing there at the register talking about faith, music and our favorite worship artists, a thought came over me – tell them about The World Race.

I debated with the thought but eventually gave in.

Me: “I don’t know why I feel like I need to share this with you guys but my wife and I have actually been praying over a pretty intense decision…”

Before I could finish sharing exactly what that decision was Nathan started sharing his story. I listened as Nathan shared his incredible testimony eagerly looking for my chance to share what the “pretty intense decision” actually was.

As Nathan finished his story he said: “so then I got connected to this ministry where I got an opportunity to travel to 11 countries in 11 months…”

I couldn’t believe the words that had just come out of his mouth. I knew immediately what “ministry” he was talking about.

Tears welled up in my eyes.

Gathering myself I said: “that’s The World Race! THAT is the decision my wife and I are praying about!”

I met 1 of only 4,000 World Racers in a state I wasn’t supposed to be in, in a coffee shop I wasn’t even looking for, on the very day that I had misread my watch and had an extra hour to pray “Jesus, I’m listening”.

Seen. Cared for. Overwhelmingly loved. In personal relationship. Close to Father. – That’s how I felt in that moment.

For me – this wasn’t the moment that Jesus said, “Yes, apply for the World Race”. This was a moment of intimacy between me and the Father where he said softly “RJ, I know you better than anyone, I hear you clearly, and I’m calling your bluff… THIS is what listening could really look like”.

Nathan, Isaac, coffee shops, Springfield, MO… will forever be a reminder of the day that the box I had put around “hearing from God” was blown to pieces.

There is so much noise in our lives keeping us from daily interactions like this with our Father. Get away from distractions, open your heart and be honest when you say “Jesus, I’m listening”. He is a good father and he wants to talk to his kids. I know he will answer… it may just be in a way you are least expecting.

Nathan’s World Race Blog: http://nathanboaldin.theworldrace.org/

Learn more about Kingdom Coffee here: https://www.facebook.com/kingdomsgf

Check out Kingdom Choirs (Isaac & Nathan’s music) here: http://www.kingdomchoirs.com/