What is Soaking Prayer?
Soaking Prayer is, in essence, resting in the presence of God. You can pray, but it is also a time to quiet yourself, wait on the Lord and let Him speak to you. This is primarily a time to receive, not give. We call it soaking because it is about submerging yourself in God and His love and soaking Him up like a sponge.
What is the Goal of Soaking Prayer?
The point is to spend time letting God love us and to let Him speak. At other times we give and pour out to Him, but soaking is about receiving from God. It is all about loving Him and allowing Him to love you and work in you. Sometimes He will fill you with His love, other times He will heal a deep wound or empower you with vision and strategy for ministry.
How Can I get Started?
- Find a comfortable place to sit, stand, walk or lie down.
- Ask the Holy Spirit to fill you and focus your thoughts on the love of the Father and upon Jesus Christ our Lord.
- Feel free to pray, but also try to quiet your thoughts and listen for what God may say to you.
- Sometimes when soaking in God’s presence and letting His love fill us you will experience a feeling, like peace, love, or a sense of calm, sometimes you may hear words or see pictures from God in your mind’s eye as He leads your imagination, and other times you won’t feel anything. That’s okay, because His presence is with you and His work in you is not dependent on how you feel.
- If a distraction enters your mind, ask God if the thoughts are actually from Him—if not, don’t worry, just let them pass.
- Instrumental music is often helpful—www.soaking.net is a good source. Reading Scripture is another helpful aspect of soaking.
Some Bible Verses Concerning Soaking Prayer:
Psalm 37:7 “Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for Him.”
Psalm 4:4 “Meditate within your heart on your bed, and be still.”
Matthew 11:28-30 “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”
Hebrews 4:9-11 “There remains therefore a rest for the people of God. For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His. Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest.”
Psalm 23:1-3 “The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the waters. He restores my soul…”
Isaiah 40:29-31 “He gives power to the weak, and to those who have no might He increases strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall, but those who wait on the LORD shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings like eagles. They shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.”
Psalm 27:14 “Wait on the Lord; be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart. Wait, I say, on the Lord!”
Psalm 131:2 “Surely I have calmed and quieted my soul…”
This text modified from the brochure “Soaking Prayer” from New Day Community Church. To see the full text of the brochure, click here.