Soaking Prayers

The first person I ever heard talk about Soaking people and issues in ongoing prayer was Francis MacNutt, the former Roman Catholic who left the priesthood to marry a Bible teacher. He and wife Judy have a powerful ministry and healing center in Jacksonville, Florida.

When I was a boy my mother prepared beans for soup by first soaking them in water for at least 12 hours. This softened them up and got them ready for the cooking.

Healing people with severe problems such as cancer, mental illness, chronic diseases, etc can be thought of in like manner. The need something more than a simple "arrow prayer" where we say a few good words of intercession and let the matter drop.

One of Frank's unique approaches in Soaking Prayer was praying for awhile and then stopping to ask if the Seeker saw or felt any changes in the target problem. He prayed for a person for a few minutes and then pause to discuss what was happening. Many time people report a sensation of heat, relief from pain or a physical change in the arthritis hand or a break in depression. Sometimes they report little or nothing.

In a former blog I mentioned the WATCH process of Symhonic Prayer. By following this approach we focus on the agenda of the Holy Spirit rather than our agenda.

When we Welcome and Attend to the Holy Spirit by worship, praise, thanksgiving and becoming one with God we are more open to the agenda He has in mind.

Talking/Telling God and one another allows us to announce the agenda we think in on the mind of the Lord and all be in union when we Call on Him for answers, healing, direction, etc.

Finally we Hear Him and follow what he lays out making the WATCH a circular process of discussion with God and the people, including those who are Seeking a healing touch. I have been in groups that Soaked a sick or distressed person for an hour or more. Francis' healing center has special prayer teams that can pray for several hours each day for many days. Their web is

http://www.christianhealingmin.org/index.htm

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I confess that I do not like "scatter shot prayer meetings" at which each and every person prays, talks, sermonizes or lectures God about his/her particular concerns and personal views. I prefer prayer meetings that follow God's lead and when people stay focused on a very few items.

When I teach Cell Groups about prayer I normally ask them to practice the WATCH process and write down whatever ideas come into their minds. At the end I go around the circle and ask each and every member what their thoughts were. About 80-90% of the participants share some insight or idea. At the end there is almost always a theme or common thrust with some scriptural verse, song, call to action or focus. This is a tremendous faith builder.

Once we had the same idea about helping a young couple fix up their new house. We agreed to go and clean, fix, repair and paint with them instead of attending a conference. It was a joyous event that all of us still remember.

Try it. Be bold. Ask God for how to pray. We certainly do NOT know how unless He shows us.

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Last week I asked for nominations of badly wrought prayers. I am still asking.

Shalom,

gsweeten@lifewaycenters.com
www.lifewaycenters.com