(pic credit: on-line, ‘Vladstu’)
What is ‘Soaking Worship’?
DESCRIBE ‘SOAKING WORSHIP’?
I’m gonna try and describe ‘soaking worship’ rather than ‘define’ it. Somehow, by the end of this AdoreTheLord blog, you’ll have some taste and smell and light-flashes of what it may be like to be at a ‘soaking worship’ event.
WHAT IS SOAKING WORSHIP ?
I asked a friend to describe ‘Soaking Worship’ He frequents the Prayer Rooms and Worship Nights that ‘Soaking Worship’ is the predominant approach, mostly lasting 3-4 hours.
He said, “It’s like soaking in a warm, comfortable hot-tub of God’s love and Presence for a couple hours… and all the things that distract me are washed away.”
In their book, Preparing for the Glory, John and Carol Arnott, founding pastors of Catch The Fire, describe soaking as, “…intentionally getting into the presence of God by faith, and just being with Him.” For them, Soaking is a way to receive from God.
Soaking Worship IS [my definition]… a ‘corporate gathering approach’ of God-focused worship by God’s worshipping people, actively and passionately seeking the Manifest Presence of God for a 2-to-4-hour-time frame… usually involves the lead-worshiper musicians and singers engaging songs, hymns and choruses that repeat and are passionately sung… frequently, a single song chorus… or blend of two-to-three like-themed Holy-Spirit-inspired choruses… may weave musically for 10-15-20-20+ minutes [unlike a Sunday song service, which may use 5 minutes for a particular song]. This creates the ‘soaking’ in that particular theme, seeking the Presence of the Lord, allowing a deeper engagement in the moment, with the thoughts of that long, focused theme… usually, it’s 80% music and 20% vocalized praise, some Scriptures being read out…
Yes, there are times called out for ministry, prophetic words and prophetic prayers for individuals, especially if Holy Spirit calls out a specific area [“I’m sensing that God wants to heal people of past traumas and the memories… if that’s you, raise your hand… people around those with hands raised, pray with them…”]
Some groups have regular Soaking times, while others call for a Soaking time to have a deep-and-extended time of worship with an eclectic and diverse gathering [ie, not the regular congregation] of people in the city or region.
‘Soaking Worship’ is significantly longer than a ‘regular Sunday service’. It’s a totally un-hurried time of pursuing Encounter with God.
Two to four hours is pretty standard.
… Two to four hours… in His Manifest Presence…
The ‘Soaking Worship’ times allow space for seeking God and hearing/receiving from Him. Many people come to Soaking times with their Bibles and a Journal, to record what the Lord may say to them in Scripture, prophetic words or encouragement.
Soaking Worship becomes a ‘Tent of Meeting’ moment, where God shows up… He said “… and there I will meet with you!” [Exodus 30:36].
WHAT ‘SOAKING WORSHIP’ IS NOT
**It’s not an extended worship-song-service set during a typical church Sunday gathering.
**It’s not a time for any teaching, preaching, exhortation or dialogue… DEFINIETLY not a set-up for taking an offering!
**It’s not a way for any ‘seeker-friendly’ activities.
**It’s not a tool or methodology for evangelism.
**It’s not a time for ‘special music’ and other performance-based activities.
‘SOAKING’… DAVIDIC… HARP N BOWL…??
What’s the difference? Hard to describe…
The differences are probably context and time-frame related to each gathering.
AdoreTheLord.blog has called out…
^^DAVIDIC /Tent of David approach as: …the main pursuit of everyone gathered together in a ‘Tent of David’ context is to worship Father, Son and Spirit, actively and passionately seeking the Manifest Presence of God… frequently for 24 hrs a day, for as many days possible…
^^HARP N BOWL is equally a long-period time together of God’s people in totally God-focused worship, but the added flow of prayers, prophetic ‘directions’ for prayer and Scripture… modeled after the ‘Harp n Bowl’ description in Revelations…
“Now when [Jesus in heaven] had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each having a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.” (Revelation 5:8 NIV)
[See the comprehensive AdoreTheLord post on ‘Harp n Bowl’:
^^SOAKING WORSHIP with Un-believers?
Finally, there has been discussions [and some hot debates!] of ‘Soaking Worship’ events being closed meetings from people who don’t have a relationship with Jesus.
My personal leadership take on this is that ‘Soaking Worship’ invites should only go out to people who are walking with Jesus, because this ‘intense worship’ experience only makes sense IF a person is a Saint of God and a Disciple of King Jesus.
As previously mentioned, ‘Soaking Worship’ fits poorly in the frame-work of ‘Seeker-sensitive’ or ‘Attractional’ churches or their activities.
HOWEVER, if a Disciple of Jesus has a person who they have been personally ‘discipling’ and they want to bring that person to the ‘soaking worship’ session with the Saints for the purpose of encountering God in that intense and focused setting, then the follow up by being involved with that ‘person on a journey to encounter Jesus’ for continued dialogue and prayer… OF COURSE! I have seen this situation result in the ‘active seeker’ come into an Encounter with the Living God at the meeting, and gave their life to Jesus that night.
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DETRACTORS AND CRITICS
‘Soaking prayer’ and ‘soaking worship’ does have its’ passionate critics, calling it un-Biblical and one un-healthy, mystical pursuit:
https://www.gotquestions.org/soaking-prayer.html
The ‘anti-soakers’ tend to be hard-line Evangelical-Fundamentalists who are directly opposed to any ‘experiential’ individual encounters with GOD. To them, anything ‘mystical’ is wrong, demonic, selfish and filled with error and heresy… and can’t be a Divine Encounter.
Detractors mostly belong to a stream of theology called ‘Cessationalism’, which firmly believes ALL miracles/healings/signs/wonders and demonic deliverances ended when the Apostles died. This posture includes current-day Divine Encounters. For Cessationalists, if someone is going to ‘encounter God’, it will be through an enlightened time reading the Bible, or expert Preaching. They have a really hard time explaining HOW a Divine intervention actually happens…
Evangelical-Fundamentalists Cessationalists are passionate about the Bible, the written Word of God, preaching, and hold strongly that the only valid Christian experience is with an intellectual encounter with Truth in the written Scriptures.
It’s good to know this strong opinion exists in this ONE FLOW of the Church… the other two flows being the Liturgical/Historic flow and the Charismatic/Pentecostal flow, both a little more open to ‘mystical experiences’…
Many in the Evangelical-Fundamentalist camp hold that ‘Soaking Worship’ practices are heretical.
TAKE-AWAY:
Soaking Worship…
I have been a part of hundreds of ‘Soaking Worship’ gatherings, and… yeah, I’m all in.
written by crisbaj
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