The Truth About Soaking Prayer

Recently, I chanced upon a facebook page of a local church where I used to attend, and there was that announcement posted about the schedule of their so-called "Soaking in the Spirit". It says there that the usual service has been canceled to give way for Soaking instead, which to me is unusually long for an 8 AM till 5 PM session. The term "soaking" is new to me, I never heard of it before, and this prompted me to do my research on it.

I decided to contact some of my Christian friends from Facebook through private messages to ask them if they could help me on the subject. Some of them are pastors and teachers of the Word who are known to be biblically sound and have discernment ministries of their own. They sent me lots of links about Soaking which were taken from very doctrinally-sound and reliable sources like Lighthouse Trails Research Project which specializes on exposing New Age Spirituality and Eastern Mysticism in the church.

What is Soaking in the Spirit?

Soaking in the Spirit and Soaking Prayer, are terms which we often hear and being popularized by Emergent churches. Soaking was developed by the Toronto Airport Christian Fellowship (now Catch the Fire Toronto) which is also known for the "Toronto Blessing" and other unbiblical practices like holy laughter, drunk in the spirit and making animal sounds. This now very popular practice is a modern form of contemplative prayer where a person experiences and absorbs God's presence through stillness and by quieting or emptying one's mind, focusing on Jesus and opening up to the Holy Spirit as he or she lies down and/or in a sitting position while listening to a quiet worship music, although some choose to do this in total silence. Like contemplative prayer, Soaking focuses on having a mystical experience with God.

Just like all false doctrines, this can not stand without twisting the Scripture and taking them out of context. Those who practice soaking always use twisted verses to justify that it is biblical. They often use Psalm 46:10 which says "Be still, and know that I am God...", or Matthew 6:6, "But you, when you pray, enter into your closet, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father which is in secret; and your Father which sees in secret shall reward you openly." and Psalm 37: 7, "Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for Him...". 

"Soaking prayer is a modern form of contemplative prayer ... People put themselves in an attitude of stillness, focusing on Jesus and opening to the Holy Spirit but with no requests or agenda. The aim is to be still in God’s presence, "waste time with Jesus". The Toronto church sees soaking prayer as one of the main ways in which they encourage people to be open to the Holy Spirit." -  "Soaking Prayer", Roger Harper

(For more on Contemplative prayer and other links on the subject go to Lighthouse Trail)

Here's a video I found on You Tube of a woman who promotes and teaches Soaking in the Spirit. She explains what Soaking is, its benefits and how to do it. She said that God spoke one day to her husband and told him to buy a tent, set it up in the house, spend time in it and wait for the Lord there. She even compares Soaking to sunbathing and calls it spiritual sunbathing. (Notice how she twists Colossians 3:1, 2)

Soaking music

The music used for Soaking are usually quiet worship songs, but sometimes they also use soothing, relaxing instrumental worship music and believe me, when you hear this type of music, you will not be able to distinguish it from New Age music, in fact, if you would look for it in the music store most of them are categorized under the New Age section. This music often has a melancholic feel to it which triggers a particular emotion or feeling, no wonder most people who do Soaking prayer often can't stop themselves from crying. One of the followers of our blog says that she used to listen to this kind of music which she thought Christian. She used to spend quite a lot of money for it until God took her out of it. God bless her.

(Here's a very "New Age" soaking music with the sound of  a stream in the background)

Dangers and Physical Symptoms

As with contemplative prayers, transcendental meditation (TM), reiki, and yoga, soaking requires that you empty your mind leading it to an altered state of consciousness (ASC) or trance. Those who practice soaking believe that they are inviting the presence of God or the Holy Spirit but in reality what they are inviting is a different spirit. This is very dangerous because this gives familiar spirits an open invite for demonic attacks or worse, demonic possessions of the unsaved.

"Physical symptoms, which can include things like a tingling sensation, that occur during Soaking Prayer are similar to those experienced during the Kundalini experience, and both are dangerous and can take the practitioner into a demonic realm."

"Some of these phenomena are obvious: weeping, cries, exuberant and prolonged expressions of praise, shaking, trembling, calmness, bodily writhing and distortions, falling over (sometimes referred to as 'being slain in the Spirit'), laughter and jumping. Other phenomena are more subtle: slight trembling, fluttering of the eyelids, faint perspiring, a sheen on the face, ripples on the skin, deep breathing..." Wimber also said that people sometimes experience a sense of heaviness or tiredness, weeping or drunkenness." - "Soaking Prayer", Roger Harper

"Some leaders get tingling in their hands, some have their hands get warm when healing is about to occur, some feel "power surges" going through their bodies. Some claim that they see a person's "aura" when soaking a person in prayer. Soaking means pouring out lots of prayer over a person, often with laying on of hands and/or passing the hands over a person. It is reminiscent of what is called "Therapeutic Touch" [Reiki] practiced by new age and alternative medicine enthusiasts. People who believe in soaking prayer get the sense that power is passing through their bodies and actually helping to bring healing, comfort and love. And those who are soaking someone testify that they feel waves coming from the person or going toward the person being prayed for. Certainly something may be felt or experienced, however, is it the Holy Spirit?" - "Toronto Blessing: Christian Based Magic?", Kent Philpott

(For more on Kundalini, read "Kundalini Energy and Christian Spirituality" by Ray Yungen)

"There is nothing in the Bible about soaking or saturating in the Holy Spirit. We are to worship in Spirit and in truth (John 4:24), which means that the teaching in the Church must bring worship to the Lord by upholding the timeless truths of the written Word." - "How to be Unsaturated", Sandy Simpson

Soaking prayer, listening prayer, theophostics, or any other prayer that seeks the presents of God through mystical exercises is simply not biblical. In this it is similar to "contemplative prayer" and contemplative spirituality, which are equally unbiblical. Biblical prayer is talking to God with His will in mind (1 John5:14). A bibically praying believer already understands that God's presence is always with him (Psalm 139:7; Matthew 28:20; 1 Corinthians 6:19; 1 Thessalonians 4:8; 2 Timothy 1:14). - "WND Promotes Soaking Prayer Tutorials", Amy Spreeman (Stand Up for the Truth)

Sid Roth promotes Soaking and the Soaking music of  Julie True on his show

For further reading on the subject: 

• Stand Up for the Truth - "Sid Roth Promotes Soaking Prayer Tutorial on WND" 
• Stand Up for the Truth - "Soaking: The Trendy approach To a Holy God", 
• Lighthouse Trail Research - "Kundalini Energy (The Effect of Soaking Prayer) 
• Lighthouse Trail Research - "Soaking Prayer: And it's Connection to Contemplative Prayer, Reiki, and the Occult" 
• Deception in the Church - "How To Be Unsaturated" 
• Kjos Ministries - "Contemplative Prayer: Seducing Spirits and a Doctrine of Devils
• Let Us Reason Ministries - "What is Really Going On in the Church" 

Kim Davis Saga: Of Defiance And Obedience

Rowan county clerk Kim Davis had already been released from prison amid uproar on her incarceration, not for some felony charges but for refusing to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples in the state of Kentucky. She was handed a vacation in jail by a federal judge who just like any godless people, think the "law" of man supersedes that of any law from some imaginary white-bearded old guy in the sky that rages on an "expression of love".

Unprecedented in history let alone in a democracy, that a person of conscience who stands by what is right, moral and godly - is thrown in jail. There is an endless debate that what is asked of Kim Davis is simply to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples as part of her job, otherwise she has no business dispensing the work of a county clerk. 

What people see is her supposed arrogance to defy a court order and their preconceived notion that she is a hateful bigoted individual whose hatred for homosexuals has no part in an increasingly "loving and accepting society".  

By getting in the way of the powerful homosexual community, she sure becomes the perfect candidate to burn in stake if only to show the world it's their way or the highway. Warning opposers to gay whims in America need not be complicated as terrible consequences await those who dared. Christian bakers, florists, and photographers and even retirees operating a humble and traditional pension house, surely have a lot to say from their woeful experiences yet came out stronger in their faith.

After all that's been said and done, still very few if not only a handful understand that Kim Davis was actually the only one among the involved parties who is actually obeying state laws and the constitution. One excellent article by Brian Fischer that came out amid the Kim Davis saga emphasizes that the judge who ordered Kim Davis' incarceration was actually the one violating Kentucky state laws and constitution. Here's the writer's rationale behind it:

"America is a nation of laws not rulings. And what we mean by "law" is something enacted by the elected representatives of the people or by the people themselves, whether at the state level or federal level.

A law is not a law unless it is enacted according to constitutional procedure. Under US Constitution, courts have no power to make or change a law, none whatsoever.

No one is above the law. No one. This means the president of the United States is not above the law, as both Richard Nixon and disbarred Bill Clinton discovered. But it also means that the SCOTUS is not above the law either.

The Constitution could not be any clearer. The very first words, after the Preamble, are these: "All legislative Powers herein shall be vested in a Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and House of Representatives."

So, legally speaking, if all legislative powers have been vested in Congress, how many legislative powers does that leave for the Supreme Court? None, zip, nada, zilch. The Supreme Court has not one ounce of legitimate authority to write a law, overturn a law, or amend a law. None.

In effect, the Court had precisely zero authority to overturn the Defense of marriage Act (DOMA), which was passed by overwhelming and bipartisan majorities in both houses of Congress, and signed into law by a Democrat president, Bill Clinton. DOMA makes it expressly clear that the business of defining marriage is an issue that belongs exclusively to the states. That is the LAW, passed by the elected representatives of the people in the constitutionally prescribed manner.

If DOMA is to be amended or overturned, there is only one body on earth which has the legitimate power to do so, and that is Congress. The Supreme Court has absolutely no moral or constitutional authority to tamper with it at all.

So if Congress by law has reserved to the states the right to define marriage, what has the state of Kentucky done about it? The people of Kentucky, according to the prescribed method outlined in its state constitution, have defined marriage as the union of one man and one woman, period. Kentuckians enacted their marriage amendment in 2004 with an overwhelming 75% of the vote.

Here's how the Kentucky constitution reads

"Only a marriage between one man and one woman shall be valid or recognized as a marriage in Kentucky. A legal status identical or substantially similar to that of marriage for unmarried individuals shall not be valid or recognized.

Thus, in Kentucky, according to the rule of law, marriage licenses can only permissibly be extended to couples consisting of one man and one woman. A "marriage" between two people of the same sex is "not valid or recognized".

Thus, Kim Davis would actually be breaking the law and violating the constitution of the state of Kentucky by issuing same-sex licenses.

Bottom line: Kim Davis is the only one in this sorry saga who is following the law and the Constitution.

When she took her oath of office, it was an oath to uphold the Constitution of the United States and the constitution of the state of Kentucky. She did not take an oath to uphold the rulings of the Supreme Court, especially when submitting to such rulings would require her to violate her oath to uphold the Constitution.

The federal judge who threw her in jail was certainly not following the law. The braying hounds of the homosexual lobby who are threatening her life for obeying the law most certainly are not.

Is Mrs. Davis guilty of fomenting anarchy? Hardly. The lawless ones in this sorry business are the five members of the Supreme Court who imposed their moral views about sexual deviancy on the entire nation. Anarchy already exists, because of an out-of-control judiciary.

Kim Davis is challenging lawlessness of the Court and seeking to return America to the rule of law. She's not guilty in the least, of civil disobedience. She is, in fact, practicing civil disobedience in the highest sense, obedience to the Constitution and the law."

Other's rights end when homosexual rights begin

No matter the arguments, if the law will have its way, such baseless and shameless indignation directed at Kim Davis is proof, America is no longer a nation of laws but of lawless men. If the very fundamentals that separate three co-equal branches of government went into disarray arising from confusion authored by the single most demonic agenda, that is the homosexual lobby, how on earth will there be democracy if all other rights are incompatible with "the rights of the sodomites"?

This goes to show that a God-fearing citizen's rights end when homosexual rights begin. And when did this grand homosexual effrontery begin? On the day, five lawless and godless men of the SCOTUS decided two same-sex individuals can marry each other; and they expect the whole nation would willingly swallow it without trepidation, or else those who'd dare oppose it shall have their vacation in calaboose all but guaranteed.

This begs the question, why Christian values and principles most certainly get in the skin of this selfish and godless generation? It is simply because Christianity in every sense is never compatible with the world. How many more Christian businesses will shut down in future for not conforming with the demands of the world? For politely declining to bake wedding cakes for two ovulating individuals, Christian bakers had seen their livelihood crumble very hastily. Of course, the fiery darts spewed by intolerant homosexuals aimed at Christians in the form of death threats, vandalism, and hate campaigns would naturally result in their businesses closing down.

To pursue Christians and bring them to court for "offending"  these sodomites (for politely declining to offer their services for conscience's sake) have become the new  homosexual creed exclusively applicable to Christians. Okay, homosexuals are smart, their gut feelings tell them Christians won't fight back; at best they would speak out tamely, but they've got zero tendencies to pick up a cleaver going around slitting throats nor donning belt bombs if only to annihilate anyone who disagrees with them.

Perfect prelude to greater persecutions

Prophetically, Kim Davis' story is a trumpet call to followers of Jesus to brace themselves for greater persecutions that are coming their way, that is if they commit their lives in obedience to God at the expense of their freedom and safety. It is more or less a perfect prelude to what the Scriptures expressly say that those who will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution (2 Timothy 3:12).

The day has already come that what is naturally perceived as good becomes evil in the eyes of those who love not the truth, and evil becomes good to them that do not acknowledge God in their hearts. Kim Davis just did not want to violate her God-given conscience and she was called all sorts of names, even vilified by the same mainstream media that vows to observe impartiality and professionalism. But when millions of babies are being butchered and their organs sold in exchange for Lamborghinis and other perks, they call it "women's rights". But this is what the Word of God says, "woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! (Isaiah 5:20)

What has transpired in the Kim Davis saga should not come as a surprise to Christians, instead it should all the more encourage us for when we become partakers of Jesus' sufferings, so shall we also partake in His glory (Romans 8:17). In worldly perspective, the future is bleak for those who want to fight for their faith, but did Jesus not warn us beforehand so that these things should not keep us off-guard? Jesus said, "If the world hates you, you know that it hated me before it hated you" (John 15:18).

Christians are not called to be friends with the world because friendship with the world means agreeing with everything that the world does. The apostle Paul had every reason to rejoice when he was about to meet his end with these words:

"For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them that love his appearing." (2 Timothy 4:6-8)

As Christians, we already knew that Jesus has already won the victory for us. It's only for us to strive for the prize that awaits us heavenward. This world is by no means our eternal dwelling place, it is reserved for fire, it will perish by fire and with it those who do not love the truth but hate God in their hearts. We obey God rather than men because it is God who is able to kill both our body and soul in hell and not some mortal man who can only kill the body. Persecution is coming, the magnitude unprecedented, but heads up and keep the faith, for our redemption is drawing near.

Please read our related post called "Those Familiar Wolves at The Harlot's Table" with an update on the Kim Davis Fiasco.