Seeking Through Soaking

The Purposeful Pursuit of His Presence

Sandee L. Hemphill

Jeremiah One Nine Publishing

Copyright © 2014 by Sandee L. Hemphill

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic of mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher. Brief quotations embodied in critical reviews other than noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, please contact the publisher.

ISBN 978-0-9828738-3-0

Unless noted otherwise, all scriptures are NKJV.

Jeremiah One Nine books are available our local representative at jeronenine@gmail.com.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Hemphill, Sandee L

Seeking Through Soaking

ISBN 978-0-9828738-3-0

1. Soaking   I. Title

Seeking Through Soaking

Contents

Introduction

One —  What Is Soaking and Why Should

I Embrace It?

Two —  Comparing Soaking to Meditation

Three —  Enter In: How to Begin Your Soaking Journey

Four —  The Fruit of Soaking

Appendix A — Soaking Scriptures

Appendix B — Meditation Scriptures

Appendix C — Soaking Resources

Appendix D — The Journey of a Thousand Miles

About the Author

Dedication

This book is dedicated to the Body of Christ and to all who’ve sought an intimate and personal relationship with their Father but were unable to find the right door to commune with Him in this manner.

It is dedicated to those who have hungered and thirsted for Him but only found appetizers in place of the feast they knew existed. We trust we have provided you with a guide to continually access His presence and to continually bask in His glory as you purposely pursue His presence!

Acknowledgments

For some time now, I’ve been aware of the fact that I don’t live in a vacuum and that I need other members of the Body of Christ. I wish to thank a few at the risk of leaving out others who have also had impact upon this work.

To say that I am indebted to anyone would at best be an understatement. It is a joy to have people who believe in your vision and are willing to make a contribution toward it. I am extremely appreciative of the editorial work provided by Charmy Crumley, and to my husband, James, for his unfailing support.

I wish to acknowledge my fantastic graphic designer, Vita Redding of Red Life Creative. I shared the vision I had for this work and she did the rest. I couldn’t have conceived of such a wonderful design. Many thanks to you, Vita, for your contribution.

Technical Notes:

Cover Photo, “Crossing Into the Peaceful Place.”

ID 30874670 © 3dmentat.

Dreamstime.com

Book Design Layout:

www.RedLifeCreative.com

Introduction

This is Where the Journey Begins…

In order to create the right mindset for this book, I’ll open with a statement: soaking is a journey. That’s it. Soaking is a journey; it’s a spiritual journey toward truth. Soaking is a time of love, joy, peace and introspection. Soaking brings you face-to-face with the truth. Truth is undeniable. Soaking brings you face-to-face with your Father. Could anything in life be better than this?

I’ve noticed in recent years that clothing manufacturers have changed their sizing charts. I can now buy clothing that is marked a few sizes smaller than what I would regularly buy, but it’s really the same old size. This is a deception, but I (and many of you) gladly pay for this deception because it flatters the ego.

Did you know that when we stand in the presence of the Lord, we are standing before Him naked―spiritually? There is no deception in this position. Everything we are stands before Him. There’s nowhere to run and nowhere to hide, nor should we want to.

When we stand before Him, we partake of all that He is. His glory and radiance reflect who we are. At that moment, we are whole and perfect and lacking in nothing. We’re standing in His glory observing and absorbing all that He is. When we leave His presence, His glory remains with us. It lingers until we replace it with the atmosphere of the earth.

Stillness is a key to intimacy with God. It should be the main goal of your pursuit. James 4:8 tells us, “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.” When we turn our energies into radical pursuit of Him, our whole hearts turn toward Him. We desire Him; we display our hunger as the deer who pants for refreshing water. We create a thirst that only His presence can satisfy.

Daniel 12:4 tells us that “many shall run to and fro” in the last days. They’ll be without direction and lost as to how to find answers. This is not our Father’s desire. His desire is that we adhere to David’s admonition, “When You said, ‘Seek My face,’ my heart said to You, ‘Your face, O Lord, I shall seek’” (Psalms 27:8). He wants us to seek Him!

Stillness is a goal. It is a destination in the Spirit and a goal in the natural. We should strive to attain this goal in all of our soaking encounters.

As a form of prayer, it’s quite possible that we have slipped in and out of this format without knowing it. However, in soaking, we want to knowingly and purposely pursue His presence. Therefore, we should elevate soaking to a daily, obtainable goal.

We should incorporate soaking into our public meetings and provide detailed instructions on its private use as well.

Soaking has been overlooked in our daily Christian development. It has not received the attention needed to make it an integral

Unfortunately, soaking has been overlooked in our daily Christian development. It has not received the attention needed to make it an integral part of the relationship with our loving Father.

Many of us have been involved in some form of church or ministry training. Religion is rote; it has lulled us into false relationships with man and God. It carries a form of godliness but denies God’s power. Soaking is not rooted in religion. It is a part of a living relationship that every Believer should embrace and develop.

Religion closes its door to soaking. Religion is a one-way street. It can bring you into the presence of the Lord, but each journey takes you down the same boring path.

In fullness of time you become impervious to the environment and lose interest in the journey. You aren’t necessarily pursuing God; you are just following the crowd to its predetermined destination — nowhere.

On the other hand, soaking is like being on a super highway. There are many paths leading to your Father’s heart. Each journey is filled with intrigue and excitement.

Your soaking path is determined by how much time you are willing to invest in the journey. Through soaking, you’ll never take the same path twice!

The pages of this book are purposeful and focused. They are designed to bring you to the naked truth, because we can only truly encounter Him in truth. As stated previously, soaking is a spiritual journey toward truth.

What you may discover could be entirely new to you. It might be an upgrade of your current relationship with Him. Or a reminder of the joys you experience with Him on a regular basis. Either way, the outcome glorifies Him.

This goal of book is to bring you into God’s loving arms on a consistent basis. It should aid you in broadening your knowledge of soaking, heightening your interests, and setting you on an endless path of pursuit.

We encourage you to position yourself for daily journeys into His presence. Take the plunge into the depths of communion with Him. Rejoice as you learn to rest in Him. He is ready to come in and commune with you!

One

What Is Soaking and

Why Should I Embrace It?

My knowledge of the spiritual expression known as “soaking” came more than 20 years ago. That’s when the encounter I’d experienced so many times in my prayer closet was given a name.

I was at a conference and the host announced that anyone who wanted to remain in the sanctuary to ‘soak’ was invited to do so.

The minister asked those who didn’t want to soak to quietly exit the room. The musicians began to play the most heavenly music I’d ever heard.

It wasn’t hard for me to make my decision – I immediately fell to the floor and quieted myself, awaiting the Lord’s presence.

Soaking is a God-encounter. It’s a time of intimacy in which you experience God’s presence as you fellowship with Him.

To fully equip you for the experience, we’ll lay a solid foundation for you to build memorable soaking experiences. Here are twelve concepts to prepare your heart to ‘enter in.’

1) Soaking is abandonment. It’s the abandonment of all earthly concerns in pursuit of God’s presence. To soak means to be still in His presence and allow Him to saturate you with His presence! This is the essence of soaking!

Be still! That’s the key word in the soaking arena. Stillness is a skill which the church has neglected. Generally, when we are in God’s presence, our goal is to ‘do something.’ We want to pray or sing or worship Him.

While all of this is good, it sometimes constitutes ‘works’ which we present to God for our own pleasure more than His. We (the church) must re-acquaint ourselves with the mandate of stillness. We must acquire this valuable skill and learn to ‘be still.’

An in-depth look at the word ‘stillness’ takes us to this definition from the Merriam-Webster Online Diction-ary^1: “not moving, lacking motion or activity.” In other words, in this position we are yielded to Him.

We don’t bring anything into His presence. We don’t “do” anything. Soaking is stillness; stillness is our place of total surrender!

Soaking is spending time with the Master of the universe. Soaking allows you to position yourself to just love Him.

By now this should be clear… soaking is not worship, it’s not praise, and it’s not petitioning (although it is a form of contemplative prayer).

Through soaking, you are positioned in a state of total abandonment which allows His love to freely flow to you. You welcome His presence and He welcomes yours. Through soaking, He meets with you to fill our hearts with HIS love.

Soaking is sometimes called ‘soaking prayer.’ This can be confusing because we normally think of prayer as talking to God. But when we consider that prayer really means ‘communicating with God,’ it makes perfect sense. Through soaking, we communicate with God through silence.

2) Soaking is Biblical. The word ‘soaking’ is not found in the in the Bible; however, the principle which aligns it to Biblical standards is noted in several places.

Please review the following two scriptures noted below (see the Appendix for a full listing): work.

Samuel 3:3-8 ― Samuel slept (rested) in the temple (in the presence of the Lord) which is where he heard the voice of God. Eli instructed him to respond to God’s voice with, “Speak Lord, for your servant is listening.”

Luke 10:39-42 ― Mary chose not to busy herself (even with worship or prayer) in the presence of the Lord. Instead, she ‘waited’ upon Him, which means she ministered to Him spiritually. Mary ‘sat at His feet (rested)’ and listened to Him.

3) Soaking is a one-on-one encounter with God. Remember when Moses was called to stand in the presence of God? He couldn’t even look at Him but stood there in His presence.

Now imagine yourself, an average, everyday Christian, being given the privilege of not only standing in His presence, but seeing Him as well. You no longer have to wait once a year (like the priests did), or wait for special days to enter His presence.

Take a cue from Jeremiah 29:13, “You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart (ESV).”

Just imagine, whenever you desire His presence, He’ll meet with you. You just have to want it!

4) Soaking is a form of meditation. Let’s face it… we’re a society of busy people. We spend time at work, with family, with church family, with friends, etc.

All too often we neglect to spend one-on-one time with our Father. We must learn to incorporate time for Him through soaking as a part of our daily lifestyle.

Soaking turns every fiber of your being towards God. Soaking is touching and being touched by Him―in a one-on-one encounter! Luke 10:40 addresses the issue of busyness:

“But Martha [overly occupied and too busy] was distracted with much serving; and she came up to Him and said, Lord, is it nothing to You that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me [to lend a hand and do her part along with me]!”

As you can clearly see, Martha was in the very presence (physically) of the Lord but was still too busy to give Him the attention He deserved. Does this sound like us in our church services?

Most eastern cultures use meditation to align themselves with their god. The Christian church has failed to emphasize this method of communion because it came to popularity by way of the New Age movement.

Here’s the truth; if these religions are using this method and they are counterfeits (of the true God), they had to steal it from the real―and that’s us! We need to take back this methodology and sanctify it for the Kingdom of God.

5) Soaking is a mindset that can be developed. Soaking is a mindset that can be purposely and individually sought. As a mindset, soaking is not subject to any particular environment or physical condition.

There’s no designated physical position that’s best for soaking. You can stand, sit, bow, lay prostrate, lean on the wall, kneel―you name it. There’s no required position needed for soaking.

Even though it can take place in a corporate setting, soaking is an individual God encounter. Each person receives an individual touch from their heavenly Father. It’s a very personal matter; no two people will encounter Him in the same way.

6) Soaking is being saturated with the presence of the Lord. Soaking places you in direct contact with your Father. When you soak, you stand (sit, kneel, etc.) in His righteousness. Righteousness means that you stand before the Lord without any sense of guilt, shame or condemnation.

Scriptures points out in Isaiah 64:6, that “And all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags (NKJV).” You stand before the Father in His righteousness. He took away your sins and gave you His righteousness.

Now you have a platform for His holiness! You exchange who you are (earthly; limited) for who He is (spiritual; limitless). You exchange your righteousness for his holiness.

In soaking, you position yourself as a dry sponge and allow your Father to fill you to overflowing. A dry sponge soaks up all the liquid it encounters until it is totally saturated.

That’s what you want to happen. You want to be totally saturated with His presence. It will permeate every fiber of your being.

There’s no striving or laboring involved in soaking. When you soak, you don’t have to make anything happen. All you need to do is rest. He has everything under His control.

7) Soaking brings you into greater intimacy with God. Soaking creates an audience of one, for you to communicate with your Father. This encounter results in greater intimacy than what previously existed.

Greater intimacy between you and your Father helps to build your relationship with Him. You shouldn’t soak because you want something from Him; you should do it because you want to give something to your Father―your undivided attention!

Soaking works from a spontaneous platform. There are no set rules or regulations in soaking. It is based upon just showing up and hanging out with Him! When you hang out with the Lord, you learn of Him in new and different ways. You acclimate yourself to His voice and to His stillness.

Soaking brings us into divine union with Him as you are transformed when you are with Him. It resets your communications channel, resulting in new expressions of His glory spring forth from you.

Through soaking, you’ll learn to respond with verbal and non-verbal expressions, unintelligible utterances, and unrehearsed movements.

You’ll develop your own personal soaking vocabulary. Spending time in His Presence is the discipline you must develop to access all He has for you!

Remember, soaking is based upon stillness. The quiet allows your Father to enter your thoughts without worldly distractions. Through soaking, we forget ourselves and focus our attentions on Him. This is when intimate, personal ministry takes place.

You become a dry sponge and He fills you to overflowing (saturation) with His glory. You are transformed from anxiety (cares of the world) to restfulness (Fruit of the Spirit― love, joy, peace, etc.).

Surrender to the Lord! Surrender to Him! Surrender your mind, will, emotions and physical body to Him. A quick cleansing prayer will cover any unrepentant sin and position you to receive all that He is.

Do not allow your finite mind to set limits on your infinite God. Be open to His divine visitation. It’s often said that through soaking you “waste time on Jesus!” work.

8) Soaking is a form of worship. The central purpose of worship is to lavish your love upon Him.

One of the major differences between worship and soaking is the volume of expression. Worship is usually verbal and can be boisterous.

Contrarily, soaking is quiet and muted. Worship is demonstrative; soaking is stillness and quiet. Soaking postures you for worship but you express your worship quietly.

Soaking constitutes a form of worship. Soaking (prayer) is a modern form of contemplative prayer, in which you establish a state of stillness and focus on the Lord.

You have no agenda when you are soaking — except to be with Him. As always, your goal is total stillness.

9) Soaking invigorates you spiritually. Most of us are overwhelmed by the hustle and bustle of our daily lives. We feel consumed by the environments around us.

We need a place of daily refuge; we need a place to rest. Soaking becomes our deliverance from the demands of everyday life.

As you rest in the Lord’s presence, He shields you from the cares of the world. All of your earthly concerns and worries melt away.

You can now refocus your attention on God and allow His priorities to fill your heart. You are at peace. As a result, you are renewed and refreshed through your encounter with Him.

Soaking opens your spirit to new dimensions of the Spirit. You will find yourself in spiritual places you didn’t know existed prior to your encounter. Unfamiliar scriptures may emerge; spiritual visions may erupt. You may suddenly sense a ‘knowing’ of spiritual things previously unknown.

Don’t be afraid of what you encounter; remember, you are with your loving Father. Don’t reduce His manifestations to your earthly comfort level. Be open to Him and receive of His bounty.

10) Soaking requires that you put the Lord of the Work before the work of the Lord!2 It’s an unfortunate fact but too many of us have been taught to ‘serve’ the Lord in the form of time-draining church activities. We have not been taught to pursue God personally with the same fervor.

The 5-fold ministry (the equipping arm of the Kingdom) is called to equip the church for the work of the ministry. This mandate is often misunderstood. You should also be equipped to the work your individual ministry. A balance must be established.

The Body of Christ should be encouraged to build personal relationships with their Father, in addition to the relationship with their church family. A balance must be established.

If you are spending so much time serving the Lord (in church) that you can’t personally serve Him (soak), then your life may be out of order!

11) Soaking is a form of Prayer. Remember that prayer is communing with God. Through soaking prayer, we rest in Him. Instead of talking to God, we wait quietly upon Him to Him to speak, giving Him the time He needs to speak to us.

Although soaking is prayer, it is not petition. Soaking is another form of prayer such as intercession or supplication.

Generally, prayer is considered to be laborious while soaking is labor-less! All forms of prayer are acceptable to the Lord. However, soaking presents a very different way to commune with God.

As you know, most other forms of prayer are verbal. Soaking can be done without ever speaking a single word!

12) Soaking Births Revelation. Soaking is a gateway to the supernatural realm of the Spirit. God releases His power through us as we dwell in intimacy with Him. Revelation is often the fruit of soaking in God’s presence.

The Lord delights in revealing the secret counsel of His heart to us. He may choose to address certain issues that have been avoided. At other times, He may choose to bring His divine wisdom to our situation and our needs. His power and presence will be sufficient for you.

God is waiting on us to wait on (minister to) Him. He releases His power through us as we dwell in intimacy with Him.

Psalm 27:14 addresses the scope of all that all that has been made available to us as we soak or wait upon the Lord. “Wait on the Lord; be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart (Psalm 27:14 — NKJV).”

2Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary. N.p., n.d.

Web. 03 Apr. 2014.

2Brant, Roxanne. Ministering to the Lord. New

Kensington, PA: Whitaker House, 2000. Print.

Two

Comparing Soaking to Meditation

Many people confuse soaking with meditation. They seem to think they are the same thing. Some think the term ‘soaking’ is just a new term for this activity.

The truth is, soaking is very different from meditation. Each method has its benefits, but they definitely are not the same activity.

In eastern cultures, many of their religious practices include meditation. This practice often involves coming to a god with a thought that you repeat over and over again. Then you wait for a response to your time of meditation.

In contrast, when you soak, your motive is to come to God empty of any thoughts and wait for God to fill you with Himself. Let’s examine some basic definitions for the word ‘meditation.’

The Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary^1 offers us this definition: “The act or process of spending time in quiet thought: the act or process of meditating: an expression of a person’s thoughts on something.

The Dictionary also lists these synonyms for mediation: Contemplation, thought, thinking, pondering, consideration, reflection, deliberation, rumination, brooding, reverie, concentration and prayer.

As you can see, many of these terms are found in the descriptions for soaking. But one key factor separates them. Meditation can be associated with a religion or an object. Contrarily, soaking is a term that is used only to refer to spending time with the true and living God. Therefore, meditation is not the same as soaking.

There are a number of ‘celebrities’ who have embraced meditation and are using their platform to encourage other to engage in this practice. This presents a problem because you should want to do it for yourself and not because a celebrity does it. Their results will be dramatically different from the next person’s.

As previously noted, with the exception of Christian meditation, meditation does not necessarily involve God. It could be focused on any number of earth-objects (trees or statues).

For these celebs, meditation is not necessarily used as a form of prayer. There is no indication that meditation births revelation, although if used in the Christian sense, it could be built upon revelation.

We should not forgo this form of expression just because other cultures use it in a manner contrary to Christian dictates. Instead, we should be certain the forms we select meet with biblical standards and practices.

This is easy to do because the Bible describes meditation in several notes passages. For additional information, see “Appendix B – Meditation Scriptures.”

Here’s a brief chart comparing these activities, based on our 12 definitions in Chapter 1:

Soaking Meditation Comparison

This activation requires that you be still in His presence and allow Him to saturate you.

X

This activation is Biblical

X

X

This activation involves a one-on-one encounter with God

X

This activation is a mindset that can be developed.

X

X

This activation requires that you be saturated with the presence of the Lord.

X

This activation brings you into greater intimacy with God.

X

X

This activation is a form of worship.

X

X

This activation invigorates you spiritually.

X

X

This activation requires that you put the Lord of the Work before the work of the Lord!

X

This activation is a form of prayer.

X

This activation births revelation.

X

This activation is the abandonment of all earthly activity in pursuit of God.

X

As noted, there are lots of similarities as well as some key differences between soaking and meditation. Meditation does not involve being saturated with Him, nor does it always lead to a one-on-one God-encounter. But it is another way of entering into His presence and spending time with Him.

Meditation vs. Christian Meditation

How many forms of meditation are there? This question was asked of me in a soaking encounter. I didn’t have a numeric answer for it; I still don’t. However, a brief internet search revealed a variety of answers, as listed below:

“There are various types of meditation such as breath meditation, mantra meditation, heart meditations, silent meditation, visual meditation, standing meditation, etc.

“Innumerable forms… there are more created every day. Most should be classified as contemplation or concentration, not meditation. For true meditation does not have a process, it is simply sitting in pure awareness. In this way, you could say there in only one form of meditation.”

This reveals that there are a number of ways to meditate. However, the question to be asked is whether or not these forms draw you closer to your heavenly Father.

In most of the forms I’ve referenced, their goal is to detach their minds from all thoughts and images. In our form of meditation, the goal is to attach ourselves to our loving Father.

Many of these forms of meditation speak of “concentrated communion with God,” which then begs the question, “Which God?” This is the true dividing line between these forms of non-Christian meditation and Christian meditation.

Much confusion has existed regarding meditation and Christian meditation, due in great part to the influence of eastern religions and the New Age Movement. Therefore, it is imperative that we have a balanced, Biblical understanding of Christian meditation.

Christian meditation involves deliberately focusing on specific thoughts about God through a verse of scripture, and reflecting on their meaning in the context of the love of God. As noted, this is very different from the general process of meditation.

The objective of Christian meditation is to so focus on the Word of God that faith (confidence in Him through His word) is produced in the heart.

When faith is produced, the mouth will speak it. Faith is spoken, heard, and continually reproduced, and the process of meditation is brought to maturity.

God promised both good success and a prosperous way to those who choose to meditate on His Word. He told Joshua “this Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success (Joshua 1:8 — NKJV).”

The English word meditate used in this scripture is the Hebrew word  הגה hagah. Thayer's Lexicon^4 defines  hagah as, “to moan, growl, utter, muse, mutter, meditate, devise, plot, or speak.”

Strong's Lexicon^5 defines hagah as “to murmur (in pleasure or anger); by implication, to ponder: — imagine, meditate, mourn, mutter, roar, speak, study, talk, or utter.”

To meditate on God's Word is to think about it over and over, filling your mind and even your mouth with it. Biblical meditation is about thinking, pondering, imagining, muttering, and speaking the Word of God.

In the New Testament, the Apostle Paul instructed Timothy to, “meditate on these things; give yourself entirely to them, that your progress may be evident to all (see 1 Timothy 4:15).

The New Living Translation^6 states it this way, “Give your complete attention to these matters. Throw yourself into your tasks so that everyone will see your progress.”

Don’t expect this to be a speedy, overnight process. You must be diligent in seeking to understand God's Word.

Validity

There is no attempt in this writing to push you away from meditation. Meditation is viewed as a biblical practice and your participation in it is strongly encouraged.

Neither is there any attempt to ‘exalt’ soaking as a higher form of expression over meditation. The goal here is merely to point out the differences for the sake of understanding and usage.

For the most part, any form of worship or praise, adoration, meditation, soaking and other expressions that bring you in the presence of our Lord is greatly encouraged.

Whether you meditate or soak, either expression has the potential to elevate your relationship with your Father. Take hold of either expression and use it liberally!

Three

Enter In:

How to Begin Your Soaking

Journey

A soaking encounter requires that you to be face-to-face with the Father. You cannot have a soaking encounter without entering into His presence and recognizing that He is there with you.

Soaking is not necessarily an experience — it’s more of a spiritual encounter. An experience can be past (yesterday) or something that is yet to come, such as experiencing a new activity.

An experience can or may not happen between two individuals. Additionally, an experience does not require you to be face-to-face with the parties involved; it doesn’t even need to be spiritual.

No Formula

There is no formula for soaking. Your approach will be based upon your spiritual maturity and/or your chronological age. It doesn’t depend upon your knowledge of the Word (although this would help in clarifying what you hear).

Soaking isn’t based upon any superficial title or position you may hold in your local church. Your encounter depends entirely upon who you are and what you bring to the table when you meet with your Father. Just show up — He’ll do the rest.

Schedule Your Time

One of the first things you want to do as you prepare for your soaking time is to schedule a regular time to meet with the Lord. It may help you to stay focused if you meet at or near the same time each day.

Actually, writing your times out on your calendar (paper or electronic) says you are serious about making this a part of your life.

Designate A Meeting Place

Next, decide where you will meet with Him. As with your schedule, try to be consistent in your meeting place. If you are dedicating a room in your home, plan to make it your regular location.

A consistent location makes it easier for you to create the atmosphere you need for your encounter. Rearrange the room for maximum use.

During your soaking encounters, you’ll want to allow ample time and space for sitting, kneeling or laying prostrate. before the Lord. Having pillows available for your knees or your head is a good move.

Set the Atmosphere

Decide if you will use music and have it prepared. We’ve already stated that music does much to create a presence for your encounter. If appropriate, light candles or add an aroma mister.

Your goal is stillness; to find this sought-after state, you’ll want to create the most conducive atmosphere for your encounter.

Don’t allow any activity in your designated space that will distract you. A ticking clock or a ringing phone can quickly draw you away from His presence.

Have a place to write and the related tools. If your space does not allow for a desk, perhaps a stiff notepad or a clipboard might suffice. An ottoman in the room could double as an altar or an impromptu desk.

Be sure the lighting is adequate for your encounter. Also, have a hand-held recorder (or your phone recorder) available in case you need it.

It may be a good idea to have bottles of water and boxes of tissue stored in the room. Sometimes your soaking sessions may shift and you’ll find yourself in deep in demonstrative worship or intercessory prayer. While this may not be the norm, it wouldn’t hurt to be prepared to record these occasions.

Invite the Holy Spirit to Join You

Since soaking is a form of prayer, it should begin with repentance and worship. These two steps will position your heart to give and to receive.

Repentance removes any self-condemnation and opens you up to God’s forgiveness. With a clean heart, we can begin our time of worship and adoration. This can be done quietly or aloud and may be followed by singing or a time of meditation.

Next, start the music, if desired. Allow a few minutes for it to permeate the atmosphere. Invite the Holy Spirit in; tell Him He is welcome. Position yourself physically to commune with Him.

Listen to the music without reacting to it. Refrain from singing or clapping to the beat. Listen intently. Can you hear a distinct sound which resonates with your Spirit? If so, your encounter has begun.

How Long Should You Soak?

There’s no formula for soaking. How long you spend with your Father depends on what you want from the encounter. In soaking, your focus is on Him alone.

How long will it take for you to sense Him? How long would you like to have Him all to yourself? Would you enjoy a daily visit, or once or twice a week? Only you can answer these questions.

How many days can you invest? How long will it take to satisfy your hunger for Him? Is 10 minutes enough? Is 45 minutes enough? Can you invest an hour? Thirty minutes may be a good place to begin, but be open to what the Lord requires of you in your relationship with Him.

Don’t rush the process! Soaking is an activity which cannot be done in a hurry. As you grow in Him, you will undoubtedly increase your time. Be prepared to invest as much time as possible to solidify your relationship.

What Captured Your Attention?

As you soak, look for something spiritual to capture your attention. If you have eliminated the usual distractions, your atmosphere should be conducive to His presence.

Wait and listen... listen and wait. If nothing grabs your attention, don’t worry. You’re just getting started.

Re-access the atmosphere. Is there anything distracting you? Music may not be an entry into the presence of the Lord for you in your initial gathering.

You may be more comfortable with a different style of music. Either way, if you’ll continue to spend time with Him, you will eventually find the right entry combination.

Continue to wait and listen. You’ll find the door that opens to His presence.

If the music is helpful, remain in your original position until it ends. Try to remain quiet and still. Listen intently.

You are now watching in the Spirit. This means you are attuned to what is taking place. Does anything capture your attention yet? You may sense any or a combination of the following:

1) A scripture comes to mind (either the

verse or the reference)

2) A song may come cross your mind

3) A new song may be birthed in you

(via spontaneous flow)

4) You may sense a quiet whisper or

a gentle nudge

5) You may see a picture or have a vision

6) You may hear a single word or

a sentence

7) You may sense angelic visitation

8) You may not sense anything at all

These are just a few of the thousands of ways your Father may choose to interact with you. Remember, don’t limit His activity. You are meeting with Him to learn of Him.

Be open to these and other ways He may respond. Instead of putting Him in a box, look forward to Him surprising you each day.

Marking History

As your soaking encounter comes to an end, you may be directed to record your encounter. This activity is called journaling.

If you are directed to do so, record as soon as possible after your quiet time. As your learn more of your Father’s ways, you’ll know when to record and when to go on with your day. Allow Him to dictate what actions take place.

Don’t Pre-Judge Your Soaking Experience

Even though it would be disappointing if you don’t hear or sense anything during your soaking encounter, it’s not unusual.

This doesn’t mean you are doing anything wrong. It simply means you need to have more encounters in pursuit of Him.

During your next soaking appointment, begin your time using the same actions you previously initiated. If nothing changes, consider changing the music or your physical position. These changes may help position you with fresh anticipation.

Know that God’s presence can be different for everyone. Some people may physically feel something: a cool breeze, heat or some type of tingling (like a limb falling asleep).

Some people describe a cool stream on a hot day that washes over them. Others sense a healing or a some type of cleansing warmth. All of these encounters are valid for those individuals. Don’t base your encounter on whether or not you feel anything. Just relax and enjoy His presence.

You’re On a Journey!

Monitor your self-talk. Don’t side with any thoughts of the enemy. Don’t think you are not welcome in God’s presence. You are His loving child and He wants to meet with you.

You are on a journey. The first few steps are the hardest. Give the process time; it will prove to be well worth the effort!

Soaking Music

Soaking music is a sub-genre of Christian music. It is commonly used to denote songs that are used during soaking prayer.

Soaking music is used to set aside oneself to focus and meditate on God for renewal of strength and peace. Soaking music — intimate worship music — helps you quiet your soul and bring you closer to God's heart.

Music is not a requirement for soaking; however, it is used to draw in your emotions. If you focus on the music, it will tend to subdue the physical environment and soothe the mind, will and emotions. Music can be a valuable asset to you soaking encounters.

King Saul understood this principle. If you remember, he was quieted when David played for him. In the midst of a battle, King Saul could enter a place of calm when David played his harp (1 Samuel 16:23). King Saul was tormented by evil spirits; David’s music refreshed him.

Soaking music is often referred to as ‘presence music’ because it carries the very presence of the Lord. Soaking music invokes His presence; then the atmosphere is ‘saturated’ with Him. It’s in this environment that we can commune with our Father.

Soaking music is also conducive to intimate worship. Our audience of one rests in our presence, as we rest in His. Our Father hovers over us and plants seeds of His love, joy, peace, and more.

Music creates the relaxing atmosphere in which we cease from striving and attempting to ‘perform worship.’ We are drawn into His presence and allow Him to minister to us!

The selection of soaking music is a personal decision. Some people like long, slow instrumental songs while others prefer celestial tones with words. Some people like upbeat music while others prefer a chamber music tempo.

It is entirely personal and not subject to anyone’s opinion. And there are enough psalmists and recordings available to meet your qualifications.

As previously stated, music is not a requirement for soaking —it is a compliment. If you are a leader of soaking services, you should consider a variety of music to meet the needs of all concerned. You can discern the musical compositions that are the most conducive to your audience.

Please bear in mind that these tactics may or may not enhance your soaking encounters. God will use different criteria to draw each of us to His presence. What draws one person could very well turn off the next.

As your relationship develops, you will clearly discern what is appropriate for building your relationship. There are no hard and fast rules.

If this subject is completely new to you, please make full use of the resources provided in Appendix B. You’ll find a broad variety of free resources to get you started.

Once you’ve acclimated yourself to the music, you can use the resources available to build your own library. Be generous in your investment and you will reap the value of it ten times over.

Four

The Fruit of Soaking

Soaking sensitizes you to God’s presence. As you commit yourself to pursuing God, you’ll quickly become more sensitive to Him. When you hear his voice, you now know that you are hearing truth. When you hear truth, you respond accordingly!

During your soaking encounter, you’ll unquestionably embrace revelatory truths. By doing so, you acknowledge and accept the Word of God from a new and different perspective.

Soaking will challenge your preconceived idea that prayer is chiefly an act of the person who prays to proactively pursue God.

Some people are uncomfortable with the fact that soaking involves very little activity on the part of the one soaking. However, as they delve more and more into these soaking encounters, they soon find themselves welcoming their soaking encounters.

Instead of trusting all the “work” to be on the human side, soaking allows the Divine One to graciously come in and visit those who wait upon Him.

Here are some experiences you may encounter through your soaking encounters:

1) Soaking sensitizes you to the Holy Spirit. Not only do you hear better, but you are more willing to obey.

Your eyes and ears are opened to deeper revelations of your loving Father. His gentle nudges are no longer ignored. You are now positioned for greater communion (common-union) with Him!

2) Soaking reflects the truth of who you are in Christ. Remember, you are seeing things from a different perspective. You are having greater communion. Everything has changed, including who you are.

What you once thought of yourself may no longer prove to be true. The ‘real you’ comes out through soaking. Your eyes are opened to truths that were previously invisible to you. Everything changes!

3) You are a Seeker of His heart! You are one who pursues Him and the glory what surrounds Him. Apostle John Stevenson of Heirs International, West Chester, Ohio, understands this pursuit.

He composed a song entitled, “My Heart Is Your Throne.”6 This song speaks of our new-found awareness of God’s place and importance in our hearts. When we enthrone Him, He releases His love to us. We are graciously granted access to His unlimited grace!

Consider these scriptures:

Deut. 4:29 – “If you seek Him you will find Him if you seek Him with all your heart and soul”

Ps. 34:10 – “They that seek the Lord shall not want any good thing”

John 4:23 – “the Father seeks such…”

4) Soaking releases revelation. God wants to reveal the secret counsel of His heart to you. He wants to address issues of concern to you and bring wisdom to your needs. Isaiah 30:15-18 teaches us that:

“For thus says the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel: “In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and confidence shall be your strength.” But you would not, and you said, “No, for we will flee on horses” — Therefore, you shall flee! And, “We will ride on swift horses — Therefore, those who pursue you shall be swift! One thousand shall flee at the threat of one, at the threat of five you shall flee, till you are left as a pole on top of a mountain and as a banner on a hill. “Therefore the Lord will wait, that He may be gracious to you; and therefore He will be exalted, that He may have mercy on you. For the Lord is a God of justice; blessed are all those who wait for Him.”

God wanted His people to wait for Him, but they didn’t want to wait. They wanted to go! God wanted to minister to them; they wanted to go! They thought they had the ability to move in their own strength.

He was willing to wait on them but they wanted to go! How their actions must have broken his heart. They couldn’t both have their way. So our loving Father chose to wait on His people rather than force them to wait on Him

As the above scripture reveals, God had a formula that He gave His people to easily access His grace. “In returning and rest… in quietness and confidence shall be your strength.”

Resting in Him gives you strength. He wanted them to rest so He could minister to them… to transfer His strength to them. But they didn’t want to wait. They didn’t want to rest. They wanted to move in their own strength.

God wanted to impart His life into them, but they wanted to run with their own ill-fated solution ― self

Quietness and confidence is the fruit of resting in Him. By choosing their own way, they lost an opportunity to increase their awareness of His presence.

They were left lifeless and fruitless. They could not carry the fruit of His presence because they did not choose to wait on Him.

5) Soaking releases healing. The word ‘healing’ is found in the Greek origin of salvation. It is the word ‘sozo’ and it means “to save or make well or whole; to save, deliver, heal and preserve,” according to the Strong’s Greek Dictionary of the New Testament.7

We find these definitions in the New Testament Greek Lexicon^8: “to save, keep safe and sound, to rescue from danger or destruction. To save a suffering one (from perishing), i.e. one suffering from disease, to make well, heal, restore to health.”

Many of us forget that God built physical healing into His plan of salvation. In Psalm 27:14, David encourages us to “Wait on the Lord; be of good courage and He shall strengthen your heart. Wait, I say, on the Lord.”

In waiting, we are reminded of the precious promises we have in Him. A fruit of resting in Him is quietness and confidence. This becomes the source of our strength. In addition, we are reminded that salvation means wholeness; we are greatly enhanced by resting in Him.

6) Soaking releases the Fruit of the Spirit. Our minds are over-stimulated. We need to allow our fruit to mature. Soaking creates the perfect soil to grow fruit.

Our fruit gets inspected in our day-to day encounters with man. It serves as a testimony of the time we spent with Him.

The fruit of a soaking encounter is eternal. Learn to continually ‘Seek and Soak’ for your daily bread. The more time you spend with Him, the more comfortable you’ll be with Him.

You’ll find yourself longing for His presence and adjusting your day to make more time for Him. And you’ll begin to meet with Him in the most unintentional places. Our Father is a supplier of all of our needs — even if it’s just His presence.

6John Stevenson. Hear My Heart.

John Stevenson, 2010. CD.

7 Strong, James. The New Strong's Complete

Dictionary of Bible Words.

Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 1996. Print.

Appendix A

Soaking Scriptures

Exodus 14:14 ― “The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.”

1 Kings 8:56 ― “Praise be to the Lord, who has given rest to his people Israel just as he promised. Not one word has failed all of the good promises he gave through his servant Moses.”

Psalm 4:4 ― “Be angry, and do not sin. Meditate within your heart on your bed, and be still.  Selah”

Psalm 5:1 ― “Give ear to my words, O LORD, Consider my meditation.”

Psalm 19:14 ― “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O LORD, my strength and my Redeemer.”

Psalm 23: 1 ― “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul”

Psalm 27:14 ― “Wait on the Lord; be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart”

Psalm 37:7 ― “Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him.”

Psalm 42:7 - 8 ― “Deep calls to deep in the roar of your water-falls; all your waves and breakers have swept over me. By day the Lord directs His love, at night His song is with me – a prayer to the God of my life.”

Psalm 45:11 & 13 ― “The King is enthralled by your beauty; honour Him, for He is your Lord…All glorious is the princess within her chamber, her gown is interwoven with gold. In embroidered garments she is led to the King; they are led in with joy and gladness; they enter the palace of the King.”

Psalm 62:1, 2, 8 ― “My soul finds rest in God alone; my salvation comes from Him. He alone is my rock and my salvation. He is my fortress, I will never be shaken…”

(vs. 8) ― “Trust in Him at all times, O people; pour out your hearts to Him, for God is our refuge.”

Psalm 63:3 & 8 – “O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you, in a dry and weary land where there is no water. I have seen you in the sanctuary and beheld your power and your glory. Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you.”

(vs. 4 - 5) ― “I will praise you as long as I live, and in your name I will lift up my hands. My soul will be satisfied as with the richest of foods; with singing lips my mouth will praise you.”

(vs. 6 - 8) ― “On my bed I remember you; I think of you through the watches of the night. Because you are my help,

I sing in the shadow of your wings. My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me.

Psalm 77:6 ― “I call to remembrance my song in the night; I meditate within my heart, and my spirit makes diligent search.’

Psalm 103:8, 10, 13, 11 ― “The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love. He does not treat us our sins deserve… As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear Him… for as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear Him.”

Psalm 104:34 ― “May my meditation be sweet to Him; I will be glad in the LORD.”

Psalm 119:15 ― “I will meditate on Your precepts, and contemplate Your ways.”

Psalm 119:97 ― “Oh, how I love Your law! It is my meditation all the day.”

Psalm 131:2 ― “Surely I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with his mother.”

Psalms 139:13-16 ― “For you created my innermost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.”

Proverbs 1:33 ― “But whoever listens to Me will dwell safely, and will be secure, without fear of evil.”

Isaiah 30:15 ― “For thus says the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel: 'In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and confidence shall be your strength'.”

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.”

Isaiah 49:15, 16 ― “I will not forget you … See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hand; your walls are ever before me.”

Isaiah 54:10 ― “Though the mountains be shaken and hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed, says the Lord, who has compassion on you.”

Isaiah 55:1-3 ― “Ho! Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters: and you who have no money come, buy and eat.  Yes, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Why do you spend money for what is not bread, and your wages for what does not satisfy? Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, and let your soul delight itself in abundance. Incline your ear, and come to Me. Hear, and your soul shall live;”

Isaiah 66:2b ― “This is the one I esteem: he who is humble and contrite in spirit, and trembles at my word.”

Hosea 2:14 ― “Therefore, behold, I will allure her (God's people), I will bring her into the wilderness, and speak comfort to her.”

Zephaniah 3:17 ― “The Lord your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing.”

Matthew 11:28-30 ― “Come to Me, all you who labour 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.”

Matthew 18:3, 4 ― “Unless you change and become like little children you will never enter the Kingdom of heaven. Therefore whoever humbles himself like this little child is the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven.”

John 10:27, 29 ― “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me … My Father, who has given them to me is greater than all, no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand.”

Galatians 4:7 ― “God sent His Son … that we might receive the full rights of sons. God sent the spirit of His Son into our hearts, the spirit who calls out, Abba, Father. So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir.

Ephesians 1:4-5 ― “For He chose us in Him before the creation of the world … In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons though Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will.”

Hebrew 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.”

Appendix B

Meditation Scriptures

Genesis 24:63 ― “The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.”

Joshua 1:8 ― “Praise be to the Lord, who has given rest to his people Israel just as he promised. Not one word has failed all of the good promises he gave through his servant Moses.”

Psalm 1:1-6 ― “1 Blessed is the man

Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly,

Nor stands in the path of sinners,

Nor sits in the seat of the scornful;

2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD,

And in His law he meditates day and night.

3 He shall be like a tree

Planted by the rivers of water,

That brings forth its fruit in its season,

Whose leaf also shall not wither;

And whatever he does shall prosper.

4 The ungodly are not so,

But are like the chaff which the wind drives away.

5 Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, Nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.

6 For the LORD knows the way of the righteous,

But the way of the ungodly shall perish.

Psalm 5:1 ― “Give ear to my words, O LORD, Consider my meditation.”

Psalm 49:3 ― “My mouth shall speak wisdom, And the meditation of my heart shall give understanding.”

Psalm 63:9 ― “But those who seek my life, to destroy it, Shall go into the lower parts of the earth.”

Psalm 77:12 ― “I will also meditate on all Your work, And talk of Your deeds.”

Psalm 104:34 ― “May my meditation be sweet to Him; I will be glad in the LORD.”

Psalm 119:15 ― “I will meditate on Your precepts, And contemplate Your ways.”

Psalm 119:23 ― “Princes also sit and speak against me, But Your servant meditates on Your statutes.”

Psalm 119:48 ― “My hands also I will lift up to Your commandments, Which I love,

And I will meditate on Your statutes.”

Psalm 119:78 ― “Let the proud be ashamed, For they treated me wrongfully with falsehood; But I will meditate on Your precepts.”

Psalm 143:5 ― “I remember the days of old; I meditate on all Your works; I muse on the work of Your hands.”

Proverbs 4:20-22 ― “My son, be attentive to my words; incline your ear to my sayings. Let them not escape from your sight; keep them within your heart. For they are life to those who find them, and healing to all their flesh.”

Philippians 4:8 ― “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.”

1 Timothy 4:13-15 ― “13 Till I come, give attention to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine.

14 Do not neglect the gift that is in you, which was given to you by prophecy with the laying on of the hands of the eldership.

15 Meditate on these things; give yourself entirely to them, that your progress may be evident to all.”

Appendix C

Soaking Resources

Books

Soaking 101 by Faith Blatchford ― http://store.ibethel.org/p4047/soaking-101 or www.amazon.com

Soaking With a Purpose (Vol. 1) and Diving Deeper (Vol. 2), http://www.soakingwithapurpose.com, and

http://www.soakingwithapurpose.com/soaking-with-a-purpose-work-book-download-now-available

The Soaking Room – http://www.thesoakingroom.com/wb

Music

Alberto & Kimberly Rivera ― www.rainingpresence.com

David Bruce ― http://www.davidbrucemusic.com/albums.html

Elijah Streams – www.elijahstreams.com

Free Soaking Music ― www.soakingwithapurpose.com/free-music

John Belt Ministries ― www.overflowglobal.com

Julie True Soaking Worship ― www.julietrue.com/online-healing-room

Ruth Fazal ― http://www.ruthfazal.com/site

The Secret Place ― Turning Hearts Back to the Father

Through Intimate Praise and Worship

http://www.secretplaceministries.org/pages/journey/soaking/presence-of-god.html

Soaking CD Collection– www.brilliantbookhouse.com/soaking.html‎

Soaking Net – www.soakingnet.com

Soaking Prayer Videos – www.fatherheart.tv/soaking-prayer

Soaking with a Purpose – www.soakingwithapurpose.com

Various Artists – http://www.elijahshopper.com/category_s/54.htm

There are hundreds of additional resources available. Do an online search for ‘soaking’ or ‘soaking in His presence’ or ‘soaking music.’

*This information was accurate as of April 31, 2014.

Appendix D

The Journey of a Thousand Miles…

You are invited to take a 30-day journey into the spiritual arena of soaking. On the following pages you will find pages to use in your personal encounters.

Do not feel obliged to use them as listed. Set up your own order of completion. You may want to scramble them or repeat a day. They are provided only as an aide to assist you as you begin your journey. Also, be sure to date each entry.

If you are a seasoned soaker, I challenge you to use these pages to enhance your soaking encounters. Regardless of the reasons, it is hoped you will consider approaching you Father from these angles.

The following pages will guide you through a fresh new 30-day soaking encounter. Feel free to rearrange the days as it suits your, or to repeat any days that your might find exceptionally rewarding. Either way, it’s time to explore the depths and the heights of your loving Father. Enjoy the journey!

My Soaking Journey ― Day 1

Today you are invited to sit quietly in the presence of your loving Father and lavish him with your presence. As you rest in Him, keep your mind focused on His goodness. Be prepared to journal when your soaking time has ended.

My Soaking Journey ― Day 2

This is going to be a great journey! For today’s adventure, sit, kneel or lay before the Lord; allow your mind and thoughts to rest. Do not add music. Rest; listen; rest; listen. After 20-30 minutes, journal today’s encounter.

My Soaking Journey ― Day 3

Make a joyful noise … Today you will make melodies in your heart before the Lord. This will replace any recorded music. Sing softly to your Father as you prepare to quiet yourself. Now rest and wait for Him to respond to your songs.

My Soaking Journey ― Day 4

What’s on your heart today? Write down two or three things that are on your heart. Now ask your Father to speak to you on those matters. Check off each item when He covers it. Be aware that He may not address them today. Be open to waiting for His response. He is never late!

My Soaking Journey ― Day 5

By now you should be familiar with the ways your Father speaks to you. Begin your time with Him sitting quietly and listening for 5-10 minutes. Do not add music during this time. Ask the Lord to speak to you through the Word. Listen for a scripture (this could be the text or the reference).

My Soaking Journey ― Day 6

What is your favorite soaking position? Today you are being asked to ‘shelf it’ and adopt a new one. If you have not been prostrate before the Lord, this is a great way to encounter your Father. Journal your encounter with Him.

My Soaking Journey ― Day 7

Today is a day of celebration! Close out your 7-day soaking adventure with a love song and a dance with the Master. Select an appropriate tune and move around the room. As the song ends, shift to a position of stillness. Journal your encounter and rest in His love!

My Soaking Journey ― Day 8

Do you have a favorite scripture? Begin your soaking session quoting it. Now begin to meditate on each word or word phrase. Let the love of the Father enter your heart as you savor each word. Add your reflections to your journal.

My Soaking Journey ― Day 9

Create a scenario in your mind in which you are physically present with your Father. What is the background? What is happening in your scene? Now find a spot in your scenario to rest. Record your scenario and responses in your journal.

My Soaking Journey ― Day 10

Can you sense your Father’s presence at this point in your encounters? What happens in your heart as you expectantly wait for Him to arrive? Record these thoughts as your journal encounter for the day. Don’t shorten your time; still wait and minister to Him.

My Soaking Journey ― Day 11

Shhhhhh! Today is a day to simply be quiet in His presence. If you haven’t soaked without music, this is the day to do it. If you prefer music, at least give half of your time today the silent treatment. Note the differences in your journal.

My Soaking Journey ― Day 12

Begin today’s encounter with your favorite song in your heart. Hum the words or sing them softly for a time or two. Now allow yourself to be swept away with the words, then quiet yourself and enjoy His presence. Make note of the song you sang and how your heart rejoiced in the words.

My Soaking Journey ― Day 13

Reposition yourself for today’s encounter. Move to a new room; sit in a new place; stretch out in a different direction. You’ll want to keep your encounters fresh. Be sure to note any differences you can attribute to your physical position.

My Soaking Journey ― Day 14

If you’re soaking with music, search for new artists to take you to the next level. If you haven’t used any soaking instrumentals, this is a great time to give them a try. Use the references provided in Appendix C to broaden your knowledge. Record the new artists you used today.

My Soaking Journey ― Day 15

Set the atmosphere by reading one of your favorite Psalms aloud prior to your encounter. Focus on the love He has for you as your shift into quiet and stillness. Journal your encounter for today.

My Soaking Journey ― Day 16

.Ask your Father to give you a song – a new song that is just for Him… just for today’s encounter! Sing it to His several times. Now rest and wait. After a time of quiet, record your feelings regarding this type of encounter.

My Soaking Journey ― Day 17

Don’t use any music today. See how easily you can invoke His presence without any support. When you record today’s encounter, make note of whether or not you enjoyed this way of soaking, or if you prefer it with music.

My Soaking Journey ― Day 18

Shift! For today’s encounter, divide your time into 3 slots. In the time you’ve allotted, shift your position for each slot. Record whether or not it enhanced or hampered your soaking encounter.

My Soaking Journey ― Day 19

Rest! Rest! Rest! In today’s encounter, focus on resting in Him. You should have mastered resting by now. If not, this is a great time to focus on removing all of your thoughts so you can rest in Him. Record any differences you experience in today’s encounter as opposed to others.

My Soaking Journey ― Day 20

What one word can you bring to today’s encounter? What is weighing on your hear regarding your time with Him? Use this word as a backdrop to today’s encounter. Record the specific word and your thoughts on it in your journal.

My Soaking Journey ― Day 21

Go to “Appendix A” and search for a soaking scripture to jump-start today’s encounter. Be sure to record the scripture you use.

My Soaking Journey ― Day 22

Have you tried kneeling during your soaking encounters? Although this form is usually used in prayer, it might be an appropriate position for soaking. Give it a try – at lease for part of your time with Him. Record responses – both the “like” and “dislike” of this position.

My Soaking Journey ― Day 23

Try a new song! Ask your Father for another song for you to sing to Him. Take a few minutes to write it down prior to your encounter. Record your response in your journal.

My Soaking Journey ― Day 24

Just one word! Begin your encounter with a single word from your worship vocabulary. Keep this single word in mind as you enter His presence. As always, record your encounter.

My Soaking Journey ― Day 25

Begin this encounter by writing. Don’t use any intro – just pick up your journal and begin to write what He gives you.

My Soaking Journey ― Day 26

Work with opposites today. Instead of using your favorite music, select the opposite. For example, if you prefer music with words, select an instrumental soaking music for today. Record your response to your music choice.

My Soaking Journey ― Day 27

Turn once again to “Appendix A” and find a scripture to reference for today’s encounter. Record your experience, including the scripture.

My Soaking Journey ― Day 28

Heighten your senses. Today, look for your Father in a different way. Listen for expressions out of the ordinary – the sound of the wind before His voice, or a certain silence. Record your encounter, noting the ways you heard Him.

My Soaking Journey ― Day 29

Time yourself. Sit and listen for 10 minutes, then journal. Then another 10 minutes, followed by journaling.

My Soaking Journey ― Day 30

It’s time to celebrate your 30 days! Review your notes and search for your favorite soaking encounter. Use it to inspire today’s encounter. Record your experience for today.

About the Author

Sandee L. Hemphill

Sandee L. Hemphill is a worshipper/intercessor as well as a prophetic minister. She is mandated to activate and equip the body of Christ to live in Kingdom dominion. She is graced with a strong prophetic anointing with keen spiritual insight in the Discerning of Spirits.

She is a prophetic trainer and focuses on issues that showcase the work of the Holy Spirit. She trains teams to flow in the prophetic, with a foundation in worship, intercession, dream interpretation and soaking.

Sandee serves as a mentor and advisor to many 5-fold ministers. She is the founder of Jeremiah One Nine Publishing and a producer of Kingdom-building resources.

Her first book, “Divine Appointments,” is based on her prophetic deliverance experiences. This is her second offering. Sandee resides in Columbus, Ohio with her husband and family.

What’s Next?

Sandee’s next offering will be “Divine Appointments.” It’s a compilation of her various ministry and the outcomes of the many meetings she thought she was attending — only to discover that God had another reason for the journey.

Here’s an excerpt of what you can expect to find in her next book:

The experiences on these pages are highly personal, yet they carry a universal tone. They cover the joys and pains of walking through an anointing that was not clearly defined, nor readily accepted by the church. Therefore, very little assistance was available to help me navigate these unchartered spiritual waters. Most of my training, as noted, came from my prayer closet. But this book puts these issues into perspective. In most cases, it was the Father’s will that I be developed in the manner in which I did, so that He could receive the glory—and not man. This fact will soon be clearly evident.

My ‘divine appointment’ with each candidate qualifies as a ‘suddenly.’ Suddenly, I found myself in the midst of a situation where God used me to release a captive from some form of bondage. It didn’t matter what the issue was, deliverance was the prescribed answer. And, as you will soon discover,

I stumbled through more than one assignment. But it was through the faithfulness of God that I discovered certain patterns that could occasionally be used as guideposts to get me from one place to another. Yet, I couldn’t totally rely upon these principles because each situation came with its own unique requirement. These memories reminded me of God’s faithfulness through similar past encounters. They offered hope that I could—once again—make it to the end of the journey.

Much faith was developed during these times. After countless ministry encounters, I discovered that there was no way to predetermine a divine appointment. It could only be arranged by the Holy Spirit. These appointments were never announced in advance, and often couldn’t be recognized until the result appeared. They were at the discretion of my heavenly Father. My prophetic grace carries a strong revelatory dimension, with a keen insight into past spiritual trauma. I’ve participated in other methods of deliverance, but they didn’t carry the same sense of urgency, nor was the same depth of deliverance received.

Watch for the release “Divine Appointments” in the next few months. You’ll laugh, cry and related to each of the characters involved in this ongoing saga. And you might even find yourself on some of the pages.

Be sure to connect with Sandee via her social media links located on the next page.

How to Connect With

Sandee Hemphill

Twitter at https://twitter.com/ProfitMentor2

LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/in/sandeehemphill

On the website at www.sandeehemphill.com

(Available June 1, 2014)

Table of Contents

Copyright

Dedication

Acknowledgments

Introduction

One What Is Soaking and Why Should I Embrace It?

Two Comparing Soaking to Meditation

Three Enter In: How to Begin Your Soaking Journey

Four The Fruit of Soaking

Appendices

About the Author

What’s Next?

How to Connect With Sandee Hemphill