Toronto Airport Christian Fellowship has defined soaking so very well. Use the pop-up window to read through their entire explanation. At the end of each answer, you'll find the continued question menu with the next question at the top. You might want to copy/paste each question and answer to a document and print it, for reference.

I struggled for years to have a meaningful prayer life, but rarely did I touch God during prayer. I found the discipline tedious and boring. That's sad. When I first heard about the concept of soaking, it struck a chord with me because it fit certain scriptures the meanings of which I'd not quite been able to grasp (see the above TACF page). I gave it a try.

Breaththrough! Soaking is fun, desirable, and gets results! I have discovered intimacy with God, and it is so precious. It's what's needed. Please use clickable topics, below, for more helpful information on soaking.

Ps. 46: 10 “Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.

Jer. 29:13 “And you shall seek me, and find me, when you shall search for me with all your heart.”

Ps. 131 “My heart is not proud, O Lord, my eyes are not haughty. I do not concern myself with great matters or things too wonderful for me. But I have stilled and quieted my soul; like a weaned child with its mother, like a weaned child is my soul, within me. O Israel (church), put your hope in the Lord both now and forevermore.

Ps. 91: 1 “He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.”

Jn. 10:27 “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me…”

Jn. 17: 3 “Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.”

Rev. 1:12-16 “…I saw seven golden lampstands, and among the lampstands was someone “like a son of man,” dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest. His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire. His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters. In his right hand he held seven stars, and out of his mouth came a sharp double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance.”

Definition and Outline

Definition: “Soaking” - being still and quiet, humble, empty, so that God can reveal Himself to you.

I. The goal of soaking is not to receive revelation; the goal of soaking is to intimately know God.

a. Revelation, spiritual gifts, are byproducts of soaking.

b. As you begin to touch God in this way, you become experientially aware of Who He is.

1. You might shake.

2. You might weep.

3. You might want to flee because it sometimes becomes physically overwhelming, but hang in there.

c. Exceedingly more important than the physical manifestations is the heart-knowledge you receive

of Him.

1. In your spirit you will perceive Him.

i. You'll know you're perceiving Him because you'll be overwhelmed by His awesomeness.

II. Beginner soaking.

a. We need to learn to be in God's presence continually, but to begin with, because we are so

inexperienced, we must strive harder.

b. Get into a very relaxed position, even on a bed, in a quiet place.

1. Close eyes.

2. Capture wandering thought-life and focus on thinking just about God. Imagine His persona, His face.

3. Think about scriptures that describe Him, His clothes, His hair, His throne. (Rev. 1: 12-16)

i. Jesus does not look like the old paintings; He looks like His description in Revelation—glorified.

4. Think about how scripture describes the inner sanctuary where the Lord is enthroned.

c. Remember that this is a beginning. God will take you deeper, but you must start somewhere.

Elementary Soaking – A Beginning

Due to our past conditioning, we might be inclined to liken getting focused on God to meditational practices of Eastern mysticism. This is not correct. When we have a conversation with a friend whom we love, we give our full attention to that person. If the person is present, we look at their face and our thoughts are about them and what they are saying.

"Though we see through a glass darkly" (1 Cor.13:12), we are still given the privilege of seeing. We won't see Him with absolute clarity, but we can still see Him.

We start in the flesh, by using our imaginations. A good scriptural reference to meditate on is: Rev. 1:12-16 "…I saw seven golden lampstands, and among the lampstands was someone "like a son of man," dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest. His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire. His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters. In his right hand he held seven stars, and out of his mouth came a sharp double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance."

Picture this in your mind. Get real focused on it. Shut down any thoughts that are outside of this.

Now examine the various points.

These lampstands are tall, large, giving off a lot of flame and light. Look at one of them. Study it a bit and let God reveal to you how it looks. Typically, a lamp type referred to in scripture was a bowl shaped thing with a handle. One part of the rim of the bowl was pinched into a groove and small spout, to create a place to lay a wick. The flame was at the end of the spout.

A glorious son of man is among the lampstands. This is the glorified Jesus. Look at Him. He's absolutely captivating. He's pleased to look right back at you! His eyes glow with fire. He's so intense, so full of purpose. His robe is white, long, heavy, regal. A golden sash is around His chest. These garments shine with His glory.

His hair is compared to both wool and snow. Wool is thick, heavy, dense. Its color is creamy and somewhat streaked. Snow is purest white and crystalline. His hair is both. It's purest white, with streaks of other shades of white and creamy white, full of volume. At times parts of it sparkle as crystals sparkle.

Reach out and touch His hair. It's so wonderful. Touch His robe. Feel the luxury of it. You can't possibly soil Him or His garments, so touch. Look into His eyes as you touch Him. He's all smiles, and the glory of the Living God is all about Him. You and He are both wrapped in it. His skin glows like molten brass; His face shines with the intensity of the midday sun, but the light does not hurt your eyes.

His voice is like the sound of rushing waters. Imagine the sound of huge volumes of water rushing through a deep, narrow canyon of rock, so that the sound of it echoes off the walls and reaches you at the rim. This wonderful, thrilling sound is His voice. It flows through you when He speaks. It washes over you and through you, and you wonder at the amazing truths that He imparts to you. He speaks the Word of God to you, opening up scriptural truths that you had never grasped before. You're amazed at the wonder of it. It pierces you and changes you, yet you're not injured by it. Instead, you now have an awareness that had been lacking before. You see things differently because you are now seeing something as God sees it. Man's wisdom cannot compare. Man's contradictory wisdom crumbles and falls away.

Now stay there with Him. Discipline your thoughts to keep your focus and allow Him to take you deeper into this vision, this place, this reality. Flow with Him.

God reveals precious things when we seek Him in intimacy.

I had purchased a couple of new Rivera CDs. On the day they arrived, I had to wait for my son to get up (he works nights) before I could try them. When it was time to prepare supper, he appeared and I promptly started a CD. It was playing in the background as I was mindlessly peeling vegetables. Suddenly, the Lord began to speak. He said that even though Moses wasn't allowed to enter the Promised Land, he had received the better part because he knew the Lord face to face. His experiences with the Living God far surpassed entering the Promised Land. Later, when I had time to get alone with God, we talked about this some more. With regard to knowing God or entering the Promised Land, there's no comparison. By contrast, the people of Israel were thrilled to enter the Promised Land, but most of them did not know God intimately.

This compares to the adventure we're currently embarked on. God has promised us an unprecedented outpouring. This is for all who wish to enter into it. If Israel had told the Lord that they wished to remain in the desert, just communing with God forever, that would not have been God's will. His will was that they enter into the Promised Land and take it to be their own. This was something they had to do, but could not do apart from God.

Was Israel successful in taking the Promised Land? Not entirely. Why? Because, due to lack of intimacy with God, the people failed to perceive in the depths of their hearts what they needed to do. Revelation from prophets was not enough, as that became just head-knowledge to most.

David did understand. From boyhood, he had nurtured a deep intimacy with God, so that he knew God's heart. Out of this relationship, God was able to use David to take the land, beginning with his conflict with Goliath. He was also able to use David to teach the generations to come how to worship, and provided many revelational words regarding the messiah, glimpses into intimacy that teach us about it, much more.

We are on the threshold of this outpouring and we have three choices. We can personally refuse it entirely, or we can enter into it with or without intimacy with God. If we enter without, we run the risk of experiencing Matt. 7:22-23: “Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!'”

If we enter with intimacy, we take with us the better portion—the personal revelation of God Himself. Moses' great wisdom, insight, and understanding sprung from knowing God face to face. By revelation, he wrote the first five books of the Old Testament. He led Israel through the desert for forty years, functioning as their judge, preparing them for a task that, in the flesh, they could never have done. He died a strong and healthy man, at a good old age, at God's appointed time, and the Lord Himself buried His servant. On the mount of transfiguration, Moses was present—he who had been proclaimed to be the most meek (humble) man on earth (Num. 12:3).

We (people) are like the moon. We have no light of our own and we occupy the night. But if we turn our faces wholly to Jesus, He'll shine on us, we'll reflect His light (glory), and thus give light to the night/darkness.

Moses met with God face to face. We must meet face to face with Him, and not turn our heads in shame. He wants us to come to Him and to look directly into His face, and keep His face before us.

CDs I can personally recommend for soaking

Alberto and Kimberly Rivera: Their web site or another source - My collection now includes "The Longing," "Captured," and Live Soaking Sessions, Volume 1." I can honestly recommend all three as being wonderful. The Riveras are offering free shipping on all orders through 31 Dec. 06. Also, their recordings can now be downloaded directly from their site at a reduced cost, compared to the hard-copy prices.

Rodney Howard-Browne: The Sweet Presence of Jesus - all live, mostly spontaneous worship, excellent musicianship. We ordered a CD but received a DVD-- which we love watching--so captured the audio and burned a CD.

John Belt: Instrumental worship - I'm particularly fond of "The Portals of Heaven" Soaking Presence volume II."

I'll add to this list as I discover more good soaking music. Contact me if you encounter any dead links, as the web pages I list sometimes get changed by the site owners and I don't find out about it. ~the webmaster