By Ray Watson
At Pursuit, our desire is to create an atmosphere of soaking worship; a habitation for His Presence.
God encourages us in Psalm 46:10 to be still and know that He is God. This verse can describe what happens when we soak in worship. When we choose to quieten ourselves before the Lord, we experience the peace and confidence that He is God. It is in the stillness that we begin to know Him. During times of soaking worship, the Holy Spirit begins to minister to our hearts and bring wisdom and comfort to situations we are facing.
I love the big worship numbers that stir our hearts, build up our faith and spark our passion for Him. But let’s not in the process forget the importance of stilling our hearts before the Lord, soaking in His Presence and finding that place of deep intimate worship at His feet. At Pursuit, we enjoy the celebration songs of God’s goodness and the passionate praise that rises from a group of people totally in love with Him. However, we also value and set aside time for deep intimate worship. These moments I treasure as we soak in His glory and hear the whispers of His heart.
In 1Kings 19 God encounters Elijah, but it wasn’t in the way Elijah expected. God wasn’t in the wind, earthquake or fire; He was in the gentle whisper (1 Kings 19:11-13). Sometimes the greatest and deepest transformation happens when we quieten our hearts and minds to hear the gentle whisper of our Heavenly Father. He has so much to say to us if we would only listen. I encourage you to take the time to experience soaking worship and hear the still small voice of our Father. This place of stillness before the Lord is found when we enter His Presence with no agenda but simply to be.
What is Soaking?
The term “soaking” is simply a way of describing the posture of our heart (and often our body) during worship. It is a time of stillness and quiet reflection upon the Lord where we can commune with Him and enjoy His Presence. If you stop focusing on all the instruments, the singing, the words of the songs, the worship leader’s exhortation and simply focus on intimacy with Jesus; that is soaking. It is where the music washes over you and your heart finds rest in worship. During times of soaking, our emphasis is on simply “being”. Yes, people often meditate on scripture or journal; but it is all from a posture of stillness before the Lord.
Finding that place of intimacy with the Father during times of worship has become my heart’s cry and life’s passion. As a pastor and musician, I love to lead people into deep places of worship. At Pursuit, spending time soaking in worship is an important aspect of who we are as a church. Every month we spend an evening soaking in worship and encountering deeper realms of His glory. These Encounter Evenings become a platform for deep corporate worship, personal devotion time and soaking worship. It’s not uncommon for people to spend an entire evening laid out on the floor soaking and encountering deeper levels of God’s goodness. We would love to have you join us for an upcoming Encounter Evening. Click here to discover more and view upcoming dates.
Looking for music for your own personal soaking time?
Experience The Secret Place…
These free songs by Ray Watson provide a soaking environment for deep encounter with the Lord. Download your free soaking music by clicking here.
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