| Soaking Prayer by: Rebecca Bannister |
Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on
ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he
will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us, as you help us by
your prayers. (2 Corinthians 1: 9-11)
And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be
alert and always keep on praying for all the saints. (Ephesians 6:18)
At times when we pray for healing, by God’s grace we experience amazing results right away. We
might experience pain disappearing, or a burden on our heart is lifted in a way that we feel we are
forever transformed, or we might even see a physical transformation before our eyes. These are
signs that proclaim Christ’s good news, the kingdom of God is at hand. Often, however, healing
takes place over time with soaking, ongoing, prayer.
Soaking prayer is the process of continuing to pray over time, allowing the Holy Spirit to penetrate
more fully and deeply for ongoing healing.
It has been the experience of the healing ministries of Francis and Judith MacNutt, that in the case
of praying for cancer, for example, it is beneficial to “soak” the person regularly with prayer. And
this can be the case for other conditions such as depression, or other chronic diseases, as well.
There are times when we may have a presenting physical problem for which we need prayer, but
which is linked (in the fearfully and wonderfully made nature of our integrated body/mind/spirit) to
other aspects of our life. For example, as Francis MacNutt points out, all of us have cancer cells in
our body, but usually our immune system deals with them. Sometimes if a person suffers a loss or
a severe trauma the immune system can become depressed and our bodies fail to destroy the
unhealthy cells. Thus, inner healing might be part of the larger plan for us to “have life and have it
abundantly,” for which Jesus came (John 10:10).
MacNutt also says that praying for cancer can be a long-time process. “Just as we do not expect a
cancer patient to be cured by one chemo treatment, neither do we ordinarily expect that one single,
brief prayer, will be sufficient. Usually, when we have seen cancer healed through prayer, the
patient’s family and church have really persevered in continuous prayer.” And, the MacNutt Christian
Healing Ministries have also learned from experience, about the need for “follow up prayer” for at
least a year after a person is found to be cancer free, to ensure that no unhealthy cells that might
be left are neglected and thus multiply through lack of prayer vigilance.
Hope Episcopal Church is aware that soaking prayer and prayer for inner healing implies the need
to offer more regular prayer opportunities for longer periods than we can offer on Sundays at the
healing prayer station, and even our monthly Tuesday night healing service. Hope offers private
prayer appointments for ongoing prayer needs. Please call the Hope office at 830-0572 or by email
to schedule in-depth prayer appointments with our trained healing prayer ministry.
Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up.
(Luke 18:1)
ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he
will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us, as you help us by
your prayers. (2 Corinthians 1: 9-11)
And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be
alert and always keep on praying for all the saints. (Ephesians 6:18)
At times when we pray for healing, by God’s grace we experience amazing results right away. We
might experience pain disappearing, or a burden on our heart is lifted in a way that we feel we are
forever transformed, or we might even see a physical transformation before our eyes. These are
signs that proclaim Christ’s good news, the kingdom of God is at hand. Often, however, healing
takes place over time with soaking, ongoing, prayer.
Soaking prayer is the process of continuing to pray over time, allowing the Holy Spirit to penetrate
more fully and deeply for ongoing healing.
It has been the experience of the healing ministries of Francis and Judith MacNutt, that in the case
of praying for cancer, for example, it is beneficial to “soak” the person regularly with prayer. And
this can be the case for other conditions such as depression, or other chronic diseases, as well.
There are times when we may have a presenting physical problem for which we need prayer, but
which is linked (in the fearfully and wonderfully made nature of our integrated body/mind/spirit) to
other aspects of our life. For example, as Francis MacNutt points out, all of us have cancer cells in
our body, but usually our immune system deals with them. Sometimes if a person suffers a loss or
a severe trauma the immune system can become depressed and our bodies fail to destroy the
unhealthy cells. Thus, inner healing might be part of the larger plan for us to “have life and have it
abundantly,” for which Jesus came (John 10:10).
MacNutt also says that praying for cancer can be a long-time process. “Just as we do not expect a
cancer patient to be cured by one chemo treatment, neither do we ordinarily expect that one single,
brief prayer, will be sufficient. Usually, when we have seen cancer healed through prayer, the
patient’s family and church have really persevered in continuous prayer.” And, the MacNutt Christian
Healing Ministries have also learned from experience, about the need for “follow up prayer” for at
least a year after a person is found to be cancer free, to ensure that no unhealthy cells that might
be left are neglected and thus multiply through lack of prayer vigilance.
Hope Episcopal Church is aware that soaking prayer and prayer for inner healing implies the need
to offer more regular prayer opportunities for longer periods than we can offer on Sundays at the
healing prayer station, and even our monthly Tuesday night healing service. Hope offers private
prayer appointments for ongoing prayer needs. Please call the Hope office at 830-0572 or by email
to schedule in-depth prayer appointments with our trained healing prayer ministry.
Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up.
(Luke 18:1)
