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Article on Soaking Prayer from Catch the Fire Ministries
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National Coordinator, Soaking Prayer Centers for the Toronto Airport Christian Fellowship
Husband: Andrew
CBN.com – WHAT IS SOAKING PRAYER?
Marguerite Evans is the USA Coordinator for Soaking Prayer Centers.
“We’ve got two kinds of events that I’m working on. One is ‘Introduction to Soaking Meetings’ where people can come for an evening, hear what soaking is, and then have a time of doing it,” she says. “We also do ‘Soaking in His Presence Weekends’ where we teach the core values of hearing God’s voice, the heart of the Father, dealing with the issues of the heart and flowing in the power of the Holy Spirit.”
The Toronto Airport Christian Fellowship (TACF) has been known as being the center of what has been called “The Toronto Blessing.” TACF is also responsible for developing the concept of ‘soaking prayer,’ which is quiet time spent with God either by sitting or lying in silence – while soft worship music plays in the background.
“A lot of people come to Toronto for the power, but they don’t realize the foundation is intimacy and dealing with the issues of the heart and from that, power flows,” Marguerite says.
The aim of soaking prayer is to put oneself in an attitude of stillness, focusing on Jesus without an agenda.
“It’s a time where all your prayer requests and all the things on your mind are put to the side,” she says. “It’s a time when you say, ‘Lord, I come to You for Your heart and not for Your hand.’ Soaking is really about resting in the Father’s love.”
HOW TO SOAK
Find a comfortable place to lie down. Allow the busyness of your thoughts to quiet down. Invite the Holy spirit to soak you in His presence. Pray and surrender yourself to the Holy Spirit – mind, body and soul.
IS SOAKING BIBLICAL?
This is what the Bible says:
“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 23:1-3
“...Meditate within your heart on your bed, and be still.” Psalm 4:4
“Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him.” Psalm 37:7
“Be still and know that I am God.” Psalm 46:10
DEFINITIONS
Soak: To become thoroughly wet, or saturated by immersion, to drink excessively, to become drunk, to take in, to soak up.
Lie down: To place oneself, or be in a prostrate position in order to rest. To accept without protest or opposition.
Quiet: To be untroubled, free from activities or distractions. Still, calm.
Rest: To relax from exertion, or labor, to repose or sleep, a pause or interval.
Wait: To stay in one place, or remain inactive in expectation of something.
FROM SOUTH AFRICA TO MINISTRY
Marguerite is originally from Pretoria, South Africa where she owned and operated her own business in the fashion industry and coordinated corporate functions. In January of 2000, her life took on a new direction as she felt
the call of God to leave South Africa for the first time to attend the Toronto Airport Christian Fellowship School of Ministry.
“One night, I was lying on my bed, minding my own business, and I felt the Lord say, ‘Go to Toronto, now!’ Two hours after lying on my bed, I had an application form; I completed it and I sent it in,” she says.
As Marguerite followed God’s leading, she left South Africa to attend school in Toronto and soon realized that her life would change drastically from then on.
“The Lord obviously had other plans because I never went back to South Africa. I visit, but it was never on my mind that I would ever live in North America,” she says.
After graduating from the Toronto School of Ministry, Marguerite was asked to stay on as staff at the school, then later moved on to work in the Revival Department of TACF and then the Counseling department.
“The program at Toronto focuses on getting from head knowledge to heart revelation as to who God the Father is,” she says. “They really go deep into dealing with the issues of the heart.”
Her experiences in Toronto led to a deep hunger to see people’s lives transformed by God. Marguerite has a heart for people to know that as children of God, we are carrying His presence and through cultivating intimacy with Him, His power can flow freely from us, touching people’s lives and changing the spiritual climate.
A REVELATION OF GOD
Marguerite grew up in a small town and in a very conservative church.
“I did not know that I had to give my life to the Lord,” she says.“Growing up was just really, really hard with my family situation; my parents got divorced, my father died – there are a lot of details there, but in a nutshell, I was very rebellious. I did not know who I was, and I was very insecure.”
After leaving home to attend school in a neighboring city, Marguerite somehow found herself sitting in church every Sunday.
“I started going to Hatfield Christian Church, and I would just end up there on a Sunday evening. I know now that it was the Holy Spirit that got my attention at some point, and I went there,” she says. “I would not even think of church during the week, but on a Sunday for some reason, I just thought of it.”
After while, Marguerite asked a lady for prayer at her church, which led to Marguerite accepting Christ as her personal Lord and Savior.
“I got filled with the Holy Spirit, I made a commitment to the Lord, and my life turned around. That was a key turning point in my life,” she says.
CLASSES ON SOAKING PRAYER
To register for the February 18, 2008 class being held at The Founders Inn,
contact the East Regional Leader: 757-286-4517
For Information on future classes, call:
Toronto Office of Catch the Fire: 1-866-500-0003 Toll-free!
US Office in South Carolina: 1-843-488-1410
A caring friend will be there to pray with you in your time of need.
