Prayer Minister Guidelines
For Soaking Prayer
- We ask our prayer ministers to gather at least 15 minutes for a time of prayer before the soaking prayer ministry begins.
- Start to pray with anyone who has come for prayer
- read the person’s prayer card; if they have not filled out a prayer card, simply ask them if they have a prayer request.
- gently lay hands on the individuals shoulders (asking for their permission if you are led to lay hands on any other part of their body, i.e., an arthritic knee or sore back) and begin the soaking prayer
- please refrain from doing a lot of hand movement, such as massaging shoulders.
- pray quietly, inviting the Holy Spirit to come and minister deeply (to the person, into their prayer request)
- pray with the individual as long as you are led
- it is fine to have more than one prayer minister praying for a person at the same time
- it is fine to go back and pray with an individual for a second time if you feel led
- Soaking prayer is praying without words being spoken
- we do not want to squelch the Spirit though, so feel free to share a word with the person if the Spirit leads you to do so (this would only come through a deep listening to the Spirit!)
- remember, the emphasis is always on praying silently, giving the Spirit the freedom to minister deeply
- Soaking prayer is a Spirit-filled form of prayer. Manifestations of the Spirit – warm hands, slight shaking/vibrating of hands, tongues, deep sense of God’s presence, peace, are alls igns of the Spirit at work during the prayer ministry.
- remember that the majority of individuals in main line churches are not familiar with these more overt manifestations of the Spirit
- it is very important for prayer ministers to be aware of the discomfort or disruption that these manifestations might create in the person they are praying with!
+ if your hands vibrate, be intentional to keep this to a gentle vibration
+ if you speak in tongues, you are requested to do so at an inaudible whisper (unless you are in a church speaking in tongues is fairly common.)
- Remember that all healing prayer is confidential (except in case of danger to self or others).
5. Always seek to listen to the Spirit, love the person, and pray as requested and Spirit-led.
- in your praying, be listening for discernment if an individual might benefit from the more intensive inner healing prayer
6.At the end of prayer ministry, be sure to give thanks for God’s healing work and to pray cutting free prayers
(that all present,including the space where you have been praying, are cleansed from any residue of evil
influence.)
7. Thank all those who have come for prayer and encourage them to continue to come for soaking prayer, as
healing is most commonly experienced over a period of time.
8. If you have new prayer ministers participating in the soaking prayer ministry, be sure to spend a few minutes
with them following the service to for mentoring purposes.
“Equipping the Saints for Jesus’ Healing Ministry”, a DVD teaching series, is presented by Rev. John Rice. 9/12/15