Immersing into electric solitude

Soaking prayer has been a buzzword in Christian renewal over the past decade. However, it is more
than the latest religious trend. Throughout the ages, those who walked closest to God were those who
basked in his electric radiance. Those who best knew him, were those who allowed their thoughts and
interior turbulence to be silenced, and drank deeply from the living streams of life.
Drink, yes, drink deeply, O beloved ones! (Song of Solomon 5:1).
It is clear that we are tasked to drink constantly from the river of life, and all too often, we take a sip -
drink of his sweetness for a season then return to our patterns of strife. We know that walking in the
Spirit must become a lifestyle. But without waiting and lingering in his midst, we forfeit intense kingdom
revelation and power. Most of all, we miss God himself and his destiny for our lives.
If we literally miss a day without pulling aside to drink of his new wine to miss out on his rivers of
pleasure, his never ending delight I count the day a waste. I work much better under the inebriating
peace of his nearness, and the best work is often done when Im too sloshed to get off the floor.
Americans want results productivity. God just wants to get us plastered in his love.
Soaking prayer, or contemplation, is simply the practice of the presence of God. It is a place of stillness
and meditation, wherein we enter the secret place of the Most High, merely for the sake of being near
to him. It is a response and a culmination of intimacy, wherein we cease to perform for God, and instead
choose simply to be with him. It is a posture of rest and repose, wherein we literally baste in his power
and closeness as he flows over us and through us. We encounter the supernatural.
I still believe that all spiritual life consists of practicing Gods presence, and that anyone who practices
it correctly will soon attain spiritual fulfillment. To accomplish this, it is necessary for the heart to be
emptied of everything that would offend God. He wants to possess your heart completely, writes
Brother Lawrence, a renowned 17th century monk, known widely for walking in a supernatural deluge
of the Holy Spirit, marked with joy, simplicity and humility. Lawrence cultivated such a manifest
presence in his everyday life, that people would travel from miles around just to watch him wash dishes.
I am convinced that it is all a matter of our desire we can each have as much of Gods manifest
presence in our lives as our hearts truly want. We have to get hungry. No measure of prayer, reading or
spiritual discipline can replace the fire of passionate hunger which God desires from us. And how can we
ever become hungry for him, unless we stop to taste and see that he is good? If we truly want more of
Gods presence in our lives, we will get it.
The Lord says: These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their
hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is made up only of rules taught by men, (Is. 29:13). And
yet, when the flame of divine love does begin to kindle in our souls, we know that the eyes of the Lord
range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him, (2 Chron.
16:9).
There is no form. No methodology to the practice of his presence. It relies heavily on silence on
listening but the only DNA which separates it from other systems, is that it is not a system it is a
relationship.
This is what the sovereign Lord, the Holy One of Israel, says: In returning and rest is your salvation, in
quietness and trust is your strength. (Is. 30:15).
In the place of his nearness, in hearing his still small voice, we are supercharged. We can do super-
human feats and receive heavenly visitations. Taking the time to experience God kindles the fire of
heaven until it is raging within us. It is my belief that, in todays postmodern era, the discontinuity of life,
the discontentment with religious formulas and the evident limits of rationalist thinking are simply
signposts to a cultural cry for true spiritual intimacy.
Who still believes in the supernatural? More tend to worship a dead god that lives in a building. But
there is a generation of new mystics on the rise, who will unlock the mysteries of God that have been
sealed and hidden throughout the ages. This is because they do more than believe he is alive they
believe he is near, and they walk with him like Enoch. They will walk in unprecedented revelatory power
that will even put the first century apostles to shame. In fact, its already beginning. Many are young
people the first fruits of the army foretold by the prophet Joel who do not rest on the laurels of a
seminary degree, but simply understand their access to the war room of heaven itself. There is a rapid
maturation process when one dwells with God.
We are also on the brink of seeing a full restoration of the contemplative monastic tradition of divine
listening in the vein of St. John of the Cross, Teresa and others, which has been largely lost in the
modern era. And it will be amplified in these latter day rains of Gods glory.
My inner man must first learn to be still and know that he is God (Ps. 46:10), before I can hear the
thunder in the distance. My pride has so geared me to trust in human strength and my own stubborn
efforts to succeed even to succeed in spiritual matters that I am unable to truly quiet myself and just
be with him. Feels unproductive. What will it take for us to just lie down and trust God?
The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still, (Ex 14:14).
Therefore, since the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us be careful that none of you be found
to have fallen short of it. There remains, then, a rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters
Gods rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from his. Let us, therefore, make every effort to
enter that rest, (Heb. 4:1).
Even as we long to rest in God, so the Son of Man is still seeking a place to rest his head. We are his
resting place. The emerging church is shaking off dead works, turning her eyes back to the fiery passion
of her savior.
There are a people arising who hunger for the deeper undercurrents, no longer content with the mental
gyrations of churchy legalisms. The coming generation longs for true intimacy with God alone, out of
which will flow true power. And the reality of the spiritual realm, with signs, wonders and miracles
which are needed to reach a world in critical darkness will only come forth through the cultivation of
soaking in Gods presence. The inner chamber of his glory, opened by the blood of Christ, is the secret
source of all power.
There is no sweeter manner of living in the world than continuous communion with God. Only those
who have experienced it can understand. However, I dont advise you to practice it for the sole purpose
of gaining consolation for your problems. Seek it, rather, because God wills it and out of love for him. If I
were a preacher, I would preach nothing but practicing the presence of God, says Lawrence.
Yes, there is kingdom work to be done. There is a world hungry for the true gospel of Jesus Christ. There
are goals to be accomplished and battles to be won. But the work begins in the closet. It begins with
knowing God, and not just about him. Being with him, and not just doing for him. Listening to him, and
not just talking at him. This does not always sound like practical Christianity. Christianity was never
practical.
When we first stop, and just tap into the vine our fruitfulness multiplies. We can no longer afford to
serve for intimacy. We must learn to serve from a posture of intimacy, receiving his love which is so
freely given. Soaking in his love will naturally propel us forward into supernatural Christian service.


John Crowder, 12/9/2004