Rev. Steve Stutz
Soaking Prayer
We live in a microwave society that demands immediate results. This attitude often infects our approach to healing prayer. Often times, people with serious illnesses such as cancer, heart dis-ease, HIV, arthritis, etc. will present themselves for prayer ministry on a Sunday morning. If they aren’t completely fixed in the three minutes you can give them in the back of the church, they wrongly conclude that God isn’t working in this way anymore and throw in the towel. But when it comes to healing, our microwave speed expectations usually have to give way to “crock pot” real-ity. Most often there is a period of time over which disease is removed and the person is healed. We accept this in conventional medicine and expect people to complete the entire protocol of medications, procedures, and follow on therapies prescribed by their doctors, which may last many months. Soaking prayer is a form of intercession whereby we hold the person for whom we are praying in His presence for a longer period of time, through regular and frequent laying on of hands, to immerse them in the healing love and power of God. As the person “marinates” in the God’s presence, amazing healing and freedom can happen in all the spheres of their life—physical, emotional, spiritual. In this sectional, we will have the opportunity to learn about soaking prayer, but we’ll also take time to actually experience it first hand for ourselves as we rest expec-tantly in God''s presence, inviting the Holy Spirit to hover over us and reveal to us a new depth of God''s love and renew and repair the broken areas in our lives.',N'Rev. Steve Stutz serves as pastor of Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, Pasadena, TX. (Houston metro area) Steve began work there seven years ago after having served a small town congre-gation in Big Spring, Texas and before that being a commissioned officer in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. He holds an M.Div from Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, MO and is currently a D.Min student with Christian Leadership University. Steve is a formally trained spiritual director under the auspices of the Episcopal Diocese of Texas and conducts workshops on prayer, dream interpretation, spiritual gifts, contemplative spirituality, and the church’s healing ministry. He is synodically endorsed for military chaplaincy work and was on contract with the VA for hospital work in his previous parish. He enjoys preaching, teaching, running, and having a good laugh—which means reflecting on his golf game or watching The Simpsons. Steve and his wife, Krista have been married 18 yrs. and they have three teenaged daughters.