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July 12, 2006
Gary Oates: "Soaking--The
Key to Intimacy with God"
 Draw
Near
Intimacy with God begins when we radically pursue Him with
our whole heart. King David wrote, "When You said, 'Seek My face,'
my heart said to You, 'Your face, O Lord, I shall seek'" (Psalms 27:8). God invites
us in James 4:8 to "Draw near
to God and He will draw near to you."
God is saying to us, "Seek my face! Draw near!" Our hearts are crying out,
"YES!" But our flesh is screaming "NO!" The sad part is our flesh usually wins.
We are instructed in Psalms 46:10, "Be still, and know that I am God." The
wording "be still" literally means to cease from striving. It means to let go and relax, to
turn down the volume of the world and listen to the quiet whisper of God. It's getting still
and coming into a place of rest. It means soaking in His Presence. The result is-- you will
know He is God.
The word "know" is literally an experiential knowledge of God. It's not being still and knowing
about God. It's being still and knowing God experientially. You will experience God. You will
know the Presence of God.
As we focus our heart, spirit, soul, mind, and body (the whole person) on His manifest Presence,
we become oblivious to the natural/physical world around us.
The key is where your focus is--on the things of God or on things of this world.
Bible reading and prayer is not enough. We must take time alone with Him, not asking for anything
but more of Him, more of His fullness, more of His presence in our everyday lives.
God releases power through us as we dwell in intimacy with Him. The natural outworking of
His Presence is miracles.
How to Soak in God's Presence
How do we soak? We soak like a sponge. Put a dry sponge in a bucket of water and slowly the
water permeates the sponge. This is the same as soaking in God's presence. The more we soak,
the more we become filled with His Spirit.
I'm often asked, "What do you do in your time of seeking His presence?" I don't have a set
formula. In my life, it varies from time to time, but the basic components are as follows:
First, I go into a private room, lock the door, and get on the floor before the Lord. It doesn't
matter whether you sit or lie down. What's most important is the attitude of your heart.
Second, I repent of any sin in my life, and I receive God's
forgiveness.
Third, I worship the Lord in both my native language (English)
and in the language of the Holy Spirit.
Fourth, I do the vital prayer of Romans
6:13 that has transformed my life: "...present yourselves
to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness
to God."
Fifth, I begin to recall experiences with the Lord (i.e.,
healings, miracles, provision) where He has manifested Himself in wonderful ways. This creates
more of an expectancy and awareness of His Presence as I relive these times.
His Presence Manifests
I tell the Lord: "God, I want more of You, more of Your
Presence, more of Your fullness in my life. Fill me with more of You." I may repeat this
statement many times as I wait on the Lord and focus on Him.
Then, I get quiet and that's when I begin to hear His voice. Many times, I begin to have visions
and supernatural experiences.
The key here is learning to wait in solitude. I cannot overemphasize the importance of me
waiting on the Lord until I experience His manifest Presence daily. I don't come out of that
private room until I have experienced His Presence.
During our soaking times, we position ourselves to receive impressions, nudges, quiet whispers,
pictures, angelic visitations, and supernatural revelations. Here is a partial list of what
to expect:
Dreams (Job 33:14-16, Genesis 28:10-16)
Visions (Daniel 7:1-3,9, Acts 16:9-10)
Trances (Acts 10:9-17, 11:5)
Out of body experiences (2 Corinthians 12:2-4)
Angelic visitations (Luke 1:11-17, 1:57, Acts 12:7-10)
Being transported in the Spirit (Acts 8:39-40)
Experiencing the true intimate Presence of the living God will radically change your life.
People describe His manifest Presence in different ways. To some, it is heat, electricity,
or shaking. To others, it is lightness, peace, or weeping.
Experiencing the manifest presence is not the goal, but the gateway to the supernatural
realm. It's the beginning. We go into the spirit realm where we can see Him, hear His voice,
walk with Him, and be empowered by Him.
Isaiah 64:4 (NASB) says God "...acts
for the one who waits for Him." The Amplified version states, "God...who
works and shows Himself active on behalf of him who earnestly waits for Him." He's
waiting on us to wait on Him.
The Cumulative Effect
Sometimes we may feel our soaking time has been unproductive. We ask, "Is it worth it?" because
we see no immediate change or benefit. I realized some time ago, there is a cumulative effect
that takes place when I spend time in the manifest Presence of the Lord.
From this cumulative effect, God is making a deposit into my innermost being. As I begin to
give out, that anointing flows out of the deposit He had been making all along.
We must learn to come quietly into His Presence just wanting more of Him in our lives. We
need to "soak in His Presence," extracting more of His fullness into those places where we
are barren. The cumulative effect of spending time with the Lord will produce an increased
anointing in your life. The release of that anointing will serve as a springboard to a life
of miracles.
The apostle John offers believers a mind-boggling statement in 1 John
4:17,
"...as He is, so also are we in this world."
The implication of this verse is clear--believers should be like Him. This is next to impossible
without spending quality time in His manifest Presence. We will never even understand His compassionate
nature for a lost and wounded humanity without regular, daily times with Him.
Conclusion
Intimacy with God is the simple means by which we access living in the miraculous. Spending
time in His manifest Presence is the discipline we must develop to access all that God has
for us. And, the cumulative effect is what happens in our anointing (or gifting) to function
in healing or any of the supernatural.
God's timing has come for greater works to be accomplished among His people. Press in for
more of God's Presence in your own life!
Gary Oates
Gary Oates Ministries
www.garyoates.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Gary Oates's Upcoming Itinerary:
July 18-24, 2006
Training Event for Pastors and Leaders
Manizales, Colombia
Contact: 770-505-5554 or info@garyoates.com or www.garyoates.com
August 10-25,2006
Conferences in Seoul and Pusan
Seoul and Pusan, Korea
Contact: 770-505-5554 or info@GaryOates.com or www.garyoates.com
August 31-September 2, 2006
Healing the Brokenhearted Conference
Landmark Church
3737 Holcomb Bridge Road; Norcross, Georgia 30092
Contact: 770-505-5554 or info@garyoates.com or www.garyoates.com
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"Open My Eyes, Lord"
by Gary Oates
$14.00
Book
 Foreword
to Open My Eyes, Lord: Open My Eyes, Lord, Gary Oates' new book, is one of the
most exciting books I have read in a long time. It is a book about holiness and intimacy
with our Triune God; Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Gary's pursuit of a life of intimacy
with God, and consecration to a lifestyle of holiness, has been shared with his wife, Kathi.
However, their walk with God took a gigantic leap forward after Gary saw the Lord Jesus
while out of his body, and both he and Kathi's eyes were also opened to see angels.
One cannot read this book without becoming hungrier for "just
a closer walk with Thee" type of experience/relationship. I know that I have a holy jealousy
for the intimacy I see for God in Gary Oates' life. I am no longer satisfied to be able to
sense the presence of angels when they come near me. I want to see them. I want to enter
into the fulfillment of a word I received over ten years ago, "I want your eyes to be opened
to see My resources for you in the heavenlies, just as Elisha prayed for Gehazi's eyes to
be opened."
I encourage you to read this book with an open heart
and mind. As you do, agree with me in this prayer, "Open my eyes, Lord...I want to see Jesus...to
reach out and touch Him...to tell Him I love Him. Open my eyes, Lord...I want to see. I want
to see Your Heavenly resources for me. As Elisha prayed for Gehazi, for his eyes to be opened,
I pray for every reader of this book to have their eyes opened; just as I pray for my own
eyes to be opened. In Jesus' Name. Amen."
--Randy Clark, Global Awakening Ministries
 I
was handed the manuscript to this book...I finished it the next day."
--Jack Taylor
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"Marinating"
"The
Lost Art of Practicing His Presence"
