Pentecostal-Charismatic Prayer and Social Engagement

This chapter examines the prayer practice of soaking among Catch the Fire (CTF) participants and evaluates as a case study the implications of such prayer. More specifically, it measures the level of social engagement associated with soaking prayer, noting how Pentecostal-Charismatic Christians claim that God's love enables them to love others more deeply. Pitirim Sorokin's work underlies an important aspect of understanding of the experience of soaking prayer and what Pentecostal-Charismatic Christians call the Father's love. Those who practice soaking prayer have high levels of altruistic behavior demonstrated in loving acts toward others. Soaking prayer is ritualized in such a way that it captures the mission and vision of CTF ministries, which is to love God and love others. Through observations, interviews, and a survey of soaking prayer participants, the chapter explores the claims surrounding the role of prayer and social engagement. Keywords: Catch the Fire (CTF) participants; Father's love; Pentecostal-Charismatic Christians; Pitirim Sorokin; soaking prayer; social engagement