Why do people fall down in church?
Today’s
Question: I've been attending your
church recently and have been blessed. I'm puzzled about something, though.
Why do people fall down when you touch them or blow on them or even get
close to them? I've even seen many people fall down by their chairs. This
has been exciting and at the same time puzzling. Please help me to
understand why this happens.
Bible
Answer: In charismatic and
Pentecostal circles it is often called "slain in the Spirit." The reason
many people fall down is because of the presence of the Holy Spirit, which
the Bible calls the anointing. You need to understand that the anointing is
often tangible—that is, it can be felt.
An example
of this in the life of Christ is found in Luke chapter eight. This is the
story of the woman who was subject to bleeding for twelve years. She crept
through the large crowds in order to touch the hem of Jesus' garment.
Immediately when she touched Jesus, He stopped and asked, "Who touched me?"
When they all denied it, He exclaimed, "Someone touched me! I know that
power has gone out from me" (Luke 8:46). How did He know that power went out
from Him? He felt it. The anointing can be felt.
The
anointing can feel like heat or electricity, or the feeling you get when
your hand is asleep. This is evidently what Jesus felt.
I've felt
the anointing on many occasions. Sometimes I don't feel it but others feel
it when I pray for them.
I remember
several years ago, when I was working for a local restaurant in El Paso, a
young lady and I were discussing the Bible. The conversation was on divine
healing. Later, while she was cleaning the salad bar, she asked if I would
pray for her sore knee. She lifted her knee in order to point out where the
pain was. I quickly laid hands on her knee, prayed a short prayer and walked
off. A short time later she came to me privately and said, "When you touched
my knee something went inside of me and I became immovable for several
seconds. What was that?"
This girl
knew nothing about the power of God, yet she felt it. (By the way, her knee
was instantly healed.) The power of the Spirit is tangible. The tangibility
of the Spirit explains why many people fall down.
This
phenomenon occurred in the garden of Gethsemane. A detachment of soldiers
and some religious officials came to arrest Jesus. Jesus came out to meet
them and asked, "Who is it you want?"
"Jesus of
Nazareth," they replied.
And when
Jesus said, "I am he," the men fell backwards (John 18:6). Why? They fell
because of the power of the Spirit. We should be seeing more of this
occurring, especially as the coming of the Lord draws near.
I also
believe that sometimes people fall down because they are preconditioned to
fall down. They see others do it, so they do it also. I try to discourage
this, because I want people to focus on receiving from the Lord, not on
imitating the group. I do have ushers that catch people, and they are
necessary for those who fall down out of psychological need. I don't want
them hurt, but those who fall down under God's power do not need anyone to
catch them.
When our
church first started, we met in a school gym, and one time I had everyone
stand up, and I prayed a group prayer for everyone without laying hands on
anyone. When I did, a woman fell down hard on the solid, wooden floor. You
could even hear her head plop hard on the ground. People rushed to help her
thinking she was greatly hurt, but when she stood up, she said she felt
nothing—no pain. She describe to us, "I felt like I slowly floated onto a
soft cushion."
Send
your comments
Read more Bible Answers to Today's
Questions
Click
here if you're interested in having Tom
Brown come to your area
Back to the Main Page
