slain in the spirit??

What is everyone's opinion considering being slain in the spirit?? I grew up in the Word of Faith movement and when I was younger I remember getting "slain in the spirit" many times before I was even saved. After God saved me I came out of the Word of Faith movement seeing that most of what they teach is heretical. I have been filed with the Holy Spirit and do speak in tongues, but I can't turn it off and on like some claim to do. Now when certain people pray for me or I am in a church service that is Word of Faith I can feel the feeling that I am ready to get slain in the spirit and it is really scary. I literally can't control it is like something is coming at me and I can't stand up and I fall down. I do not think it is of God because I wouldn't be scared if that was the case and it was happening to me even when I wasn't saved plus it isn't like I am getting baptized in the Holy Spirit and speaking in tongues or God is speaking to me I just lay there sometimes I cannot move. I don't know what to do I guess I will have to be extremely careful with who prays for me. What should I do? Could this be demonic stuff from my past??

OnlyHis said:

What is everyone's opinion considering being slain in the spirit?

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I can't find any evidence in the Bible to support such a practice. To the contrary, the Bible tells us that our worship should be orderly and reverent and that one of the fruits of the Spirit is self control.

I grew up in the Word of Faith movement and when I was younger I remember getting "slain in the spirit" many times before I was even saved.

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Well, then shouldn't that be evidence to you that it isn't Biblical? Do the unsaved have the Holy Spirit?

What should I do? Could this be demonic stuff from my past??

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It's not impossible that it could be demonic, but it's much more likely that your behavior and emotions are being manipulated by the environment you're in when this happens.

Happens all the time.

Scriptures say they fell - in all directions. Here's some of them -

2Ch 5:14 "So that the priests could not stand to minister by reason of the cloud: for the glory of the LORD had filled the house of God."

Eze 3:23 "Then I arose, and went forth into the plain: and, behold, the glory of the LORD stood there, as the glory which I saw by the river of Chebar: and I fell on my face."

Num 22:31 "Then the LORD opened the eyes of Balaam, and he saw the angel of the LORD standing in the way, and his sword drawn in his hand: and he bowed down his head, and fell flat on his face."

Rev 1:17 "And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last:"
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Eze 43:3 "And it was according to the appearance of the vision which I saw, even according to the vision that I saw when I came to destroy the city: and the visions were like the vision that I saw by the river Chebar; and I fell upon my face."

Eze 44:4 "Then brought he me the way of the north gate before the house: and I looked, and, behold, the glory of the LORD filled the house of the LORD: and I fell upon my face."

If you're concerned that it's demonic, then ask Yahweh to cover you.


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tturt said:

Scriptures say they fell - in all directions. Here's some of them -

2Ch 5:14 "So that the priests could not stand to minister by reason of the cloud: for the glory of the LORD had filled the house of God."

Eze 3:23 "Then I arose, and went forth into the plain: and, behold, the glory of the LORD stood there, as the glory which I saw by the river of Chebar: and I fell on my face."

Num 22:31 "Then the LORD opened the eyes of Balaam, and he saw the angel of the LORD standing in the way, and his sword drawn in his hand: and he bowed down his head, and fell flat on his face."

Rev 1:17 "And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last:"
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Eze 43:3 "And it was according to the appearance of the vision which I saw, even according to the vision that I saw when I came to destroy the city: and the visions were like the vision that I saw by the river Chebar; and I fell upon my face."

Eze 44:4 "Then brought he me the way of the north gate before the house: and I looked, and, behold, the glory of the LORD filled the house of the LORD: and I fell upon my face."

If you're concerned that it's demonic, then ask Yahweh to cover you.


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Yeah but most of those people in the bible it says they fell on their face, and that was in the temple. God doesn't live in a temple anymore

I would try to separate the baby from the bath water here. There is a lot of hype concerning charismatic practices. There is manipulation, and in some cases, they have become the new liturgy. But that doesn't mean there isn't substance behind the form. I've been in revivals where many were slain in the spirit. While the flashier aspects got all the (bad) press, those people on the floor were going through intimate communion with Holy Spirit, and massive healing.

Also, consider the fear aspect carefully. There is a scriptural, and logical, place for fear when we approach God in a real way. I think a couple of times in Revelation John falls down as dead, but then the angel, or the Lord, as the case may be, touches him and tells him not to fear. So some kind of approach/avoidance dynamic can be expected, but ultimately the Lord will quench all our fears.

Holy Spirit always leaves you with some control over your response. Speaking in tongues involves an act of will, if merely to turn the faucet to the On position and then let the Lord do the rest. The same is true of being slain. It involves a yieldedness, but you're still you.

Our meetings should be decent and in order, but that's not to say they should be staid and lifeless. A study of the Gospels shows that the crowd scenes around Jesus were anything but business as usual. We need to be careful about imposing a mentality of law.

I say none of this to pressure you. This is something you need to seek the Lord on on a personal basis. He will meet you where you are.

Jn 7.17

OnlyHis said:

Yeah but most of those people in the bible it says they fell on their face, and that was in the temple. God doesn't live in a temple anymore

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are you saying that the Church is useless, and God don't work or appear in church anymore?? cause that' the way it sounds to me!! temple/Church

tturt said:

Scriptures say they fell - in all directions. Here's some of them -

2Ch 5:14 "So that the priests could not stand to minister by reason of the cloud: for the glory of the LORD had filled the house of God."

Eze 3:23 "Then I arose, and went forth into the plain: and, behold, the glory of the LORD stood there, as the glory which I saw by the river of Chebar: and I fell on my face."

Num 22:31 "Then the LORD opened the eyes of Balaam, and he saw the angel of the LORD standing in the way, and his sword drawn in his hand: and he bowed down his head, and fell flat on his face."

Rev 1:17 "And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last:"
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Eze 43:3 "And it was according to the appearance of the vision which I saw, even according to the vision that I saw when I came to destroy the city: and the visions were like the vision that I saw by the river Chebar; and I fell upon my face."

Eze 44:4 "Then brought he me the way of the north gate before the house: and I looked, and, behold, the glory of the LORD filled the house of the LORD: and I fell upon my face."

If you're concerned that it's demonic, then ask Yahweh to cover you.


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Yes, all those instances, you also forgot in the garden when the temple guards and soldiers came to arrest Jesus and he said "I AM He" they all fell backwards pinned to the ground. That time it happened it was to unbelievers.

OnlyHis said:

Yeah but most of those people in the bible it says they fell on their face, and that was in the temple. God doesn't live in a temple anymore

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Christ promised that where two or more are gathered in His name He is there in the midst of them. I'd assume just as was the case with Him doing miracles that when people didn't have faith or believe He refused to do anything among their company. Since he doesn't change I'd assume the same happens in church services today. The reason some churches do not see any manifestations of the Spirit is they don't believe it's possible today.

God doesn't live in a building anymore the church is not a building, is it?? We christians all make up the church. I'm not saying that God doesn't work through church services of course he does and his presence is with people who are gathered together in His name. I am open to being slain in the spirit if it God doing it, however there has been times when I knew it was not of God. For instance, I was at a healing service with my parents one night and I had really bad back and neck problems for years and I went up front hoping to get healed or get a touch from God, I went up front and the pastor tried to slay me in the spirit. The first time I didn't go down but the second time when he saw it didn't effect me, he literally pushed me down with his hand. And when I fell down, my back cracked and I could barely move I was in so much pain. I am just weary of stuff because of what I have witnessed firsthand growing up. I saw a lot of blasphemes stuff being done without it even being questioned. Stuff like people laughing uncontrollably, acting drunk, barking like dogs. And when I look at the movement that I grew up in, it is only getting more heretical. People are acting like they are getting high on the Holy Spirit, trying new age stuff, seeking after signs and wonders instead of seeking after God. I believe in miracles, healings, speakings in tongues, I have seen the real thing before. But Satan can manipulate things very easily. I do agree that a lot of people go in the opposite direction and don't want anything that is supernatural that is just as bad. I just wonder that if all this excitement and entertainment wasn't going on, would these people still be as exicted to go to church if they knew they weren't going to get an experience but to grow in their relationship with God, bear each others burdens, and become equipped to go out and preach the real gospel not some fake prosperity gospel

I understand you questioning. We're all guilty of it - judging Scripture by our experiences.

Scriptures state they fell in all directions and then sometimes it doesn't state which direction they fell.

I've found it's better not to judge what other people's motives are - I've got my hands full with just myself.

NoTurTypical, I had forgotten about that - thanks for the reminder! I've thought about those soldiers many times. Can you imagine what they felt like - what were they thinking? Some had probably thought with Him being placed in the tomb that things were finally going to settle down. Then how did that seal get broken? Their jobs, their lives on the line with all the supernatural happenings?!!

tturt said:

I understand you questioning. We're all guilty of it - judging Scripture by our experiences.

Scriptures state they fell in all directions and then sometimes it doesn't state which direction they fell.

I've found it's better not to judge what other people's motives are - I've got my hands full with just myself.

NoTurTypical, I had forgotten about that - thanks for the reminder! I've thought about those soldiers many times. Can you imagine what they felt like - what were they thinking? Some had probably thought with Him being placed in the tomb that things were finally going to settle down. Then how did that seal get broken? Their jobs, their lives on the line with all the supernatural happenings?!!

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Look, if I was going to arrest a person claiming to be God in the flesh and when I went to arrest this person He exclaims "I Am He" and I fall back to the ground with about 90+ of my co-workers and I'm pinned to the ground, when I get back on my feet I'm running the opposite direction. lol

Personally I've never been into the "charismatic" approach to faith. I had explored it a few years ago, and ultimately returned to my roots of studying orthodox (small "o") theology, reading apologetic works and playing my part in the ongoing conversation that's existed since the time of the apostles.

My church had a season where it was "hyper-charismatic" and there were some strange things that occurred in that time. In addition to that, my wife and I attended a prayer house that was basically a satellite campus of Kansas City's IHOP, which took the "weirdness" to a whole new level.

I try not to pass judgment on it either way, because I know there's people (like my wife) who have a charismatic approach to faith and respond to God through things like speaking or praying in tongues. I don't, and I don't believe I'm any less of a Christian because I haven't experienced those things, nor do I think such of anyone who has. The way I meet God best is by reading a good book by an author who has tapped into that stream of orthodox theology and when I observe and study the historical context within which the biblical narrative takes place.

I do take issue when someone tries to build a church around something like that. If the point becomes "how can the Holy Spirit knock us off our feet today?" or "We all need to be speaking in tongues." then I think the plot has been lost.

Besides, the obvious, in which our main focus should be Christ and his resurrection. I think following that our goal should be live the way he lived, and as far as I recall, there's no accounts in Scripture of him spending hours on end pinned to the floor in a stupor. Nor are there any accounts of him babbling unintelligibly to those around him. (Yes, I know in Acts when the Holy Spirit fell on the upper room the disciples spoke in tongues.) What we do see though, is that Christ came to bring good news to the poor. He, like his father throughout human history, responded to injustice and oppression. He poured out his love on the least of these.

I believe we have a responsibility as followers of Jesus to respond to oppression and injustice wherever we find it. If we hear word of human trafficking being carried out in our back yard or half way around the world, we should act. If we find out that a remote village in Kenya has been without clean water for years, we should act. I believe it's that kind of a lifestyle that is truly Christ-like.

Self-sacrificing, not self-serving.

SuzanneM52 said:

This is common in the church I attend and I have also witnessed it in a few other churches. Yet I am skeptical of it for the simple reason that in the Bible it says they fell on their FACES...not backwards. I have never esxperienced this, and quite honestly I am afraid of it.

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You should be skeptical of it, as it isn't Biblical. But, really, to be skeptical because of the direction they're falling isn't really a good reason.

While you're correct that the enemies of God in the Bible always fall backward and the redeemed fall forward, a better reason to be skeptical is that such an act as it's commonly practiced today is never described in scripture. Believers already have the Holy Spirit, so this idea of the Holy Spirit coming upon them is at odds with scripture. The impartation of special abilities or gifts or authority in the Bible is never accompanied by such theatrics, but appears to be imparted at the time of regeneration.

Futhermore, the Bible is very clear that worship is to be orderly and reverent and that one of the fruits that will be manifest when the Holy Spirit is working in a person will be self control, not falling down and certainly not silly things like barking like dogs or laughing uncontrolably or clucking like a chicken or any of the other ridiculous things that are going on in pop-Christianity today.

You're 100% correct in your observation, but it's much more serious than merely the direction they fall.

I am curious , I have prayed for many and some fall and some do not.

So do you consider I am practicing the occult or demonized or how else do you explain it?

For the record I believe it is from God.

Whatfor, we know it's not occult or demonic.

whatfor said:

I am curious , I have prayed for many and some fall and some do not.

So do you consider I am practicing the occult or demonized or how else do you explain it?

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Like I said, it's not impossible that some of it could be demonic but it's far more likely that people are being manipulated using a combination of altered states of consciousness, groupthink, a sense of heightened expectation, a fear of disappointing their leader, etc.

For the record I believe it is from God.

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And what do you base this belief on?

tturt said:

Whatfor, we know it's not occult or demonic.

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How do you know?

I respect you as a fellow believer. You're not going to change your mind and I'm definitely not changing my mind concerning this. So there's no reason to argue, debate, etc.

.