Question about falling over/passing out due to the Holy Spirit

[TheMainException]

Okay, so I have a weird mix of beliefs and church going. I was raised methodist, still go to a methodist church on sundays, but attend a pentecostal church friday nights and house church of mixed beliefs wednesday nights. I've long seen Benny Hinn doing that thing where he hits people in the head and they pass out and/or fall over from the power of the HS. I used to think it was bunk and just a lame thing with a bunch of actors on stage. But in recent months I've begun to see it happen for myself.

Most recently, I was at this house church and people were prophesying over this guy and at one point the person prophesying put his hands on the guy's hands and kept prophesying and then blew on him. The guy staggered backwards, trying to keep his balance. Thankfully, someone quick jumped in and caught him as he could no longer stand and the person who caught him set him down. But this guy kept trying to stay conscious and didn't want to lie down, but they people were like "just receive it, let go" and then he finally laid down and just took it in.

I understand that this is the Holy Spirit. That much is obvious to me. This question is mostly for those who have experienced this. I realize that it is hard to explain and could be very personal, but if anyone could explain generally what happens, that would be cool. I assume it's not just like passing out and that something happens, but what? are you conscious in the spirit world or having a vision or just in pure bliss and love? What?

Thanks in advance,
TME

 

[YahshuaWitness]

The HOLY SPIRIT works in mysterious ways. Remember that the devil seeks to counterfeit everything YAHVEH makes. Have discernment when "falling under the Spirit" is from YAHVEH and when it isn't. Strange fire has been seen fooling many to believe that its Godly. Benny Hinn has questionable beliefs and prophecies. I would personally not let him put hand on me.

 

[TheMainException]

Well, I wouldn't either. I think televangelists are crazy people seeking money and while they might have had it right in the beginning, they messed it up. But what I seek is understanding what it feels like, and what is happening when this happens to a person. I have a discerning spirit and question everything I see and hear.

 

[cartman]

...I... question everything I see and hear.

An intelligent approach!

 

[TheMainException]

Thanks Cartman.

Hmm..I guess I overestimated the number of people who have experienced this. I really thought more people would have responded by now.

 

[GodDreamer]

Okay, so I have a weird mix of beliefs and church going. I was raised methodist, still go to a methodist church on sundays, but attend a pentecostal church friday nights and house church of mixed beliefs wednesday nights. I've long seen Benny Hinn doing that thing where he hits people in the head and they pass out and/or fall over from the power of the HS. I used to think it was bunk and just a lame thing with a bunch of actors on stage. But in recent months I've begun to see it happen for myself.

Most recently, I was at this house church and people were prophesying over this guy and at one point the person prophesying put his hands on the guy's hands and kept prophesying and then blew on him. The guy staggered backwards, trying to keep his balance. Thankfully, someone quick jumped in and caught him as he could no longer stand and the person who caught him set him down. But this guy kept trying to stay conscious and didn't want to lie down, but they people were like "just receive it, let go" and then he finally laid down and just took it in.

I understand that this is the Holy Spirit. That much is obvious to me. This question is mostly for those who have experienced this. I realize that it is hard to explain and could be very personal, but if anyone could explain generally what happens, that would be cool. I assume it's not just like passing out and that something happens, but what? are you conscious in the spirit world or having a vision or just in pure bliss and love? What?

Thanks in advance,
TME

Most times when that happens, it's just because the presence of the Holy Spirit is too much for the person to handle. (sorry, i don't mean to make it sound so....err...wow, my words are lacking tonight) Anyways, i hope i helped! This has happened to me...but it really isn't as big of a deal as the tv evanglists make it out to be....i'm not trying to sound flippant.

 

[TheMainException]

I can understand that GodDreamer. It's not that I consider it a very huge thing...but for people of methodist background originally...it's something that makes you stop and think. My ventures into the pentecostal/mystic/charismatic church are becoming more and more and I still have a lot of questions about this new type of christianity that has enveloped me.

Does the person actually become unconscious or is it just an overwhelming feeling, not necessarily a vision or anything?

 

[newtaste]

I was first filled with the Holy Spirit four days ago. It is the most amazing feeling of what seems to be sort of like an electric current building up in my head and upper body, getting stronger then moving down into the rest of my body. It is loving, beautiful, exhilarating and wonderful and makes me complete with God.

My legs got a bit wobbly last night but I did not fall over. I believe that the Holy Spirit will never do anything that will harm me and that God through Jesus will look after me.

 

[GodDreamer]

I can understand that GodDreamer. It's not that I consider it a very huge thing...but for people of methodist background originally...it's something that makes you stop and think. My ventures into the pentecostal/mystic/charismatic church are becoming more and more and I still have a lot of questions about this new type of christianity that has enveloped me.

Does the person actually become unconscious or is it just an overwhelming feeling, not necessarily a vision or anything?

oops, i knew i forgot to answer a question. for me personally, i experienced a lot of peace...it was as if my muscles just gave out....i did not experience any visions, nor was i unconscious...it was mainly just an overwhelming feeling...however the Holy Spirit was definitely working in me and in my heart.

 

[mrguitar]

Okay, so I have a weird mix of beliefs and church going. I was raised methodist, still go to a methodist church on sundays, but attend a pentecostal church friday nights and house church of mixed beliefs wednesday nights. I've long seen Benny Hinn doing that thing where he hits people in the head and they pass out and/or fall over from the power of the HS. I used to think it was bunk and just a lame thing with a bunch of actors on stage. But in recent months I've begun to see it happen for myself.

Most recently, I was at this house church and people were prophesying over this guy and at one point the person prophesying put his hands on the guy's hands and kept prophesying and then blew on him. The guy staggered backwards, trying to keep his balance. Thankfully, someone quick jumped in and caught him as he could no longer stand and the person who caught him set him down. But this guy kept trying to stay conscious and didn't want to lie down, but they people were like "just receive it, let go" and then he finally laid down and just took it in.

I understand that this is the Holy Spirit. That much is obvious to me. This question is mostly for those who have experienced this. I realize that it is hard to explain and could be very personal, but if anyone could explain generally what happens, that would be cool. I assume it's not just like passing out and that something happens, but what? are you conscious in the spirit world or having a vision or just in pure bliss and love? What?

Thanks in advance,
TME

Hey TME!!! How are you? Hope all is well.

First of all let me tell ya something. I was born and raised in the Methodist church myself. Now I'm Pentecostal. I switched in Jan of 2007. I was invited to a Pentecostal church and the first time I heard people speakin' in tongues and fallin' out I knew it was the Holy Ghost. No one had to tell me but I just knew. Pretty awesome. haha. Well, parents didn't like me going to the Pentecostal church so they started making me go with them to their Methodist church in Feb of this year. Kinda hard on me because I love to shout, run around, dance, etc etc etc....and then going into a Methodist church, it's kinda hard to keep from doin' that but I do it anyway. LOL. Just the dancin, raisin' my hands, and clappin.

Ok anyway...to your questions.

All the experiences I've had it feels as if my body isn't there. It's an awesome feeling. It's as if I can't feel my body but my Spirit is so alive and well and is what I feel instead of my body. Yeah hard to explain. haha. I also feel very calm and peaceful.

One time I was at a church service and the preacher asked, at the end of the service, that whoever wanted a spiritual impartation to come up to the alter. I quickly went up to the alter with many others. I had to move out of the way of some people because they were fallin' all over the place. The presence of God was sooooo strong in that church. Hallelujah! The pastor got to me...barely laid hands on me and I fell out very fast. Guess what? No one was behind me either. So, I don't remember how long I was out...time really wasn't with any of us that night. My guess is around 10 maybe 15 minutes. When I opened my eyes I was lookin' straight up at the bottom of a chair. Then the people who I was with asked me if I was ok. I said, "What?" Then they told me what happened.

I fell back very fast and hit the chairs behind me and my head apparently hit the leg of a chair. I said, "Really?" They said,"Yes." I told them that I didn't feel a thing and that it was like I was cushioned by the Holy Ghost. It was so awesome.

Another experience...

This was this year in Jan. I was at my Pentecostal church prophesying over a couple and I started to shout and jump. No one laid a hand on me and I fell out. When I fell out I heard the pastor yell, "WOW!" (Explanation on this in a few seconds) I was out for a few minutes just laughing my head off. I was literally in tears. The Pastor and the guy who I was prophesying over had to help me up and hold me up to keep me on my feet and the Pastor gave me a tissue to get all the tears off my face. lol. I'm suprised I made it to my seat. I was soooo drunk. Hallelujah!

Later my Spiritual Momma told me why Pastor yelled, "WOW!" When I fell out the people around me also felt the power of God very strongly and just about fell out. The Pastor yelled, "WOW" when he hit the piano, he caught himself just before he hit the ground.

Very awesome experiences.



If you have any questions at all, just ask away.

God Bless you,
Josh

 

[TheMainException]

I believe that the Holy Spirit will never do anything that will harm me and that God through Jesus will look after me.

I totally agree to this. And even if he does allow a person's muscles to give out, he'll either provide another person to catch them or allow that they not get hurt falling. Basically what you are saying is that what I've been feeling is a smaller version of what people who fall over are feeling...wow.

GodDreamer: Thanks! Have you experienced this on a lesser scale other times? I guess I feel this, but do not get to the point of losing muscle use. (God understands my fears very well, he's an awesome dude)

 

[TheMainException]

Josh: I totally agree...I feel stagnant in my methodist church. I'm not terribly into dancing, running and clapping, but there is a definite restriction that I feel. It's stuffy and stifling. We just got a new pastor tho, so things are slightly better than they have been...but it's still so different. I enjoy it because I get a message that is different than I'd get at the pentecostal church and I really believe that I need to mix in many denominations to get to the fullness of how the church SHOULD be.

I don't tell my parents everything that goes down at the pentecostal church...they're just delighted that I'm going 4 times a week...lol.

Those are some awesome experiences, thanks for sharing. It really helps me to not only understand what's happening when people wipe out, but also how the HS works and acts as well...

 

[mrguitar]

Josh: I totally agree...I feel stagnant in my methodist church. I'm not terribly into dancing, running and clapping, but there is a definite restriction that I feel. It's stuffy and stifling. We just got a new pastor tho, so things are slightly better than they have been...but it's still so different. I enjoy it because I get a message that is different than I'd get at the pentecostal church and I really believe that I need to mix in many denominations to get to the fullness of how the church SHOULD be.

I don't tell my parents everything that goes down at the pentecostal church...they're just delighted that I'm going 4 times a week...lol.

Those are some awesome experiences, thanks for sharing. It really helps me to not only understand what's happening when people wipe out, but also how the HS works and acts as well...

Yeah I totally understand. Yep, I'm sure they're totally different messages, especially in the peaching style and especially worship. lol.

lol...delighted that you're going 4 times a week.

Oh no problem! I love sharin' my testimonies. I like the term you used for falling out...wipe out. lol. Wipe out!!! hahaha. I like it. Amen!

God Bless,
Josh

 

[AudioArtist]

You might come across many people/websites claiming that this manifestation is false. Please ignore them, and instead remember the PROMISE that Jesus gave us regarding His Father:

Luke 11:11-13
1"Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? 12Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? 13If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!"

On the many places where people attack all things of the Spirit, it's not discernment that is going on. It's simply a predisposed mentality at work; it's an operation out of a spirit of fear of deception. People seem to have more faith in the Devil's ability to deceive than in God's ability to bless, sadly! I'm just telling you this because I encountered heresy hunters after an encounter with God where I ended up on the floor, and it caused a lot of confusion. Real discernment is of course needed and should be prayed for, but much 'discernment' is simply biased theology at work, imho.

Trust God! If you seek Him and you are slain in the Spirit as a result, there is no need to worry. It's just our bodies reacting to His presence.

 

[xcrunner71]

I don't really know what to think of it. Personally, I believe it's strange that the Holy Spirit would overwhelm somebody by the command of man, I always believed God's spirit flowed where it wanted, letting nobody know where it is going or where it is coming from. But all in all, who really knows.

 

[AudioArtist]

I don't really know what to think of it. Personally, I believe it's strange that the Holy Spirit would overwhelm somebody by the command of man, I always believed God's spirit flowed where it wanted, letting nobody know where it is going or where it is coming from. But all in all, who really knows.

I personally believe man is merely being used as a vessel in some instances - and I know that people have fallen down because of God's power without anybody praying for them, too, sometimes even on their own at home.

I've never actually been 'slain in the spirit' (what an unfortunate term for something that can be so beautiful for so many!) myself; I have ended up on the floor in tears, but it was a gradual thing, where I lowered myself as God's presence, conviction, deliverance, and eventual peace and joy became so strong I could not remain standing.

 

[GodDreamer]

I totally agree to this. And even if he does allow a person's muscles to give out, he'll either provide another person to catch them or allow that they not get hurt falling. Basically what you are saying is that what I've been feeling is a smaller version of what people who fall over are feeling...wow.

GodDreamer: Thanks! Have you experienced this on a lesser scale other times? I guess I feel this, but do not get to the point of losing muscle use. (God understands my fears very well, he's an awesome dude)

Yes lots of times...As someone said earlier, the Holy Spirit is a gentleman, he won't do anything to harm you...and i agree with you, if He is going to cause you to fall, He will provide someone to catch you.
A few years ago i was really hurt by a pentacostal church...so it's been hard to trust another one. So since then i have not been slain in the Spirit...He is very sensitive to the fact that anything that remines me of my previous church TERRIFIES me. However i have had several occassions where i've felt like my legs were going to give out, however i've fought it, so i didn't fall. Sorry, i feel like this is conjumbled. Hopefully this makes sense.

 

[TheMainException]

I don't really know what to think of it. Personally, I believe it's strange that the Holy Spirit would overwhelm somebody by the command of man, I always believed God's spirit flowed where it wanted, letting nobody know where it is going or where it is coming from. But all in all, who really knows.

Hi XCRunner. I think that the Spirit does not need man to tell it where to go. It is not that the Spirit follows the command of man. The Spirit fills one man, then that man, overwhelmed and full of holy power, has the ability to pass on the Spirit. The Spirit gives power to the holy followers of God for the good use of the kingdom. The Spirit goes no place where it will not go by its own hill. We know from where it comes (the father), but we may not always know when it will work and in what way it will work. When we pray for healing, we believe that God will give healing to the person we ask it for, not because we know God so well, but because we are to understand that God never turned away a single person from healing. When we pray for the moving of the Spirit, we only know that it will come down among us. We do not know how it will effect us or how powerfully it will come to us.

 

[TheMainException]

You might come across many people/websites claiming that this manifestation is false. Please ignore them, and instead remember the PROMISE that Jesus gave us regarding His Father:

Luke 11:11-13
1"Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? 12Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? 13If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!"

On the many places where people attack all things of the Spirit, it's not discernment that is going on. It's simply a predisposed mentality at work; it's an operation out of a spirit of fear of deception. People seem to have more faith in the Devil's ability to deceive than in God's ability to bless, sadly! I'm just telling you this because I encountered heresy hunters after an encounter with God where I ended up on the floor, and it caused a lot of confusion. Real discernment is of course needed and should be prayed for, but much 'discernment' is simply biased theology at work, imho.

Trust God! If you seek Him and you are slain in the Spirit as a result, there is no need to worry. It's just our bodies reacting to His presence.

I quite agree friend. Discernment through the Spirit is why I still go to this pentecostal church despite my mentor and best friend having doubts. He is a mighty man of God, but as I prayed as a child for wisdom, the good Lord has blessed me and answered my tiny prayer. I attend this church, but watch carefully even in my worship at the church. I seek to see everything that is going on and if not understand what is going on, then at least know that it is through the spirit or not.

Yes lots of times...As someone said earlier, the Holy Spirit is a gentleman, he won't do anything to harm you...and i agree with you, if He is going to cause you to fall, He will provide someone to catch you.
A few years ago i was really hurt by a pentacostal church...so it's been hard to trust another one. So since then i have not been slain in the Spirit...He is very sensitive to the fact that anything that remines me of my previous church TERRIFIES me. However i have had several occassions where i've felt like my legs were going to give out, however i've fought it, so i didn't fall. Sorry, i feel like this is conjumbled. Hopefully this makes sense.

It's not conjumbled GodDreamer. It quite makes sense, and truthfully makes me very sad. I've long said that Christians are nasty, hateful people and I don't yet take that back. I've had much better conversations with atheists at times because so many Christians aren't willing to stop throwing punches with their eyes closed as soon as someone says something "evil." Remember, all churches are different. Pentecostal to pentecostal, you'll find huge differences and huge similarities all over the place. Don't let the bad actions of one chase you away from experiencing God's glory.

 

[stormdancer0]

I really wasn't comfortable posting this, but wanted you to hear my experience. I've been Pentecostal for about 18 months. Almost a year ago, I was at a meeting in a friend's house, and frankly somewhat amused at the, er, fervor with which the evangelist was speaking. After the main message, this guy was praying for people, and on a dare (i really wasn't into it at all) I went up for prayer. He told me that the ministry I was about to start was God's will, but I was trying to get ahead of God, and needed to wait (how he knew I was starting a ministry? I am not sure). He also said, You're new to all this, aren't you? I nodded, still somewhat amused. He anointed my head with some oil that smelled wonderful, and put his hand on my head to pray for me. Suddenly, everything was gone. I could still hear the man praying, but it was in the background. I knew I was falling like I know I'm wearing shoes - I knew it but it wasn't relevant. All I saw was light. The only way I can describe it was the light was a physical substance. There was a total peace, and if I could, I would have stayed there forever. I felt like I was engulfed in love. It was not what I expected. When I've prayed in the Spirit, it is usually accompanied by emotions so powerful, my heart beats faster, I catch my breath, kind of like the sensation of a roller coaster. There's an excitement there in knowing that God is speaking through me. But this couldn't have been calmer, more peaceful.

My mom thinks I'm nuts, and maybe I am. But after 38 years of major depression and occasional suicidal thoughts, I've never been happier or more at peace. I know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that God is, that He loves me, and that Jesus is totally trustworthy, even when I don't understand.

Hope this helps.

Susan