Why do people fall down during service?

Below is a little article I wrote for our upcoming church newsletter. It's for a new column called "Frequently Asked Questions." For this issue, I answer the question: "Why do people fall down when the pastor prays for them?" Ours is a charismatic, revivalist church, though a unique one, I like to think. Anyway, I hope you will find the article interesting.

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When I greet guests to our church after the service, I know most are itching to ask “Why do people fall down when the pastor prays for them?” There are three basic reasons why people fall to the floor during the laying on of hands.

Reason Number 1—Lying on the floor is simply an easier way to get still and allow God to speak to us. When the pastor prays for me during the ministering time, I often allow myself to fall backwards and remain still on the floor so I can focus on God more effectively. It’s interesting that lying down on the floor minimizes distractions and allows you to focus on God, but experience shows this is true. I challenge you to stand up, close your eyes, and focus on listening to God for at least 30 seconds. Then try the same thing, but lying down on the floor. You won’t understand until you try it.

Reason Number 2—Sometimes people fall to the floor because they lose strength or are overcome by Holy Spirit. Many people who fall involuntarily feel some physical manifestation of God’s presence, such as fire, wind, or weight. Even the Bible describes God’s presence as weighty. In 1 Kings 8, the Bible says the glory of God filled the temple, preventing the priests from performing their duties.

Is it biblical for people to fall down in church every Sunday? Certainly there is plenty of evidence of people falling to the ground in the presence of God in the Bible, and we definitely believe the presence of God is in our church.

The Bible describes people falling and lying on the ground both voluntarily and involuntarily in the presence of God. When God promised King Jehoshaphat and the Israelites victory against stronger foreign armies, 2 Chronicles 20 tells us the whole assembly fell to the ground in worship. Jesus lay on the ground praying in the Garden of Gethsemane, before He was crucified. As for involuntary falling, 1 Samuel 19 talks about King Saul being overcome by the Spirit of God (apparently even against his will) and prophesying while lying on the ground—for three days and nights! John falls to the ground as though dead before Jesus in Revelation 1, and so did Paul and his companions on the road to Damascus. This cursory look through the Scriptures certainly shows there are no biblical inhibitions to people praying or waiting on God while lying down whether voluntarily or not.

So why do people get so uncomfortable about falling? I believe the main reason is self-consciousness. Of course, everyone would like to receive blessing from God, but then again, we worry about so many things, such as: “What will people think about me?” or “I don’t need to bother God with my problems.” Our self-consciousness prevents us from going forward for prayer. And even if we do go up, we will so distracted with our thoughts that we cannot receive from God. Our rational mind asks, “Why can’t everyone just sit quietly in their chairs while the pastor prays from the pulpit?”

To that question, the best answer I can give is that, as long as we argue with ourselves about the propriety of falling, we will not have faith to receive from God. The same thing happened to people in Jesus’ hometown when He ministered there—they were so caught up in questioning themselves that it prevented them from believing and being healed. Or take the Pharisees, for example. They were so indignant about Jesus healing on the Sabbath that they did not appreciate the miracles that were taking place.

Admittedly, falling is odd. But, then again, why should we expect Sunday service to be normal if God is among us?