Why Do People Fall Over in Healing Lines?
A person can fall over in a healing line for many reasons, not all of them spiritual:
1. The person just expected to fall over anyway. (This is common, whether we want to admit it or not. In some circles, we’ve made it a tradition that you’re supposed to fall over, though the Bible never says that you need to fall over to be healed.)
2. The minister shoved the person over. (This is also more common than we’d like to admit, though in decades of ministry so far, I have never pushed anyone over. I’ve been accused of doing it when the power of God hit someone, but the people standing by could see that I never even touched the person. However, some preachers are chronic shovers, some more subtle than others. Perhaps they think it makes them look powerful. I think it’s “amateur night” stuff that makes them look pushy, but some of them do flow quite powerfully.)
3. The person wanted the cute usher behind her to catch her.
4. The person stood there with his eyes shut and hands up for 5 minutes and got dizzy.
5. The person got himself emotionally worked up and fell for that reason. (I’ve had people do this in my healing lines, and I really wish they’d stay upright when it’s not God causing them to fall.)
6. The person wanted to fall and get hurt so that he could sue the preacher. (Yes, this has happened in a couple notorious cases!)
7. The person really, really wanted to have “an experience” and worked himself up into having one (or at least thinking he was having one when it was really an emotional thing).
8. The anointing was so strong that the person could not stand up.
9. The anointing made the person shaky, and while the person could have prevented falling, he felt that it would be easier to receive from God on the floor.
Of course, we will spend most of our time discussing the legitimate reasons for falling. In case you didn’t figure this out, these are (8) and (9) above.
It has become somewhat of a cultural thing at healing services that people are just expected to fall over. I have observed with some (but not excessive) amusement that some people turn around to see if an usher is there before they “collapse under the power.” That is generally a sign that it is not the anointing making them fall.
Actually, the ushers are there primarily for the people who fall in the flesh (see reasons 1-7). I fell backward onto a concrete floor once with no ill effects and no “catcher” when it really was the anointing. But if it isn’t the anointing, you’d better have some ushers handy, because some people will fall anyway! Unfortunately, people can and do get hurt in healing lines! It is my personal conviction (which I admit that I cannot prove from a specific Scripture) that when the Holy Spirit knocks people down, no one gets hurt. The problem is that even if the Holy Spirit knocked you over, that 250-pound guy next to you might decide to keel over in the flesh at an inopportune moment. I know someone whose arm was broken on the floor in a situation like that. Hence the need for sharp, alert ushers during prayer lines! We’re not trying to create new healing needs in the people.
Aside from theatrics on the part of the preacher or the people in the line, there is plenty of Scripture to support the idea of people falling when the power of God comes on them. In some cases, it is simply being “blown over” by the power of God, in others, men were moved with a strong reverential fear of God.
“Jesus therefore, knowing all things that should come upon him, went forth, and said unto them, Whom seek ye? They answered him, Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus saith unto them, I am he. And Judas also, which betrayed him, stood with them. As soon then as he said unto them, I am he, they went backward, and fell to the ground.” – John 18:4-6.
“And behold, there was a great earthquake: for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it. His countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow: And for fear of him the keepers did shake, and became as dead men.” – Matthew 28:2-4.
“And as he [Saul, who became Paul] journeyed, he came near Damascus: and suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven: And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks. And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do. And the men which journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice, but seeing no man. And Saul arose from the earth; and when his eyes were opened, he saw no man: but they led him by the hand, and brought him unto Damascus. And he was three days without sight, and neither did eat nor drink.” – Acts 9:3-9.
We know that Paul as well as those who traveled with him fell over when Jesus appeared to him: “And when we were all fallen to the earth, I heard a voice speaking unto me, and saying in the Hebrew tongue, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.” – Acts 26:14
“While he [Peter] yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him. And when the disciples heard it, they fell on their face, and were sore afraid. And Jesus came and touched them, and said, Arise, be not afraid.” – Matthew 17:5-7.
“And when I saw him [Jesus], I fell at his feet as dead.” – Revelation 1:17
“And when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and lo, an horror of great darkness fell upon him. And he [God] said to Abram, Know of a surety...” – Genesis 15:12-13. This could not speak of a regular sleep, because God spoke to Abram while he was in his “deep sleep,” which was evidently some kind of supernatural trance.
“And I fell down before the LORD, as at the first, forty days and forty nights: I did neither eat bread, nor drink water...” – Deuteronomy 9:18. “Thus I fell down before the Lord forty days and forty nights, as I fell down at the first...” – Deuteronomy 9:25. This is one of the most amazing cases of the power of God moving on someone. Moses did not eat or drink for forty days while under the power of God. That was obviously supernatural!
“This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. And when I saw it, I fell on my face, and I heard a voice of one that spake. And he said unto me, Son of man, stand upon thy feet, and I will speak unto thee. And the spirit entered into me when he spake unto me, and set me upon my feet...” – Ezekiel 1:28-2:2. Here we have a case of God picking someone up after he fell down! That would be interesting to see, wouldn’t it?
“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. Then the spirit entered into me, and set me upon my feet...” (see Ezekiel 3:23-24). Here’s another case of someone falling before the glory of God and having God stand him up again!
“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.” – Ezekiel 43:3.
“And I heard a man’s voice between the banks of Ulai, which called, and said, Gabriel, make this man to understand the vision. So he came near where I stood: and when he came, I was afraid, and fell upon my face: but he said unto me, Understand, O son of man: for at the time of the end shall be the vision. Now as he was speaking with me, I was in a deep sleep on my face toward the ground: but he touched me, and set me upright.” – Daniel 8:16-18.
That’s another case of God supernaturally standing someone up again! It seems that God can both knock people over and stand them up again, but it would be much harder for a preacher to “fake” having someone get “stood up” in the Spirit!
“And I Daniel alone saw the vision: for the men that were with me saw not the vision; but a great quaking fell upon them, so that they fled to hide themselves. Therefore I was left alone, and saw this great vision, and there remained no strength in me: for my comeliness was turned in me into corruption, and I retained no strength. Yet heard I the voice of his words: and when I heard the voice of his words, then was I in a deep sleep on my face, and my face toward the ground. And, behold, an hand touched me, which set me upon my knees and upon the palms of my hands. And he said unto me, O Daniel, a man greatly beloved, understand the words that I speak unto thee, and stand upright: for unto thee am I now sent. And when he had spoken this word unto me, I stood trembling.” – Daniel 10:7-11
Daniel was partially “stood up” this time.
“And when he had spoken such words unto me, I set my face toward the ground, and I became dumb. And, behold, one like the similitude of the sons of men touched my lips: then I opened my mouth, and spake, and said unto him that stood before me, O my lord, by the vision my sorrows are turned upon me, and I have retained no strength. For how can the servant of this my lord talk with this my lord? for as for me, straightway there remained no strength in me, neither is there breath left in me.” – Daniel 10:15-17
Peter “fell into a trance” in Acts 10:10. The Greek word for fell there denotes the trance coming on him, and does not mean that he literally fell down. However, the voice said “Arise” three times during the vision, and the Holy Spirit told him to “arise” after it was over (Acts 10:20). This would seem to indicate that Peter was not upright at the time. It is possible that he would have been prostrate, although he could have been sitting also. We know for sure only that he was praying (Acts 11:5).
The Old Testament Saul may not have been immediately knocked over by the power of God, but he was certainly affected by it in 1 Samuel 23:24: “And he [Saul] went thither to Naioth in Ramah: and the Spirit of God was upon him also, and he went on, and he prophesied, until he came to Naioth in Ramah. And he stripped off his clothes also, and prophesied before Samuel in like manner, and lay down naked all that day and all that night.”
That is a manifestation that would have to occur in private, for obvious reasons.
Note that shaking under the power is recorded in many of these instances as well as falling. Thus, it is normal for people to shake, even if they do not fall, when they encounter the power of God.
If you find yourself shaking, it is not wrong to go down on the floor voluntarily, even if you could stay up if you wanted to. If the anointing is heavy on you, you may find it easier to receive from God on the floor. Then at least you don’t have to be concerned with trying to stay on your feet. However, I would advise against just going down on the floor because you think it’s the thing to do when you haven’t felt any tangible anointing on you. Falling won’t help you receive anything – you’re either in faith or you’re not at that point. Falling over may just make it harder for the ushers and others involved with the service. Also, falling in the flesh will break contact between you and the minister out of whom the anointing is being transmitted into you, and it can short-circuit what God wanted to do through the anointing. I’ve chased some people down to the floor over the years because I knew the Lord wasn’t really done with them.
I am by no means saying that most of the people who fall over these days do so because the power of God overwhelms them. I am simply saying that it is Scriptural for this to happen at times. However, please notice that in none of the cases listed in Scripture was the person expecting to fall over. In general, people make much too big a deal over falling over or not falling over. It is really not important. The idea is to get healed. Jesus promised that the sick would recover when hands were laid on them. He never said they would fall over or that they would be shoved over like bowling pins, and it doesn’t matter. It is their recovery that is promised, so it is their recovery that matters.