Unless it is coming from the Lord

When I was about eighteen years old, I received my first job. I was new to the workplace, so I was very unprepared for the ‘workplace politics,’ but I learned quickly.

There was a strange practice among some of the workers where the male workers would habitually touched and hugged some of the ladies unnecessarily. I did not like this practice and refused to participate in it.

Nothing is wrong with a hug, but it must be done at the appropriate time and in the right place.

Some people thought that my behaviour was strange but this was the principle I grew up with as a young Christian.

There was once while I was shopping in the market, one of my male co-workers decided to greet me with an unexpected hug.

He was a known ‘player’ who liked to touch women unnecessarily. But he was in for a shock when I abruptly shrugged him off.

Even though he left angrily, I felt quite justified when an older gentleman who saw the entire episode commend me on my decision.

He assured me that I should never allow any strange men to touch me because you never know if their hands are clean.

The Bible states that we should greet each other with a holy kiss (Romans 16:16) but this type of greetings depend on the individual’s customs and we should respect each other preferences.

Laying of hands in the churches

Is it necessary for the pastor to lay hands on you?

Within some churches, the laying of hands are often practice.

However, I have noticed that oftentimes the pastor or evangelist while praying for someone would actually shake the person until he or she fell to the ground backwards.

Is this biblical?

I don’t believe that anyone should lay hands on you unless God explicitly tells them to do so.

The laying of hands should be done to impart wisdom or other gifts of the Holy Spirit upon you to equip you for leadership or to heal you in the name of Jesus.

Before Moses died, the Lord told him to lay hands on Joshua to impart on him wisdom to lead the Israelites (Deuteronomy 34:9).

The Lord also commissioned the elders of the Church to pray over the sick and anoint them with oil (James 5:14).

Read more about the benefits of the oil here.

When God has given you the gift of healing, He will permit you to lay hands on the sick so that they are healed. God gave Paul and Ananias this gift (Acts 28:8; 2 Timothy 1:6 Acts 9:17).

Paul encouraged Timothy that he should not neglect the gift that was given to him by prophecy and the laying of hands of the elders (1Timothy 4:14).

The Bible explicitly tells us that we should not lay hands on anyone hastily nor be a part of their sins (1 Timothy 5:22).

The Bible also gives us several examples of people who lay hands on others either to harm, persecute or kill them (Luke 21:12). They tried to lay hands on Jesus to kill Him before His time (Matthew 21:46)

Therefore, it is possible to receive harmful spirits from someone when they lay hands on you.

The Bible tells us in Leviticus 16:6-22 that God told Aaron to lay the sins of the people upon a goat “to be presented alive before the Lord, to make atonement upon it, and to let it go as the scapegoat into the wilderness.”(Leviticus 16:10).

In our dispensation, no humans or animals should become a ‘scapegoat’ because Jesus made atonement for our sins.

It is not necessary to force persons to fall to the ground to receive the anointing of the Holy Spirit.

Sometimes people become emotional during a service and will fall unconscious to the ground. Some church folks called this ‘slain in the spirit.’

When this happens we should not assume that these ‘slain persons’ are receiving revelation from God.

Instead they may need deliverance.

Is ‘slain in the spirit’ Biblical?

I have never encountered the term ‘slain in the spirit’ in the Bible. If you have, you can let me know in the comment below.

Some people believe that when you have a personal encounter with God you will fall backwards to the ground.

However, this is dangerous because you can be hurt physically when you fall in such a manner.

Hence, some churches delegate a few strong men to catch these people while they are falling and gently lower them to the ground.

Reaction of persons who had divine encounter with God

While Saul was on his way to Damascus to persecute the Christians, he  suddenly saw a bright light and fell to the ground.

How did he fall? Was it backward? The Bible did not state (Acts 9).

When John was on the Isle of Patmos, he had a vision of the glorious appearance of the Lord Jesus Christ and fell lifeless at His feet (Revelation 1).

The fact that he fell at Jesus’ feet implies that he fell forward with his face bowed to the ground.

When Daniel saw the vision of the Lord Jesus Christ, His appearance was so overwhelming that he fell to the ground with his face towards the ground (Daniel 10:9).

According to the Bible, when Christ returns every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord (Romans 14:11).

When you have a divine encounter with God, you must fall in a kneeling and face forward position to worship Him. You cannot demonstrate the act of worship lying flat on your back.

Some people believe that when you are ‘slain in the spirit’, you are receiving visions and revelations from God. However, this belief is not biblical.

The word slain is the past tense of slay, which means to kill by violence (Dictionary.com).

I do not believe that the Holy Spirit will violently kill anyone whether temporary or not to speak to them.

As Christians we must be careful of the words that we use because this will cast a bad light on us.

Yes, you may lose consciousness when you encounter Christ because of His powerful presence, but He will not speak to you unless He revives you.

You must be in your right mind to understand the Word of the Lord. This fact was evident in the case of John in Revelation 1:17.

When John saw the vision of Jesus “he fell at His feet as dead” (unconscious) but Jesus laid His right hand on him, “saying to me, “Do not be afraid; I am the First and the Last. I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death.” (Revelation 1:17-18 NKJV).

That was the right hand of restoration!

Then the Lord gave John the messages to the seven churches (Revelation 1-3).

Daniel fell unconsciously when he saw the glorious vision of the Son of man clothed in linen.

While he was in this state of unconsciousness he heard someone speaking but could not comprehend until the person in his vision touched and revived him (Daniel 10:7-20).

If you are unconscious and not in your right mind you will not understand the words of the Lord so He will first revive you because God has not given us a spirit of fear but power, love and a sound mind (2 Timothy 1:7).

The Lord speak to us through the Bible, in dreams and through the Holy Spirit who dwells in our hearts.

We should, therefore, endeavour to develop an intimate relationship with God through praying, studying His Word and being obedient to the Holy Spirit.

Our relationship with God is personal and no one can give it to us by laying their hands on us.

Only God has the power to touch, heal, deliver, and strengthen you. If He is going to do this through someone, He will first show you the person in a vision, or dream or through the Holy Spirit.

This is similar to what happen to Saul in Acts 9:11-12.

Satan has sowed perverted seed among the good seed so we must rely on the Holy Spirit to differentiate between the truth and falsehood.

God is unchanging and His Word stands forever but His method of reaching a new generation sometimes change.

I believe that His methods to reach the younger generations is through teaching and application of the Word of God.

God will not allow the enemy to destroy an entire generation so He is doing a new and different move which Satan cannot infiltrate.

If you want to be part of the mighty move of God, walk in obedience to His Word.

Additional References: 2 John 1:9-11

Share your thoughts on the laying of hands and ‘slain in the spirit.’

Have a blessed day!