When talking to the leadership team at Catch the Fire in Toronto, they confirmed that when they pray for people, not everyone is slain in the Spirit. For those who don’t know, being slain in the Spirit is falling over (generally backward), when someone is in front of you praying for you. The understanding is that the Holy Spirit is coming upon them and this weakens them so they fall down, and then normally they rest under the Spirit’s power as they lay on the floor and He ministers to them.
My questions was: “Is it the left-brainers who don’t get slain in the Spirit?”
They paused and thought for a moment and then said, “Yes, it is the left-brainers who don’t fall down.”
Well, that makes sense to me. I’m a left-brainer and I don’t fall down. By the way, left-brainers are the thinkers and right-brainers are the intuitive visionaries and feelers. Here is a free downloadable test you can take to discover if you are more right or left brain.
Hmmm, so if I did want to be slain in the Spirit and rest on the floor under the Spirit’s power, what might I need to do differently? When right-brainers are being prayed for, how do they posture themselves internally that is different than the way left-brainers posture themselves?
Switching My Internal Posture
As a left-brainer, I tend to be thinking all the time, analyzing, judging, fretting. In this case, I am thinking, Will anything happen to me? Probably not. It never does. I will be the only one left standing. I hate that. Get me out of here! Right-brainers, on the other hand, live in pictures, feelings and flow, and anticipate with excitement the upcoming experience.
So I decide to picture what is going on as I am being prayed for. I see true spiritual reality even as King David did (Ps. 16:8). Jesus is standing there in front of me, laying His hands on me and releasing the Holy Spirit to me. I see the Holy Spirit’s light, power and energy invading my body. My emotions become involved, since emotions are byproducts of the pictures I am gazing upon.
So yes, now in this posture, I do feel a weakness in my legs as the Spirit hovers over me. I do feel like falling over backward. I don’t resist. Why would I ever choose to resist the Holy Spirit? I fall over backward, and thankfully, someone is there to catch me and lay me softly on the ground.
I lie there in His presence, tuned to flowing thoughts, flowing pictures and flowing emotions (God’s thoughts, pictures and emotions). I receive whatever He desires to speak to me. I honor what He is revealing, and enjoy the peace, power and love I am feeling. It is an enlightening, healing, soothing, empowering experience, and when it is over, I am refreshed in the Lord.
Now I Can Be Slain in the Spirit
The nice thing about realizing I can choose to change my inner posture from left to right brain is that I can now choose to cooperate with the Holy Spirit in one more way He desires for me to experience Him. I can be slain in the Spirit without faking it! I am still maintaining my integrity.
Could I resist falling down and stay standing? Yes, because the Holy Spirit is a gentleman and doesn’t force Himself upon you. It is as I choose to yield myself to the Spirit that He fills those areas I yield to Him.
“Do not yield your members to sin as instruments of unrighteousness, but yield yourselves to God … Do you not know that to whom you yield yourselves as slaves to obey, you are slaves of the one whom you obey? (Rom. 6:13a, 16a).
Thayer’s Greek definition of this word “yield” (Strong’s #G3936) is “to present, to place a person or thing at one’s disposal.”
I choose not to resist the Holy Spirit, since I am passionate to live and walk by the Spirit (Gal. 5:25). I choose to yield my being to be slain in the Spirit.
Was God Really a Gentleman When He Blinded Paul on the Damascus Road?
God did knock down Paul and make him blind for three days, and that sure looks like God used force and control to overwhelm Paul’s spirit. Well, God did this because Paul’s heart was in the right place. Paul’s heart was after God. It is just that his head’s theology was so messed up Paul thought he was doing God a favor by killing Christians. So God honored Paul’s pure heart over his messed-up theology, and although it looks like forceful control, it is actually honoring and responding to a heart that was wholly God’s.
In summary: Now I don’t need to be the one left standing as others go down under the power of the Spirit. I can join the party, too. And who doesn’t want to be part of a Holy Ghost party? Since a merry heart is good medicine, I choose the party (Prov. 17:22). I choose fun and thankfulness and gratitude. I choose to set aside my thinking for a bit and just enjoy His presence. It’s a nice change. It’s a refreshing experience.
Try it. You’ll like it. Always ask for more! Why not? {eoa}
Mark Virkler, Ph.D., has authored more than 50 books in the areas of hearing God’s voice and spiritual growth. He is the founder of Communion With God Ministries and Christian Leadership University (cluonline.com), where the voice of God is at the center of every learning experience. Mark has taught on developing intimacy with God and spiritual healing for 30-plus years on six continents. The message has been translated into over 40 languages, and he has helped to establish more than 250 church-centered Bible schools around the world.
This article originally appeared at cwgministries.org.
