Genesis 17:1-22 “When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him, "I am Almighty God; walk before Me and be blameless. (2) And I will make My covenant between Me and you, and will multiply you exceedingly." (3) Then Abram fell on his face, and God talked with him, saying: (4) “As for Me, behold, My covenant is with you, and you shall be a father of many nations. (5) No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for I have made you a father of many nations. (6) I will make you exceedingly fruitful; and I will make nations of you, and kings shall come from you. … (15) Then God said to Abraham, "As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name. (16) And I will bless her and also give you a son by her; then I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of peoples shall be from her." (17) Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed, and said in his heart, "Shall a child be born to a man who is one hundred years old? And shall Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?” … (22) Then He finished talking with him, and God went up from Abraham.”
In this section, we will discuss the phenomenon of people falling to the ground when they encounter the power of the Holy Spirit. This occurrence should not be confused with the act of saints prostrating themselves before the Lord during worship and prayer. Saints who prostrate themselves before the Lord do so as an act of their own will, paying homage to Him, not as a result of encountering the supernatural power of God.
The practice of prostration before the Lord is observed in many churches, including those that do not acknowledge the manifestation of the Holy Spirit’s power in the earth today. Numerous scriptural references support this practice. For example:
The twenty-four elders in heaven fall before God’s throne and worship Him (Revelation 5:14).
The four cherubim in heaven fall before God and worship Him (Revelation 19:4).
All the angels of God fall on their faces and worship Him (Revelation 7:11).
Abraham bowed himself to the ground when the Lord appeared to him with two angels (Genesis 18:1–3).
Moses prostrated himself before the Lord in prayer (Deuteronomy 9:25).
The assembly of Israelites prostrated themselves before the Lord to bless Him (2 Chronicles 29:20).
In all these accounts, individuals fell before the Lord as an act of their own will, not as a result of being overwhelmed by His power and unable to stand in His presence. As we will see, the act of falling down in the presence of God due to His manifested power is entirely different from prostrating oneself before the Lord of one’s own accord.
As with other phenomena discussed in this section, there are three potential types of manifestations related to falling:
Falling under the power of God.
Pretending to fall under the power of God.
Falling due to demonic power.
We will first explore the biblical evidence of the genuine phenomenon of falling as a result of encountering the power of the Holy Spirit.
The above quoted passage of scripture describes the encounter Abraham had with the Lord when God appeared to him and changed both his and Sarah’s names as part of His covenant with Abraham. Before this, the Lord had appeared to Abraham on four separate occasions, but this encounter was different. It was clearly a powerful moment, as the Lord revealed Himself to Abraham as “Almighty God.”
As a result, Abraham fell on his face before the Lord—a response that had not occurred in any of his previous encounters. On this occasion, Abraham was physically unable to stand in the presence of the Lord because of the manifested power of God. Later, during God’s discourse with Abraham, the Lord evidently enabled him to stand, because at the end of their conversation, Abraham fell on his face again—this time laughing.
This account differs from the earlier instance mentioned, where Abraham bowed himself to the ground in reverence. In this case, Abraham fell because he was physically unable to remain standing in the overwhelming presence of Almighty God. Importantly, scripture states that Abraham fell to the ground, not that he was thrown to the ground.
As we will see consistently in this section, our encounters with the Lord’s power can cause us to fall because we are physically too weak to stand in His presence. This is not because His power forces us to the ground against our will, but rather due to the sheer intensity of His manifested presence.
Daniel 10:4-19 “Now on the twenty-fourth day of the first month, as I was by the side of the great river, that is, the Tigris, (5) I lifted my eyes and looked, and behold, a certain man clothed in linen, whose waist was girded with gold of Uphaz! (6) His body was like beryl, his face like the appearance of lightning, his eyes like torches of fire, his arms and feet like burnished bronze in color, and the sound of his words like the voice of a multitude. … (8) Therefore I was left alone when I saw this great vision, and no strength remained in me; for my vigor was turned to frailty in me, and I retained no strength. (9) Yet I heard the sound of his words; and while I heard the sound of his words I was in a deep sleep on my face, with my face to the ground. (10) Suddenly, a hand touched me, which made me tremble on my knees and on the palms of my hands. (11) And he said to me, "O Daniel, man greatly beloved, understand the words that I speak to you, and stand upright, for I have now been sent to you." While he was speaking this word to me, I stood trembling. … (15) When he had spoken such words to me, I turned my face toward the ground and became speechless. (16) And suddenly, one having the likeness of the sons of men touched my lips; then I opened my mouth and spoke, saying to him who stood before me, "My lord, because of the vision my sorrows have overwhelmed me, and I have retained no strength. (17) For how can this servant of my lord talk with you, my lord? As for me, no strength remains in me now, nor is any breath left in me." (18) Then again, the one having the likeness of a man touched me and strengthened me. (19) And he said, "O man greatly beloved, fear not! Peace be to you; be strong, yes, be strong!" So when he spoke to me I was strengthened, and said, "Let my lord speak, for you have strengthened me.”
Scripture provides numerous accounts of people falling to the ground when they encountered the presence of the supernatural. As we will see later in this section, when we examine the Apostle John’s encounter with the Lord Jesus, our Lord can choose to appear to His saints in either a very natural state or in a display of His glory. Similarly, angels possess the ability to appear in either form. The passage quoted above describes an angel—likely Gabriel—appearing to Daniel while displaying his glory.
This account is particularly enlightening because the prophet Daniel vividly describes his physical and emotional responses during the encounter. Although Daniel's experience was with an angel of the Lord rather than with the Lord Himself, his reactions are typical of how the natural human body responds when faced with the power of the supernatural.
Daniel recounts how his body became weak, causing him to immediately fall to the ground in a trance. Upon regaining consciousness, he found himself face down on the ground. The angel had to help him to his feet, but even then, Daniel’s body continued to tremble in the angel’s presence. When the angel began speaking to him, Daniel lost all strength and collapsed to the ground again, face down.
The angel then lifted him up once more, and Daniel explained how his body was struggling to cope with the encounter. In response, the angel touched Daniel’s body and supernaturally imparted strength to him. This enabled Daniel to remain standing in the angel’s presence and to receive God’s message. Without the angel's intervention, Daniel would have been physically incapacitated on the ground throughout the encounter, as the natural human body is unable to withstand the manifested power of the supernatural.
It is important to note the key truth revealed in this account: Daniel fell to the ground because he was physically too weak to stand in the angel’s presence. He was not forced or thrown to the ground against his will by the angel’s power.
Michael E.B. Maher
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