Matthew 6:5 “And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward.”
Firstly we will discuss the manifestation that can and sadly does occur in this area, which are people pretending to be convulsed by the power of God. So why would anyone want to pretend to behave in such a manner? They do so because they are deceived into thinking that this sort of behavior is evidence of the Holy Spirit’s anointing on a person. This sort of evidence is not found in scripture however, so where do these people come up with the idea that the Holy Spirit is the One Who makes people behave like this? The answer to that question lies in the doctrines of demons that have found their way into some parts of the church (1 Timothy 4:1). Let me explain. There are numerous false prophets in the church today. These same false prophets normally have unclean spirits attached to them, and when they minister, the demon manifests itself through them in these various ways. The manifestation is obviously visible to all and the false prophet then attributes it to the anointing of the Holy Spirit being upon them. And so, because the false prophets quite often have a substantial following in the church among believers who lack discernment, those same believers then view this type of behavior as a sign of God’s anointing. And so, wanting to make others believe that God’s anointing is upon them, the immature believers then mimic in the flesh, the convulsive behavior of the various false prophets. In the above passage of scripture, our Lord describes those who love to appear spiritual in front of others, by praying in public so as to be seen by them. In the same manner, immature believers display convulsive behavior so as to appear spiritual in front of others.
Michael E.B. Maher
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