So not too long ago I was praying and meditation on the manifestations of the Spirit, which I chronicled in my first day at the OneThing conference.
In short, I was uncertain about the reality of people ‘manifesting’ the Holy Spirit in ways that I didn’t see justified or useful. When people would “get filled with the Holy Spirit”, they would start laughing uncontrollably, convulsing, falling on the ground, shouting, etc…
I didn’t see a place for it, I didn’t see a biblical justification for it, I didn’t see the point of it, it hardly made them live more righteously. I judged in my spirit that people were doing it to achieve a drama of Christianity that isn’t advocated in the Bible. Or for show or attention.
But strangely to say, my perceptions of these “manifestations” have changed. Mostly in part because in my own quiet times with the Lord, I have been experiencing them in part myself.
The other night, I was praying and interceding, when the Spirit came upon me in power. My body started burning up. My room was cold, but I started sweating profusely. My mouth opened wide by itself and I started speaking in tongues; I thought I was about to enter into an open vision! At that point I had pretty much lost motor control and was just receiving the Spirit. My body was hot, and shaking. This all went on for a good 30 seconds.
I can’t explain it from the Scriptures directly, but the best way I can put it is the way Bailey Yu put it, “When the infinite God comes upon the finite weak frame of the human body, strange things happen.”
Yeah, it didn’t make me holier, or more righteous, or more obedient. But it does make me marvel at the presence of Jesus more and to seek His face more.
No, I couldn’t directly understand what the Holy Spirit was actually doing inside of me when it happened or why He was doing it in that matter, but I also can’t say that He wasn’t doing anything either.
So yeah… these are my early thoughts on the subject.
