If you are walking in the supernatural power of God, don't be shocked if people in the world think you're odd. The things of God don't look normal to the world because they are spiritually discerned, and Paul told us that would be the case. In 1 Corinthians 2:14, he wrote, But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
The Laying on of Hands
One thing the world doesn't understand is the laying on of hands. They think it's just for show or to dramatize some spiritual truth. Some believe the laying on of hands was only for the first-century church, but none of those suppositions are biblically correct.
Hebrews 6:1-2 includes the laying on of hands as one of the foundational principles of Christianity. It says, Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God, Of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment.
So, you see, if we still hold to the principle of the doctrine of Christ, of repentance from dead works, and baptisms, we should also continue to believe in and practice the laying on of hands.
When an anointed, spirit-filled person lays hands on another person in faith, a transference of power happens. When the woman who was healed from the issue of blood touched Jesus, He felt the power leave Him and go into her, and she was healed immediately!
The phrase laying on used in Hebrews 6:2 is epitheses in Greek. It means to lay or put on. Paul used the same Greek word when he wrote to Timothy about the spiritual gifts he imparted to him through the laying on of his hands. 1 Timothy 4:14 says, Neglect not the gift that is in thee, which was given thee by prophecy, with the laying on of the hands of the presbytery.
Luke used the same Greek word, epitheses, (the laying on of hands), in Acts 8:18-19. He wrote, And when Simon saw that through laying on of the apostles' hands the Holy Ghost was given, he offered them money, Saying, Give me also this power, that on whomsoever I lay hands, he may receive the Holy Ghost.
Sometimes when hands are laid on an individual, they fall under the power; we see it in the Old and the New Testament. 2 Chronicles 5:14 says, So that the priests could not stand to minister by reason of the cloud: for the glory of the Lord had filled the house of God. When Jesus told those who came to arrest Him in the Garden of Gethsemane, I am He, the transference of power in those words alone made them fall to the ground. (See John 18:6)
Of course, some people just fall on the floor to be seen, but when the power of the anointing comes against flesh, something will give, and it won't be God's power! It will be the flesh. Everyone who falls in a prayer line may not be reacting to the power of God, but that does not negate the authenticity of what the Bible teaches. Never throw out the baby with the bathwater. Hold on to the true and reject the false.
My First Experience
As a Faith Leader, I hope you practice the laying on hands, and I also hope you teach about it. I wasn't raised in a church that taught about the power of the anointing, so when I first saw people fall under the power of God when a prophet of God prayed for them, I wondered, "why are those people laying on the floor?" No one taught me about it until I got to Bible school. God is so good; although I didn't understand it all, He allowed me to experience it.
On the first day of Bible School, the prophet of God asked all the students to come forward so he could lay hands on them. As clear as day, I remember thinking, "I am not going down on the floor like those people at the other end of the line. I don't know what they're doing, but I'm not doing it!"
Then the prophet of God walked past me and all I felt was a wind. I remember nothing except looking up at the ceiling tile. I didn't know how I got on the floor. It was the power of the anointing. Trust me; it wasn't my idea to dive onto the floor! I had no interest in it. I thought it was wild and crazy, but I soon learned it is biblical and an important way God ministers to His people through Faith Leaders like you!