Falling or Laying Down Because of the Presence of God and Resting In God's Spirit
The Bible talks about people falling down on the ground in worship. This happens a number of times in the Bible, and it is due to the strong presence of God being experienced by the people at the time.
10 And when the priests came out of the holy place, a cloud filled the house of the LORD, 11 so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud; for the glory of the LORD filled the house of the LORD. I Kings 8:10-11
26 Above the expanse over their heads was what looked like a throne of sapphire, and high above on the throne was a figure like that of a man. 27 I saw that from what appeared to be his waist up he looked like glowing metal, as if full of fire, and that from there down he looked like fire; and brilliant light surrounded him. 28 Like the appearance of a rainbow in the clouds on a rainy day, so was the radiance around him.
This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. When I saw it, I fell facedown, and I heard the voice of one speaking. Eze. 1:26-28
22 The hand of the LORD was upon me there, and he said to me, "Get up and go out to the plain, and there I will speak to you." 23 So I got up and went out to the plain. And the glory of the LORD was standing there, like the glory I had seen by the Kebar River, and I fell facedown. Eze. 3:22-23
Then the man brought me to the gate facing east, 2 and I saw the glory of the God of Israel coming from the east. His voice was like the roar of rushing waters, and the land was radiant with his glory. 3 The vision I saw was like the vision I had seen when he came to destroy the city and like the visions I had seen by the Kebar River, and I fell facedown. 4 The glory of the LORD entered the temple through the gate facing east. 5 Then the Spirit lifted me up and brought me into the inner court, and the glory of the LORD filled the temple. Eze. 43:1-5
4 Then the man brought me by way of the north gate to the front of the temple. I looked and saw the glory of the LORD filling the temple of the LORD, and I fell facedown. Eze. 44:4
17 As he came near the place where I was standing, I was terrified and fell prostrate. "Son of man," he said to me, "understand that the vision concerns the time of the end."
18 While he was speaking to me, I was in a deep sleep, with my face to the ground. Then he touched me and raised me to my feet. Daniel 8:17-18
4 On the twenty-fourth day of the first month, as I was standing on the bank of the great river, the Tigris, 5 I looked up and there before me was a man dressed in linen, with a belt of the finest gold around his waist. 6 His body was like chrysolite, his face like lightning, his eyes like flaming torches, his arms and legs like the gleam of burnished bronze, and his voice like the sound of a multitude.
7 I, Daniel, was the only one who saw the vision; the men with me did not see it, but such terror overwhelmed them that they fled and hid themselves. 8 So I was left alone, gazing at this great vision; I had no strength left, my face turned deathly pale and I was helpless. 9 Then I heard him speaking, and as I listened to him, I fell into a deep sleep, my face to the ground. Daniel 10:4-9
After six days Jesus took with him Peter, James and John the brother of James, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. 2 There he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light. 3 Just then there appeared before them Moses and Elijah, talking with Jesus.
4 Peter said to Jesus, "Lord, it is good for us to be here. If you wish, I will put up three shelters-one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah."
5 While he was still speaking, a bright cloud enveloped them, and a voice from the cloud said, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!"
6 When the disciples heard this, they fell facedown to the ground, terrified. 7 But Jesus came and touched them. "Get up," he said. "Don't be afraid." 8 When they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus. Mat. 17:1-8
12 "On one of these journeys I was going to Damascus with the authority and commission of the chief priests. 13 About noon, O king, as I was on the road, I saw a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, blazing around me and my companions. 14 We all fell to the ground, and I heard a voice saying to me in Aramaic, 'Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.'
15 "Then I asked, 'Who are you, Lord?' "'I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,' the Lord replied. Acts 26:12-15
12 I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me. And when I turned I saw seven golden lampstands, 13 and among the lampstands was someone "like a son of man," dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest. 14 His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire. 15 His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters. 16 In his right hand he held seven stars, and out of his mouth came a sharp double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance.
17 When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: "Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. Rev. 1:12-17
In a worship service when there is the experience of God's presence, and also through the presence of God through the Body of Christ through other Christians praying for a fellow Christian, one can sometimes also experience this "falling down" today, where one realizes inwardly from the Lord that they should "let go and let God", humble themselves before the Lord, spend time resting in His presence, experience His peace in a special, deep way, and be quiet before Him.
This has been my own experience a number of times. Usually though, I don't need anyone to pray for me for this to happen because I sense inwardly, directly from the Lord, that it would be good if I laid down. Of course I have to cooperate and then do that. Every time I have, it has been a very beneficial, wonderful experience for me. And besides this happening during times of worship, I have also laid quietly before the Lord and experienced the benefits of it most mornings when I first wake up. I take my time and lay in bed very still, restful and peaceful with the Lord, giving Him myself and my day. It's a wonderful way to start your day!
You may say then, why did some of the people in the Bible vereses already quoted experience fear when they fell down? I believe this was because they experienced such a strong, overwhelming, direct presence of God where there was even a physical manifestation of the Lord to them. I have never experienced this myself. But the fact that God would like us to prostrate or lay down before Him on the ground is illustrated by the following Scriptures.
10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up. James 4:10
6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. I Peter 5:6
When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to him and said, "I am God Almighty; walk before me and be blameless. 2 I will confirm my covenant between me and you and will greatly increase your numbers."
3 Abram fell facedown, and God said to him, 4 "As for me, this is my covenant with you: You will be the father of many nations. Genesis 17:1-4
23 Moses and Aaron then went into the Tent of Meeting. When they came out, they blessed the people; and the glory of the LORD appeared to all the people. 24 Fire came out from the presence of the LORD and consumed the burnt offering and the fat portions on the altar. And when all the people saw it, they shouted for joy and fell facedown. Lev. 9:23-24
13 Now when Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with a drawn sword in his hand. Joshua went up to him and asked, "Are you for us or for our enemies?"
14 "Neither," he replied, "but as commander of the army of the LORD I have now come." Then Joshua fell facedown to the ground in reverence, and asked him, "What message does my Lord have for his servant?"
15 The commander of the LORD's army replied, "Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy." And Joshua did so. Joshua 5:13-15
When Solomon finished praying, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the glory of the LORD filled the temple. 2 The priests could not enter the temple of the LORD because the glory of the LORD filled it. 3 When all the Israelites saw the fire coming down and the glory of the LORD above the temple, they knelt on the pavement with their faces to the ground, and they worshiped and gave thanks to the LORD, saying, "He is good; is love endures forever." II Chr. 7:1-3
7 Then he said to them, "Defile the temple and fill the courts with the slain. Go!" So they went out and began killing throughout the city. 8 While they were killing and I was left alone, I fell facedown, crying out, "Ah, Sovereign LORD! Are you going to destroy the entire remnant of Israel in this outpouring of your wrath on Jerusalem?" Eze. 9:7-8
13 Now as I was prophesying, Pelatiah son of Benaiah died. Then I fell facedown and cried out in a loud voice, "Ah, Sovereign LORD! Will you completely destroy the remnant of Israel?" Eze. 11:13
11 Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand. They encircled the throne and the living creatures and the elders. 12 In a loud voice they sang: "Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!" 13 Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, singing: "To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, for ever and ever!" 14 The four living creatures said, "Amen," and the elders fell down and worshiped. Rev. 5:11-14
That last phrase in Revelation 5, that they "fell down and worshiped" is particularly important, because it tells us what God wants us to also do. But you may ask "Why?" I have found a number of reasons in the Bible, all of which I have personally experienced myself when this has happened to me. One of the reasons is so that we will experience a deep rest from Him.
12 "Let the beloved of the LORD rest secure in him, for he shields him all day long, and the one the LORD loves rests between his shoulders." Deu. 33:12
5 Find rest, O my soul, in God alone; my hope comes from him. 6 He alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will not be shaken. 7 My salvation and my honor depend on God; he is my mighty rock, my refuge. 8 Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge. Selah Psalm 62:5-8
1 He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
2 I will say of the LORD, "He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust." Psalm 91:1-2
15 This is what the Sovereign LORD, the Holy One of Israel, says: "In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength, but you would have none of it. Isaiah 30:15
28 "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Mat. 11:28
Therefore, since the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us be careful that none of you be found to have fallen short of it. 2 For we also have had the gospel preached to us, just as they did; but the message they heard was of no value to them, because those who heard did not combine it with faith. 3 Now we who have believed enter that rest, just as God has said, "So I declared on oath in my anger, 'They shall never enter my rest.'"
6 It still remains that some will enter that rest, and those who formerly had the gospel preached to them did not go in, because of their disobedience. 7 Therefore God again set a certain day, calling it Today, when a long time later he spoke through David, as was said before: "Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts."
11 Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall by following their example of disobedience. Hebrews 4:1-3, 6-7, 11
The fact that God wants us to lay down and experience rest can also be seen in that He has made our bodies so that they get some of this every day. We call it sleep. However, sometimes our sleep is not very restful because we have bad dreams or even nightmares. But whenever I have been obedient to the Lord, and laid down during worship, and also as an act of worship for Him, I have experienced a very deep, wonderful rest that is very peaceful. This is something else that we know God wants us to also experience.
21 "Submit to God and be at peace with him; in this way prosperity will come to you. Job 22:21
11 The LORD gives strength to his people; the LORD blesses his people with peace. Psalm 29:11
8 I will listen to what God the LORD will say; he promises peace to his people, his saints- Psalm 85:8
3 You will keep him in perfect peace, Whose mind is stayed on You, Because he trusts in You. Isaiah 26:3
5 Or else let them come to me for refuge; let them make peace with me, yes, let them make peace with me." Isaiah 27:5
19 Peace, peace, to those far and near," says the LORD. "And I will heal them." Isaiah 57:19
27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. John 14:27
33 "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." John 16:33
19 On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you!" John 20:19
Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, Romans 5:1
15 Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. Col. 3:15
While experiencing God's wonderful peace when I follow His leading to lay down as a part of worshipping Him, I also find that I am "letting go and letting God", that is, putting a deep trust in Him, and I am also "being still" before the Lord where I can experience Him in ways that I can not in my usual busyness.
5 Offer right sacrifices and trust in the LORD. Psalm 4:5
11 You who fear him, trust in the LORD- he is their help and shield. Psalm 115:11
5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; 6 in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight. Proverbs 3:5-6
4 Trust in the LORD forever, for the LORD, the LORD, is the Rock eternal. Isaiah 26:4
36 Put your trust in the light while you have it, so that you may become sons of light." When he had finished speaking, Jesus left and hid himself from them. John 12:36
AND
14 The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still." Exodus 14:14
7 Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him; Psalm 37:7
10 "Be still, and know that I am God; Psalm 46:10
15 This is what the Sovereign LORD, the Holy One of Israel, says: "In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength, but you would have none of it. Isaiah 30 :15
17 The LORD your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing." Zeph. 3:17
13 Be still before the LORD, all mankind, because he has roused himself from his holy dwelling." Zech. 2:13
I hope that all of this helps you in considering something that most Christians do not experience, but that many of the people of God in the Bible have and that I also have experienced. In conclusion we have seen that the experience of "falling down" is in many places in the Bible, and that this happens through a person experiencing the presence of God in a special way. We have also seen that a person does not have to suddenly fall down, although this happens at times, but that God wants us to voluntarily put ourselves on the ground before Him as an act of worship. We have also seen why He wants us to do this, that is, the many benefits we receive when we do. I have received many of these benefits myself, but the most important one by far has been a very special closeness I feel to the Lord Himself when it is taking place, which is best expressed by the following Scripture.