Articles, Questions, & Answers

by Eddie Smith

Q: A woman who read one of our “Insight” articles wrote, “Thank you so much for your classes and e-mails. I have had a bit of a dilemma recently with an intercessor who attends my corporate prayer meetings, who will suddenly let out a very loud shriek while praying. I find it to be unsettling and distracting, not to mention that it actually hurts my ears.

I approached her gently and lovingly about it. I do not believe it to be of the Lord, but she insists that it is the Holy Spirit and that the people she has prayed with also believe that. She says she is seeking the Lord about it, but I sense her mind is made up. She says it just hits her. Here is part of what she stated: “I do recall times when I have felt the spiritual atmosphere to be very tough, and I have felt led to pray for something and then let out a very unexpected loud holler and the spiritual atmosphere has changed. I can only describe it as feeling the power of God surging thru me.

I certainly don’t want to hurt her, but I feel her behavior is out of order and that it destroys any credibility she has.

Could you please advise me about what to say? Your article about ‘Flaky Intercession’ is wonderful, but I feel she would think what she does is not as extreme or does not fall under such a catagory. She is a wonderful woman and loves the Lord very much. I believe she was under a teacher who allowed or even encouraged such behavior.

I would so appreciate your help. Thank you.”

A: Thank you for your question. It’s a good one and needs to be addressed.

1. The fruit of the Holy Spirit is “self-control”. When a person says, “the Holy Spirit does this and I can’t help it,” they are wrong. The evidence of being filled with the Holy Spirit is that we ARE able to, and ARE responsible for controlling ourselves. If we can’t control our actions, then possibly the person is experiencing a demonic manifestation that he or she should renounce, and command to leave.

2. In any corporate experience of the Church there is God-given leadership. Recognizing who the spiritual leader is, (even if we think we are right and they are wrong) and submitting to that leadership, is an act of spirituality. That is of course assuming they are not trying to lead us into immorality, Etc. Our failure to recognize godly leadership, or to recognize and refuse to submit to it is an act of the flesh. This is true even if we sense we have greater revelation or achieved greater spiritual maturity than the leader.

3. Even if a manifestation is biblical (i.e. travailing, dancing, using one’s prayer language, shouting, or any other manifestation), it may not be appropriate. It is certainly biblical to travail. However, to travail publicly at a very conservative church in a Sunday morning service would most likely be out of order. If one of us were to experience a need to travail at such a time, we should withdraw from the service and find a place where we can pray without being misunderstood. Paul teaches in 1 Cor 14:23-24 the principle that we should not do publicly in corporate gatherings those things that might confuse or offend an uninitiated person.

4. Finally, some would argue, “Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty” (2 Cor. 3:17), as a license to do as they wish in a public service. However, that verse has nothing to whatever do with one’s behavior in a corporate gathering. It points out that when the Spirit of the Lord comes to live in us we are freed from the law of sin and death.

The bottom line is this. “Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is ’self-control’.”