The Question:
When I am in deep prayer sometimes I will get a shaking over my whole body and what feels like pressure, very heavy pressure on me. I often pray through this feeling until it lifts but really would like to know more about it. Also, I often will feel this heaviness while praying for someone else. I will feel sensations come upon me such as illness, a pain, confusion and darkness and I pray till it leaves me—or comes off them. I’m seeking God on answers to all this. Can you help?
– D. from Unknown Location
Part 1: Unusual manifestations
Unusual manifestations (Part 1)
Shaking as described in scripture is both an awesome and fearful thing. It was awesome that after the disciples “had prayed, the place where they had gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak the word of God with boldness.” (Acts 4:31) I would’ve loved to see it.
Another type of shaking I hope I don’t live to see. There is a time still coming (often called the Great and Terrible Day of the Lord) that God spoke of through Isaiah the prophet. “Therefore I will make the heavens tremble, and the earth will be shaken from its place.” (Isaiah 13:13) I’d rather skip that! But in both these cases, God is in the shaking.
God often uses shaking to change things, either in the natural or in the spiritual realm. Shaking can indicate his presence and his power at work. It is therefore not totally uncommon for deep prayer to be accompanied by shaking or sometimes just a sense of internal trembling. Likewise, people often feel a pressure (sometimes in only one portion of their body) and sometimes a sensation of heat.
Think of this: when God shows up there is usually some sort of physical reaction. Note what happened to Daniel when the angel Gabriel appeared to him. He described his reaction, “…yet no strength was left in me, for my natural color turned to a deathly pallor and I retained no strength.” Then, afterward, “a hand touched me and set me trembling on my hands and knees.”(Daniel 10:9-10) I’m glad Daniel took the trouble to describe what happened to him, it’s helpful to us!
I don’t know why some people experience these types of manifestations of the Holy Spirit and why others don’t. I don’t know what is going on in the spiritual realm that triggers it. I don’t know why or how God uses it in prayer. I have come to see over time that God does not always explain to us all his spiritual laws though I believe some spiritual law is at work. Experience is our best teacher. Many people eventually have a sense of what is happening and what to do when these things occur.
In your case, I think you are doing the right thing. Keep praying, especially until there is a lifting. Don’t be distracted by any physical reactions you have but keep your eyes on God. Learn from the things you observe surrounding these events. Along those lines, it may be helpful to get feedback from people you pray for when you have a shaking or pressure etc. Ask them afterward what they felt. Were they healed? Did something change for them?
As times goes along and you understand this better and better yourself, be sure to let the rest of us know! God bless your ministry.
Awesome!
Your post has helped me a lot to understand the holy spirit presence. Shalom
Hi my shake is internal never had it before.but I feel the earth move under my feet..its kinda cool, and my internal shaking gets going when praying, I dont mind it I know the lord is with me. Not to mention he seems to diminish if i dont get into pray..oh try not to get angry then its gets visible oh boy you can clearing see him in me..so i try to stay meek and love the lord..oh wakes me up sometimes but get into pray you should be okay..at least that’s what i think i feel that i have. I think I’m okay, your thoughts …
I think you’re okay too. Keep your eyes on Him like you are doing. God bless you!
It can only be the Power of God and His Holy Spirit at work in us. The shaking and vibration happen to me always when I am worshiping and praying,sometimes when I am meditating about God. It overpowers our mortal bodies and no one can control it. It is supernatural and the feeling is very good. Sometimes my ears will just open wide and start hearing mysteries, and the other day while praying I felt the hand touching me, my whole body felt like electricity and unknown tongues came forth.there is just a lot happening in the Presence of God that we don’t even understand.
I have been feeling the same thing, my body shaking from my inner belly and my jaws stuck and my mouth shaking too as if am shocked by electricity.
I loved the experience but started getting worried because others were not experiencing it and thought maybe there’s something wrong with me, today it happened again when praying with my son.
After reading some of the comments here I feel better knowing that am not the only one feeling this and it is also happened in the word. Thank you for sharing…
I love the Lord and surely His goodness and mercy shall follow me
Hi,
My wife too shake when she starts praying. Firstly,her hands start to shake and slowly her body starts to shake when she try to control her hands.
Secondly,when she start to pray more her body start to shake ,her head start to shake .
She was nervous and don’t know what is going so one day she told our paster and he said that might be coming from devil as distraction bz she also feel uncomfortable while praying.
Finally,paster and many members prayed for her now she doesn’t shake and pray comfortably.its been 2 days since everyone prayed.let see what happen next?
I just want to ask U do U feel uncomfortable when shaking happens while U pray?
Is it really distraction from devil?
I googled and came upon here. This is also what I experienced. Whenever I pray to God, I experienced this feeling.. It is like an urge to quiver but it came from within me. I googled because I want to know why I’m like this. I experienced this since I was a child. I dreamt of an angel before too.
So I have this internal shaking too and it was kind of scary at first but I did pray through it and I feel and know Christ is with me ! Something I’ve never experienced before in my life and it’s awesome!
Awesome indeed! Thanks for sharing.
That ability to see into the spirit world and to feel and perceive other people spirits and any evil spirits they have is a gift called discernment of spirits… With that gift, you can tell who if people have God’s Spirit or if they are evil people. You can see into their spirit and know what spirits are attached to them. Use this gift to help people and warn people
Since my water baptism 40 years ago I received the Holy Spirit and every time I pray, everyday, all day, and night as much as I can, Jesus has led me into intercession and lets me know when in prayer who to pray for , my eyelids flutter, my arms and hands shake and the more I pray the more I shake feels like I’m going to take off and fly like an eagle. Jesus has revealed that praying in tongues is beneficial as an intercessor as the Holy Spirit knows exactly what to say and in boldness bringing blessings from Heaven to earth. At first the shaking was a bit unusual but it happens every time and since praying in tongues with the shaking it is complementary. Acts 4:31 and Daniel 10:9-10 have certainly clarified and given a peace within. Thank you
I have had a similar experience when praying in the spirit. I know it’s God and it encourages me to pray more!
God bless!
Wow! You have described the feeling i experience in prayer..Though this happens to me most when i set time to fast and pray- the shaking gets really intense and i feel like am about to fly .And by the time am done with praying I feel exhausted especially the hands.
Thanks for shating your experience!
Tracy, my experience is very similar. After receiving baptism by fire, I was imparted with prophecy and tongues. Since that day when I pray intensely my right hand, then right arm, then both arms, and finally my body will shake. The intensity seems to correspond with tongues as well. I believe as well that it is beneficial for intercession and pulling down the blessing from Heaven to Earth, all for the Glory of God. Thank you for sharing your story, because I know few people who experience such manifestations. I pray God continue to reveal His spiritual mysteries to you, and remain full in the Spirit. God bless you every day of your life.
This is so true. And it’s not just that, I felt like there was an earthquake and I feel like I will fall every time that I’m praying. That feeling that your strength we’re being seeped throughout your body.
Thanks for these comments it helps me a lot .. I also experience these shaking when I am praying and when I am praying for anyone in the spirit my hand shake so much .. thanks again
I often experience shaking and trembling of hands whenever i’m in a deep prayer that God allows me to experience His presence through praying in tongues.
I experienced this last April 8. I prayed and then go to sleep in the middle of my sleep I feel some strong shaking in my bed that i really think it was real and even my whole body is shaking. I hear loud scream of fear and it is very strong and the same time i utter speaking tongue after I told to someone in my sleep that the whole nation will feel the shake and I see complete darkness. Then I woke up and saw my body and it was still shaking. I got up prayed and i know God will protect his people.
I shake as well in prayer or worship. It starts in my right hand and can spread or just stay there. Additionally, I shake or twitch in my sleep; often waking up my husband. This only started after receiving the fullness of the Holy Spirit which was accompanied by the gift of tongues.
I have the same feeling each time i engage in deep prayers, my hands down to my feet shakes. sometimes i feel goosebumps. i was a bit worried as to what it is because each time i pray i get to have that feeling. i really hope i’m ok
When I am worshipping and praying or just hearing the word of God my abdomen trembles and I have no control of this. Sometimes it’s painful. Sometimes I would feel like my waist is just contracting. Is this normal? And is it of God? Please explain.
I can’t tell you for sure if this is from God. As far a normal, it may be normal for you. Ask yourself if you feel a deep peace in your relationship to God both in these times and in your regular day. Ask if there is any sense of anxiety, or feelings of despair etc. That would not be of God. But if you are worshiping the Lord and this comes as a natural result of that, I would say it is the Holy Spirit.
So I did read some of the experiences here and I can tell that I get the same inner vibration/trembling/shaking thing I think nearly every time I pray.
My problem here is that people here are talking about that they only get this in prayer. I get some kind of an earthquake movement in myself every time I’m still. So that’s scary to me. This got me headache and I don’t really know what to do besides ask god to tell me how to fix this.
If someone has some tips for me please comment here.
I don’t know for sure what is happening to you, but one thing to consider is that your shaking has nothing to do with a spiritual experience. Could there be some physical cause? Have you gotten any medical help regarding it? Leave yourself open to other causes than spiritual ones. God bless you as you serve our Mighty God.
When I hear the word of god I get the same inner vibration/trembling/shaking thing. 🙂 when I pray, too.
Yes, the shaking absolutely happened to me, too—just as you are describing it. Sometimes Jesus wakes me up in the middle of the night with the shaking. I’ll be reading a biblical commentary, and the shaking begins when I read the actual words of Scripture, and ceases when I’m reading someone else’s words. It’s a manifestation of God’s Presence—the quickening…..
I also feel the shaking every time when I’m praying and meditating on the word of God. First it’s the hands, sometimes it starts with my head and then my whole body shakes the deeper I get into prayer. At first it used to happen when I was fasting, but now it happens every time I’m sincerely praying. And I feel like it’s getting stronger now that I am spending more time reading the Bible and meditating on the word. My arms always feel weak after the shaking but I love and enjoy the whole experience because of the understanding that God is with me and he’s listening to my prayers. My prayers now feel more and more like a personal conversation with God. I am grateful for the experience and I definitely want more.
I am relieved to hear that I am not alone. 20 years ago I experienced the shaking and the power of God during a church revival. Good fruit came from this. I then fell away from the church and have
since returned several months ago and God has restored me to where I was then. I am 63yrs old now
and decided every time to wait on the Holy Spirit in my quiet time so as not to be affected by preconceived spiritual manifestations. Well…asking the Holy Spirit to come, brought on the shaking again. It starts with trembling hands, then such a strong shaking begins in my hands and arms .
The intensity gains in speed and as I raise my hands to the Lord the power of the shake becomes stronger. Then it ceases abruptly but returns many times during prayer especially if my prayer is for souls or for others or for his will to be done. There is never a sense of exhaustion or fatigue afterwards. I have felt unsure about the source and asked God to stop it if it is not his will. It continues to happen every day, so I can only believe that it is from him. I certainly am not going out of my way to steal his glory.
I believe he is changing me through this and I am grateful. Praise God.