The "Ho!" Manifestation

By Hazel Holland

In an effort to try and understand this particular manifestation of the Holy Spirit I have gathered together some information that I pray will be helpful in furthering our understanding of what I believe the Lord is saying through this phenomenon. Although prophetic shaking started happening to me in 1995 when the Lord began giving me dreams and visions, the “ho” manifestation didn’t begin until the fall of 1997.

When the Spirit first began to manifest His presence on me in this particular way I was appalled. Although I knew this was God because the sweet presence of His Spirit always accompanied this manifestation, I didn’t fully understand this involuntary exclamation of the one syllable, “Ho!”

It seemed that whenever someone said something that my spirit got a hold of, a loud “Ho!” would come out of my mouth. I also noticed that my unspoken thoughts sometimes triggered this same loud response. Sometimes the “Ho!” appeared to be given to encourage us, but at other times it appeared it was given as a warning. These outbursts were always accompanied by the anointing presence of the Lord, and were often followed by crying and weeping. It seemed that God was placing an exclamation mark at the end of a thought or sentence in order to make an impact on what was being spoken, either by others or myself.

Not wanting to attract negative attention to myself by this involuntary response to the Spirit’s moving, I fell to my knees before the Lord in prayer. Immediately God brought me the words of Isaiah 55:1… the Old King James Version: “Ho, everyone that thirsteth, come ye to the waters and drink, and he that hath no money; come….” Was the meaning of “Ho” a call to come and drink of the Water of Life? With tears of thankfulness I momentarily felt comforted by the Holy Spirit.

Although I now knew this unusual anointing was to draw our attention to Jesus Christ, the Living Water, I wanted to run and hide in shame every time the Spirit came upon me in this particular way when I was around people. Having the Spirit come upon me when I was worshiping or praying within the confines of my own home was one thing, but having the Spirit come upon me like this during corporate worship, or out in a public place was an entirely different story. My comfort zone was thoroughly rocked.

More Understanding of “HO!”

As the anointing of the Holy Spirit continued to fall upon me in this way, it became more frequent and more pronounced. I earnestly sought the Lord to bring me further understanding of this powerful manifestation of His presence. Several months later I was providentially brought into contact with a Seventh-day Adventist couple who teach Davidic dance in churches who are open to this beautiful expression of worship. I had not seen them for a year, so I was surprised when I went up to hug the wife at our church potluck, and the anointing of the Spirit fell upon me and I loudly “ho”-ed. Linda’s immediate response was, “Oh, I know what that means! The Lord had us studying in the Hebrew Bible just yesterday regarding that particular word!”

Since I had been praying for many months that the Lord would bring me more clarity and understanding from the Scriptures as to what this expression means, I was excited to hear this news. “Please tell me!” I urged.

So they explained how “ho” is a Hebrew word found around fifty times in the Bible.1 It is spelled “ho” and also “hoi,” and is pronounced as “ho.” The different spelling of the word does not alter its meaning. It is like using a verb or its past participle. In the King James Version the actual word, “ho” is used more often than in more recent translations. I learned from my friends that this word translated into English means: woe, ho, alas, come, pay attention, listen up, etc. Most of the time in Scripture it appears to be used as a warning to alert people to pay attention to what God is saying through His prophets.

This explanation helped explain the growing urgency I felt in my spirit when the Lord would come upon me in this way. It appeared there was a direct connection between the “Ho” manifestation and the prophetic dreams and visions that Lord had given me.

Kansas City Brothers

About a month after meeting the couple who teach Davidic dance, the Lord led me to meet two Christian brothers from Kansas City. During a house church meeting one of them stood up and shared what the Lord was revealing to him regarding my “Ho!” outbursts that had spontaneously happened while he was preaching.

He began reading out of the same passage of Isaiah that God had initially given me months earlier. “Ho! Ho! Ho!” he began “Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! …Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and your soul will delight in the richest of fare. Give ear and come to Me; hear Me, that your soul may live…” (Isaiah 55:1-6).

After he had finished reading the first six verses, he looked up and began saying something like this… “Listen up church! Pay attention people! The Lord is calling us to come to Him. “The day of the frozen chosen is fast coming to an end. The day of the dead church meeting is drawing to a close. Death Valley will become like a river in the desert. Where there has been parched land, springs of living water will begin to flow…!” Needless to say, I was blessed and encouraged by this word of affirmation.

Human Shofar

shofars.” People are being used as trumpets to sound the alarm. Praise the Lord! He uses the body of Christ like a well-oiled machine, if we will only let Him. The Scripture she quoted to me for confirmation is found in 1 Thessalonians 4:16: "For the Lord Himself will come down from heaven, with a loud shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first."

As soon as she spoke these words I was hit with loud and continuous “ho”-ing that lasted for what seemed several minutes. I couldn’t stop “ho”-ing as a very heavy manifestation of the Spirit continued to rest on me. Weeping and intercession followed. I saw that God is using people as human trumpets to wake up those who are “spiritually dead.” Listen up church! Pay attention people! I'm coming back to receive my bride! Wake up! “Blow the Trumpet in Zion; sound the alarm on My holy hill. Let all who live in the land tremble, for the day of the Lord is coming. It is close at hand—” (Joel 2:1). I saw that the prophetic revelations God had given me were given to arouse us from our Laodicean sleep.

“Ho” Manifestation in the Body

After receiving Joanie’s word I was determined to visit other churches and find other brothers and sisters whom God was using in this particular way as human trumpets. When I visited Harvest Rock Church in Pasadena I was reminded of an incident that had happened there a few years earlier as I was beginning to experience the move of the Spirit in my own life. I had witnessed Bonnie Chavda, a well-known pastor’s wife, “ho-“ing during an intermission. Although I knew she had a prophetic calling on her life I was shocked and somewhat disgusted by her behavior, hoping that I would never see anything so crude and weird again.

Since she was a powerful woman of God, who was well thought of and had an established ministry in the body of Christ, I came to the conclusion that there had to be others out there whom God had chosen to be “ho”-ers for Him, too! I knew she wasn’t behaving that way to attract attention! I knew it was God even though it made me feel very uncomfortable.

Over a period of several months I visited a number of other churches. Providentially God allowed me to attend a couple of Prophetic Conferences where I discovered a number of other Christians from various churches who were also experiencing this same phenomena of “ho”-ing in their daily walk with God. In another church I visited, a pastor came up and introduced herself to me after the service when she heard me “ho” several times during the meeting. She had this same anointing on her, but had never met anyone else with it. She wasn’t the pastor of that particular church, but like me, she was attending the series of meetings being held for intercessors in the area. I found out she traveled around the United States speaking and teaching in various churches that invited her. As I talked with my new friends and shared my concerns, I discovered that we had much in common.

Our Response to the Spirit’s Presence

I discovered that Scriptures that uphold Jesus Christ as our only righteousness or speak of His finished work on the cross seem to cause a “ho” response from some other intercessors, too. Also, Scriptures that draw our attention to the final outpouring of God’s Spirit upon the earth as He draws all men to behold the cross of Jesus Christ, or Scriptures that give warnings about redemptive judgments that are soon to come upon the earth, seem to bring the house down with loud and continuous “ho”-ing from some of us. As I listened to their stories of how the Spirit is choosing to manifest His presence in their lives, I was encouraged to know that I was no longer alone.

Generally speaking, I found that this physical response to the Spirit’s presence is often accompanied by shaking—either of one or both hands, but sometimes even the entire body. What follows is often loud crying and weeping as God’s heart of compassion and love is being poured out through the intercessor. At times intercessors who experience this “ho” anointing double over like they are in pain as they feel a yearning in the heart of God calling them to intercede for a particular person or for an entire group of people. Others experience an arm shooting up in the air like they are saluting the King of Kings. Others find that one of their legs jerks up when the anointing hits them.

I noticed that the human responses to the Spirit’s presence varied from person to person. Some experience a very light shaking while they “ho” while others experience intense and rapid jerking, like they are fanning a flame. Some feel the fire of God fall on them while they are “ho”-ing, while others do not. Some only experience it in the privacy of their homes while they are in intercession, or during corporate worship in church, while others (like me) also experience it out in the market place and during the most unexpected times. In other words, God will cause His anointing to fall in this manner at any time and anywhere that He chooses. He is no respecter of time or place.

From what I have experienced as well as observed over these past few years, this “ho” manifestation appears to fall on people suddenly in order to call them into crisis intercession and spiritual warfare. Most of the time it is unpredictable. It can come in single “ho” outbursts or a series of quick trumpet-like blasts. At times it comes to confront and expose the spirit of religion, the spirit of control, and the spirit of pride so that these strongholds can be rooted out from our hearts and lives. It comes on individuals at times to confirm what God’s Spirit is doing in a particular situation. It comes when God chooses, not man. It comes to make us aware of what is on God’s heart, not ours. God wants us to hear the cry of His heart for the lost… in the church and outside of it. God is calling some to weep publicly for those who cannot weep for themselves. God wants to stop us dead in our tracks in order to arrest our attention and focus us on Him. God is bypassing our agendas so that He can reveal His.

Encountering Offense

One thing I noticed that continues to be a source of comfort to me is that people out there in the market place never appear to be offended by my “ho” outbursts. Initially, some are concerned for my health, not understanding what is happening, but once they understand I am not having an epileptic seizure, or a heart attack, they always seem interested and want to know more about God and His Spirit. Restaurant waitresses have been very gracious and never rude. A number have asked for prayer. No one has ever appeared to be offended.

However, a growing number of people within the church continue to have a knee-jerk reaction when the Spirit falls on me in this particular way. Over the past several years several pastors have asked me to leave their congregations because of the negative responses of a number of their members. These pastors sincerely believe that people like me should be able to control this involuntary response to the Spirit, especially during corporate worship times. Others think it is an attention–getting device to fulfill some unhealed need. Still others think I, and others like me are being deceived. They believe another spirit is causing us to behave in this way.

I sympathize with other Christian’s negative reactions to the move of the Spirit, especially since my experience in one particular church in the fall of 1999. I heard this “ho” manifestation on a number of individuals throughout the auditorium during the praise and worship service. Again I noticed that the anointing seemed to fall on certain words and phrases that God wanted to emphasize or draw our attention to. During the delivery of the sermon, “ho”-s also punctuated the message at times.

On this particular evening we had been asked to bring our offerings up front and place them in the baskets provided. As we got up out of our seats to walk up the aisles, I suddenly witnessed this manifestation on a young girl in front of me. She must have been in her twenties. She was bent over double like I was, “ho”-ing and barely able to stand up and walk.

Instantly I was overcome with repulsion and wanted to get as far away from her as I possibly could. Even though I was manifesting in the same way, the other side of the church was not far enough away. I was very offended and put off. As I passed by her, I saw that she had fallen just short of the offering basket and was unable to get up. I also was having trouble walking but was determined that I wouldn’t fall anywhere near her.

After I had deposited my offering in the basket and was slowly returning to my seat, she caught up with me. I felt her hand on my back as she steadied herself, trying to keep from falling on her face again. Immediately the Spirit confronted me with my sin of judging her motives. I had seen myself in her and I didn’t like the picture. My own judgmental attitude towards her behavior forced me to see and better understand why some people continue to be offended by my manifestations. I recognized that the religious spirit and the spirit of offense had been exposed in me, causing me to react in this unloving and judgmental way towards her. As we made it back to our respective seats we helped each other along, unaware that probably some others looking on were having similar negative feelings as I had just experienced.

As soon as the service was over, I went back a couple of rows to where she was sitting and ministered to her as the Lord had directed me to do. As I humbled myself before her and repented, I was truly blessed. She needed a “spiritual mom” who could be supportive and help her understand a little more of what was happening to her. She had been praying that the Lord would send her someone. Immediately I recognized our meeting was a divine appointment. Not only did we bless each other, but also her pastor who was also visiting this church that evening came over to where we were “ho”-ing and got some of his questions answered. As a result he felt more informed to help his congregation and be more supportive of my new friend.

From my experience with this young girl it seems to me that the enemy is trying his best to bring offense to people on both sides of the issue—on those who are open to the moves of the Spirit and those who are closed. Either way, the enemy succeeds is we fall into his trap

However, as Christians how are we supposed to handle intolerant attitudes and misunderstandings? In love. Pastor Lou Engle, who pastors prophetic intercession at Harvest Rock Church in Pasadena, advises us that we need to hold all judgment regarding this “ho” manifestation. Apparently God is moving in unusual ways as He brings this “ho” anointing on more and more individuals within the body of Christ.

Judging by the number of pastors who are calling him, it is causing quite a stir in a growing number of churches. Pastors are finding it increasingly difficult to know how to pastor the flock and give advice to those intercessors who are experiencing this phenomenon. Their loud outbursts seem at times to interrupt the normal flow of things. It is certainly possible at times to leave the corporate worship service if the “ho” intercession gets too disruptive. But at other times the presence of the Spirit is so heavy on a person they cannot get up to leave to go to a more secluded place to intercede.

Perhaps if God should decide to bring this anointing on more people within a given congregation, the normal flow of things would be instantly stopped. Perhaps the pastor would extend the invitation to the entire congregation to fall down on their faces before the Lord in repentance. Perhaps the Spirit would help us see that often we are like the people on the cover picture of a Keith Green tape. On this tape church people are all gussied up in their church clothes looking beautiful as they walk along a pier, oblivious to the fact that people are drowning in the waters all around them.

Follow Biblical Principles

Instead of judging and criticizing one another, a good biblical rule to follow would be to pay attention to the fruits of the Spirit in the lives of those who manifest in this particular way. Inspect the fruit of their ministry in the church. Instead of becoming hung up on the weirdness of how they look and sound, perhaps we need to pay more attention to the words or message that God is bringing through them. Let us refrain from making any more false accusations and open the door even wider to the spirit of offense.

Also, let us refrain from using Scripture out of context to shame and judge those who are manifesting His presence in this unusual way. “The spirits of prophets are subject to the control of prophets” has been a Scripture that continues to be repeatedly used to try and control the “ho” and shaking manifestations that people like myself experience. The problem with using this Scripture is that it’s not talking about an involuntary response to the Spirit’s presence. Rather it is teaching us that when someone is prophesying they have the ability to stop speaking if someone else receives a revelation while they are talking. “For you can all prophesy in turn so that everyone may be instructed and encouraged. The spirits of prophets are subject to the control of prophets” (1 Corinthians 14:30-32).

Unusual Manifestations

Isn’t it true that many of us want signs and wonders, but not wonders that make us wonder? We want wonders that we can control. We want logical wonders. We want wonders that fit the shape of our old wine skins. So when God chooses to make someone jerk or “ho” under His power, it offends many of our minds and insults our intelligence. Although we love and worship a supernatural God we don’t want Him to do anything that appears to be “unnatural.” We want wonders that don’t violate our intellects.”2

However, 1 Corinthians 2:14 tells us that the things of the Spirit are foolish to the natural man. The word foolish is moria. It means moronish. Does this mean that the things of the Spirit are often going to seem ridiculous to the natural mind? I believe so. How can we expect a supernatural God to do things naturally? How can we expect the works of an all-wise and knowing God to always be explainable? We can’t.3

I know that intellectually motivated people often have great difficulty accepting anything supernatural. I know because I used to be one of them. If I couldn’t understand the supernatural manifestation or logically explain it, I rejected it.

I also believe some people reject the Spirit because of their fear of loosing control. Fear of loosing control and becoming overcome by a power that is greater than themselves is a frightening thought. Essentially, fear of loosing control means, “Do what You want God as long as You leave me in control.”4

When strange manifestations began to occur during George Whitefield’s meetings, he heeded the advice given him by Lady Huntington, a woman whom he greatly respected. Instead of silencing the people or having them removed from the meetings as he had been inclined to do, he heeded her wise counsel. “You are making a mistake,” she told him. “Don’t be wiser than God. Let them cry out; it will do a lot more good than your preaching.”5

Are we also trying to be wiser than God is? Can we trust Him to do His work His way? Can we allow the Holy Spirit to do what He desires and emphasize the truths He wishes? Although manifestations grab our attention, it’s our hearts that God really wants. If the trumpet has been sounded and the awakening cry has been raised, will we answer the radical call to follow Jesus in a radical way?

A Call to Repentance

Yes, God is bypassing our agendas in order to reveal His. He is manifesting His power through human trumpets to get our attention. He is using the most unlikely people. May we each humbly submit to His ways and be willing to be taught by His Spirit. I sense we have many things to learn and unlearn about the way the Spirit chooses to manifest His presence and power in our midst. Let us hold all judgment and refuse to pass condemnation on those things that we do not understand.

Instead, let us prayerfully submit our lives to the Spirit’s control and look for the good fruit that the Lord is bringing forth. Although we must guard against extremes of the flesh, we must allow the extremes of the Spirit.6 Although we should not seek physical manifestations; neither should we be ashamed of them when they occur. Let us no longer fall for Satan’s bait and let offense and judgment affect our relationships with one another and our relationship with God. Instead of falling into the trap of offense over unusual manifestations, let us fall on the Rock and be broken. As we see our true heart condition before the Lord, let us “be earnest, and repent” (Revelation 3:19).

Last fall when the following Scripture was read one afternoon during a prophetic conference at Harvest Rock Church in Pasadena, I noticed that many intercessors in the room were hit with this same “ho” manifestation. “For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent, for Jerusalem’s sake I will not remain quiet, till her righteousness shines out like the dawn, her salvation like a blazing torch… I have posted watchmen on your walls, O Jerusalem; they will never be silent day of night. You who call on the name of the Lord, give yourselves no rest, and give Him no rest till He establishes Jerusalem and makes her the praise of the earth” (Isaiah 62:1, 6-7).

The pastor who was reading the Scripture at the time paused and commented on this unusual manifestation of God’s presence that was happening in the room. He remarked, “Many Christians might wonder what on earth you people are doing should they wander into the sanctuary right now. I believe that some prophetic intercessors in the body of Christ are being called as watchmen to stand on the walls of the church. Standing at your post you are being called into crisis intercession for the body of Christ. That is why you are manifesting in this strange way.”

Coming for His Bride

I believe that this “ho” manifestation is an urgent wake-up call. The parable of the ten virgins reveals that the Church is spiritually asleep—the wise along with the foolish (Matthew 25:6-7). Perhaps that is why God is using human trumpets to sound an alarm in order to wake up the sleeping Church. Noticeably this “Church” is made up of God’s children who are found not only within the confines of the organized structure of religion, but also outside of it in the marketplace.

I believe that there are aspects of the Jewish wedding ceremony that speak to us of the closeness of Jesus Christ’s Coming for His Church.7 In the traditional Jewish wedding the groomsmen go ahead of the bridegroom in order to announce to the waiting bride that her bridegroom is on his way. In a similar way today God is calling forth grooms people who are announcing to the Church that Jesus is on His way. Some of these prophetic voices, these watchmen, are being used as human shofars—human trumpets to sound the warning, because the Church is asleep. We cannot remain quiet until God establishes is the Church in righteousness—until He makes His bride the carrier of His glory—the one who proclaims His righteousness and salvation like a blazing torch throughout the earth.

1 Endnotes: Scriptures that have ”ho” or “hoi” in them: 1Kings 13:20; Isaiah 1:4, 24; 5:11, 18, 20, 21, 22; 10:1, 5; 17:12; 18:1; 28:1; 29:15; 30:1; 31:1; 33:1; 45:9, 10; 55:1; Jeremiah 22:13, 18; 23:1; 30:7; 34:5; 47:6; 48:1; 50:27; Ezekiel 13:3, 8; 34:2; Amos 5:16, 18; 6:1; Micah 2:1; Nahum 3:1; Habakkuk 2:6, 9, 12, 15, 19; Zephaniah 2:5; 3:1; Zechariah 2:6, 7; 11:17.
2 Dutch Sheets, “The River of God,” p. 170.
3 ibid. p. 171.
4 ibid. p. 172.
5 ibid. p. 179.
6 ibid. p. 184.
7 Richard Booker, “Here Comes the Bride,” p. 9.