The loosely structured movements of lay preachers and "enthusiasts" play an important role in the religious life of the 18th century. This essay is concerned with the most famous and spectacular Finnish case. It tells the story of Anna Rogel, a peasant daughter, who in her 20th year underwent a dramatic change. After an illness she became paralysed and lost her voice and appetite. One day she suddenly, while asleep, broke her silence with an improvised sermon, which lasted for four hours. It was soon followed by others. The rumour spread, and an increasing number of visitors found their way to the small, countryside village where she lived, eager to listen to the ardent sermons that continued to flow from her sickbed. In time she was to exercise a widespread influence in both Finland and Sweden, although the content of the sermons was neither new nor radical - it was the unusual circumstances that aroused people's expectations and fanned their faith. The main purpose of this essay is to capture the emotional and intellectual atmosphere of a case such as this. In addition to the account of her life, the essay also aims at putting her in a wider context, by touching upon topics concerning the Enlightenment, other religious movements of the age, and the medicalisation of this kind of traditionally religious phenomena.