How to Receive the Baptism of the Holy Spirit

How to Receive the Baptism of the Holy Spirit (Approximately 9 min. read time.)

Please first read “Have You Been Baptized in the Holy Spirit?”  It is important to recognize that this baptism is a distinct experience  from the indwelling of the Holy Spirit when you first received Jesus as your Savior.  

Now that we are aware of the intentional experience of Pentecost for all believers today, how do we receive the gift of the baptism of the Holy Spirit, the promise of the Father?  

Hunger is an important motivation for receiving.  Only the hungry are fed in the Kingdom.  

Luk 11:11NKJV  If a son asks for bread from any father among you, will he give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent instead of a fish? 12  Or if he asks for an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? 13  If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!" 

Your heavenly Father is anxious to bless you with the promise of the Holy Spirit.  You do not have to be perfect and without faults. It is the power of the Holy Spirit that is needed to walk victoriously as an overcomer in this life.  The Holy Spirit comes to fill you with power so that you can bear testimony for Jesus.  Luke 24:49, Acts 1:8

Without the baptism of the Holy Spirit and the gifts that accompany the baptism, it is difficult to fight our battles effectively.  The baptism of the Holy Spirit enables us to pray through difficult situations.  This is especially true when we are unsure of how or what to pray for. 

More importantly, we all have an inner yearning to  worship God and communicate our love in a way that transcends our natural abilities.  Our native language can feel inadequate to properly express our gratitude, our devotion, and our awe.  The gift of tongues allows us to pour out our love upon Him like oil upon His feet. 

The first thing to understand is knowing that faith is the currency of heaven.  Everything accomplished in the Kingdom is accomplished with faith.  Our salvation is by faith (Eph. 2:8).  This is the same way  we receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit—by  faith.  We can operate in all the gifts, including tongues, only by faith.  

You can receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit by faith right now!

1. Hunger is required.   Ask for the Holy Spirit as you would ask for bread if you were hungry.  Remember Luke 11:13 If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!" 
2. Close your eyes and focus your attention only on Jesus. Ask Holy Spirit to fill you. 
3. Picture yourself in a boat with the other disciples on a wild and  stormy sea. You see Jesus walking towards you and you are ‘hungry’ to come to Him.
4. Jesus sees your heart and He says to you, “Come!”
5. Like Peter, you must do something in the natural.  You must move your body.  Jesus did not supernaturally suck Peter out of the boat and plop him on the water.  Peter had to do something in response to Jesus’ command to come.  Even though everything was screaming that it was not realistic to get out of the boat, that he should listen to his brothers around him and stay put.  Peter, by faith, launched one leg over the gunnels of the boat.  It was a leap of faith as the boat was wildly lurching with raging seas and winds.  He decided to put the other leg over the gunnel and let himself surrender to the command “come”.  All his emotions  and thoughts were like the waves of the sea.  Then he felt his feet hit something solid. This is when the miracle, the supernatural ability kicked in. Something happened that he had never experienced or done before.   It happened after his obedience to do something illogical and contrary to his mind.  He was walking on water!  

In the same way, by faith you will surrender your body to the Holy Spirit.  

Ask Holy Spirit to fill you.  Lift up your hands in surrender with your eyes closed so you see Holy Spirit pouring Himself over you from head to toe-saturating you. You begin to feel something in your body as warmth, peace, joy, or a trembling etc.  Begin to yield to His Presence and thank Him.  It can feel like wind or fire! It could be a knowing He is present and you feel His love.  Go with this! Everyone is different and everyone’s experience is different. He knows what you need. 

He is calling you to get out of the boat to walk on water with Him.  He is calling you to do something you have never done or experienced before.  “Come!”

You will sense a desire in your spirit to speak in your heavenly language. Holy Spirit does not force you to open your mouth and automatically give you an unknown language.  To receive the gift of speaking in tongues, you must surrender in obedience.  You surrender your voice.  In order to do this, open your mouth and allow sound to come forth. (This is the same thing that Peter did when he put one leg over the side of the boat. He made the decision to yield his body in obedience to walk on water.) 

Any sound you release will seem like gibberish to you. It may be sounds you are making up and repetitive.  Even so, give Him those sounds as an offering.  This is acceptable because you have to begin somewhere, just like Peter did by climbing out of the boat on his own steam, through his own effort. Trust the Holy Spirt! He will take your “offering” and consume it with fire.  He will conform the sounds you give Him to His chosen language to fulfill His purpose.  The sounds will no longer be your own but inspired by Holy Spirit. 

The devil will begin to accuse you with “you’re making this up”, “this is not real”, “this is what we did as kids” etc.  These are common thoughts from the enemy, and he does not want you to be enabled with the power of the Holy Spirit or use your prayer language. The devil knows it is a devastating weapon against him. Nor does he want you to use any of the other gifts!

Practice! 

The baptism of the Holy Spirit is a gift, and like with any gift, you can choose to leave it on a table or in your closet without using it.  The ability to use your gift is now in your realm of choosing.  Choose to utilize your gift often, and you will notice that it becomes easier to use, and you will find the power and the anointing to glorify Jesus increasing.     

• The power of the Holy Spirit is always available to you.  In the same way you turn on and off the lights in a room, you can choose to speak in tongues or not. 

Remember to practice! The enemy does not want you to grow in this powerful gift of grace.