Q4. Answer
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The simple answer is to remind God of His promise, and ask ! And then exercise your faith to believe you receive! God wants you to have it.
“If you, then, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!” (Luke 11:13)
It’s always wise first to confess your sins and ask God’s forgiveness. Forgive anyone who has hurt or offended you. Ask God to forgive you for all unforgiveness, resentment and bitterness towards anyone or anything. If you have had any involvement in the occult, you should not seek this baptism without counsel and supervision from Christian leadership.
Then, simply ask, and believe God has done for you just as He promises in Luke 11:13. Say, “Thank You, Father!” even before you feel anything happening. Ask in faith, believing!
You can ask for this baptism immediately after receiving salvation. The sooner you receive this baptism the better.
The Baptism of the Holy Spirit supplies the power to live the Christian life in all its fullness. The gifts of the Spirit come on stream. The Bible comes alive with new understanding. You receive a personal private prayer language that the Holy Spirit prays through you. Praying in this language is powerful and it empowers you and emboldens you. It is an important tool in spiritual warfare.
After asking and believing you have received and giving thanks, try out your new heavenly language, even if you’ve sensed nothing happening. Believe you have it.
It’s not your native language. It’s not saying ‘Hallelujahs’ over and over again. It’s a language that you have never spoken before. It’s simple faith that as you supply sounds, inarticulate words or silly syllables, like baby-talk, to your vocal chords, God will take over and turn them into a coherent language that you’ve never heard before. He does! Try it in faith, believing.
By-pass your intellect – don’t think, just do it! Count 1, 2, 3, and go for it! And don’t stumble in unbelief – speak those silly syllables, those incoherent sounds fast and furious and keep on going. Refuse to doubt. Press on. Persistence pays dividends.
It’s the Holy Spirit that prays and He is in your spirit, not in your mind. God will not use your intellect to speak this new language through you. Don’t think it! Just do it! If you don’t utter some sounds from your mouth, nothing will happen. It’s up to you. God doesn’t take you over. It’s entirely within your own control whether you choose to speak or not.
If you notice you are saying a few of the same words over and over again, this is OK — your vocabulary in your new language will grow as you practice it in the days ahead.
You can also sing in your new language. Try doing that too.
Try going back and forth between your new language and your native language – you should find that this really enhances your prayer life.
If nothing happens, do try another time, perhaps after spending quality time in prayer and fasting and worship; but if still nothing happens, don’t feel bad! You’re not a second-class Christian – there’s no such thing! God loves you! This is a far bigger subject than we can fully cover in just this answer; and if you are one who is disappointed, we would recommend you seek wise counsel from those in Christian leadership who have this baptism.
The Baptism of the Holy Spirit, with the evidence of speaking in tongues, is essential to the Christian’s walk and prayer life in order for him or her to walk in the fullness and empowerment that God intends. It is a separate and distinct experience from the experience of being born again, although the two can be ministered and received together.
A person is born again by the regeneration of the Holy Spirit the instant they are saved. Being born again is the salvation experience. The Baptism of the Holy Spirit is the empowering experience.