In my last three posts, I explained what the baptism in the Spirit is and why it is available to all believers. You can receive the baptism in the Spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues (your personal prayer language) — here, now, today — even if you have been prayed with dozens of times in the past and have been disappointed.
We have made this entirely too difficult for people, with all our little methods and tricks, and too many have ended up despairing of ever receiving their prayer language — mostly because of wrong teaching. It’s time to stop that.
Many of us have been taught that when we ask God for the baptism in the Spirit, if we somehow mysteriously end up speaking in tongues, then we “got” the baptism. If we don’t fall into speaking in tongues, then we didn’t “get” the baptism. We end up thinking God didn’t choose to give it to us, and either wonder why we are second-class citizens in the Kingdom or else beat up on ourselves for not having enough faith.
It does take faith to believe that God truly will baptize us in the Holy Spirit when we ask, and then to act on it by opening our mouths and letting our prayer language out. But let me state right up front that if you are a Christian, you already have all the faith you need. Every believer in Christ already has GREAT faith.
Why do I say that? Think about what you believe: God Almighty, Who existed from all eternity, took on human flesh, died for every sin you would ever commit, arose from the dead, and will raise you from the dead in a glorified body, too. And you will one day live in heaven with Him for all eternity, without any sorrow or pain anymore. As a Christian, you accept all that, don’t you? But when you think about it a little bit from a “rational” perspective, it sounds ridiculous! And yet, you know it is true, and you believe it with all your heart. That takes great faith.
The baptism in the Spirit, with the evidence of speaking in tongues, can be received by faith in the same way you believed for salvation. It isn’t any harder at all.
Here is what we are going to do:
1.) If you are chewing gum, spit it out. It doesn’t help to have gum in your mouth when you want to receive your prayer language.
2.) Get yourself in tune with the Lord in whatever way works best for you. If you want to worship and praise Him for a while, go ahead. You don’t have to make a big deal out of this — just get yourself communing with Him for a few minutes.
3.) Now, ask the Lord to baptize you (fully fill you up to overflowing) with His Holy Spirit. He says in His Word that this is for all believers, so just ask and believe He will do it for you.
(Did you do that? If you did, you are now baptized in the Spirit. You may “feel” His tangible Presence inside of you or all over you, but if you don’t, it’s OK. You are still baptized in the Spirit, if you asked Him and believed Him for it.)
4.) Because you are now baptized in the Spirit, you have the ability to speak in tongues. But you have to act in faith for it to manifest. Open your mouth and initiate speech. By initiating speech, I do not mean speaking out conscious words. I mean doing everything you would normally do to utter words — but immediately the Holy Spirit takes over and does the speaking. You will begin to speak in your prayer language effortlessly.
5.) Keep praying in tongues for a while and enjoy the Holy Spirit flowing through you like this. From this point on, you can pray in tongues whenever you so desire.
That is all there is to it.
You may have a lot of questions about your new prayer language, including, “What if it sounds funny?” What if I only have one or two syllables?” etc. It doesn’t really matter if it sounds funny; your native language sounds funny to many people in other parts of the world. And one or two syllables is just the beginning of something that will probably expand. If it doesn’t, be aware that some tribal dialects consist of just a syllable or two, and the whole language revolves around voice inflection, rather than multiple syllables.
If you read my series, The Power of Your Prayer Language, a lot of other questions will be answered there.
Now, I know that although most people who follow this simple plan WILL receive their prayer language, there will be a few who will not, due to being afraid it won’t happen for them and clamming up, rather than speaking out their prayer language in faith. If that happens to you, here is what you must know: you asked the Lord to baptize you in His Holy Spirit, and He did. He really did, if you asked Him, believing that He would.
The key to receiving your prayer language is to let go and let the Spirit flow. You need to relax. Stop stressing.
When you feel you are ready, you might want to pray a prayer such as: “Lord, I asked in faith to be filled up with Your Spirit, and I believe You did that for me. I am going to trust You for my prayer language, and it will happen for me.” Then initiate sound in your vocal cords, yield your tongue to God, open your mouth, and let Him do it from there.
You may want to read the following posts for further understanding:
What Is the Baptism in the Spirit? (Part 1)
What Is the Baptism in the Spirit? (Part 2)
Common Questions About the Baptism in the Spirit (Part 3)
I would love to hear from any of you who have received the baptism in the Spirit and your prayer language by following the directions in this post. Your testimony will also be an encouragement to others.
The Baptism in the Spirit: Why You Need It & How to Get It — Mp3 Download or CD
Out of the Fire 
Thanks for sharing. God bless you.
LikeLike
Thanks for stopping by, Scott.
LikeLike
Lee Ann, I applaud you for your efforts and am encouraged by believers seaking for the baptisium in the Holy Spirit, but I must say I am concerned about your title “How to EASILY be baptized in the Spirit with tongues”. It is NOT by our human abilities to be filled with the Spirit nor speak in or with other tongues. The Holy Spirit can and will ONLY fill a vessel that has been first “sanctified” after asking for forgiviness and believing in the cross and Christ and him crucified. I must cauction you, there is NO short cuts for the gifts of the Spirit with tongues nor the indwelling of the Holy Spirit with all the gifts of the Spirit. “Sanctification” MUST first be sought for the cleansing of the believers for the removal of the flesh nature. You are correct in many points in your article, one about not chewing gum during prayer (I likes that one), but the most important is pray and seeking for the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, but do not encourage the emphases on tongues. Seeking, obedience and being pure in spirit was the dirrective form Jesus to the disciples in Acts, but they had NO idea that tongues would accompany this gift that he promissed.
Growing in Faith and Love, Eddie Durham
LikeLike
Hi Eddie,
Thank you for your comments, and thank you for stopping by my blog. I think that for the most part you and I are in agreement, and where we seem to not be, it is mostly a difference in perspective.
The series of posts on the Baptism in the Spirit is written for born again believers who sincerely desire the Baptism in the Spirit and their prayer language, but either have no one to help them receive, or are discouraged because they have been prayed for many times without receiving their prayer language. That is why I have entitled the final post in the series, How to Easily Be Baptized in the Spirit with Tongues — because we are showing people that they don’t have to jump through man-made hoops to receive. It is a gift from God, which can be simply received in childlike faith. I am not in any way saying that it is by human abilities we receive; it is entirely a work of the Spirit — but we must relax and cooperate with what He wishes to do for us.
I totally agree with you that the Baptism in the Spirit is only for those who have received forgiveness at the cross and believe on Jesus. That is the definition of a born again believer, and being born again is an absolute prerequisite for receiving the Baptism. We differ, perhaps, on the sanctification doctrine. I believe that sanctification is a progressive work, not a one-time experience, although many of us have had defining experiences with the Lord involving sanctification. I would not be one who demands a separate sanctification experience. We see in Acts 10:34-47 that those who were gathered at Cornelius’ house came into salvation and were immediately Baptized in the Spirit. We do not have to come to a certain level of holiness in order to be eligible for the Baptism. In fact, the Baptism actually empowers us to live holy lives, because we are immersed in the Spirit and move in His power from that point on. People who want to live in the flesh are not very much interested in receiving the Baptism in the Spirit in the first place.
As to not emphasizing the tongues part of the Baptism, I realize that the Baptism is for the purpose of empowering us to advance the gospel of Jesus, just as you do. But praying in tongues is essential to a fully effective prayer life, as well as being a part of how we come into victorious living. It is not just a sign of having received the Baptism, but also an important part of how we implement the spreading of the gospel (with our prayers). I’ve covered that territory in my series, The Power of Your Prayer Language.
I hope the clarifications I’ve provided help. Many blessings, Lee Ann
LikeLike
Lee Ann,
You are correct, we are more in agreement than not, but I see sanctification, like salvation, ultimately it spans the entire life of the believer. Initially, it is a work of grace subsequent to being justified, regenerated, or born again. It is an instantaneous work, which both sets one apart for God (1 Corinthians 1:2) and crucifies and cleanses the old nature, enabling the believer to be free from the dominant rule of sin, it seems I done a poor job expressing that point, just didn’t take the time to make the point. “Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. For, he that is dead is freed from sin” (Romans 6:6, 7). “And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God” (1 Corinthians 6:11). This dethroning of the old nature, this cleansing, this setting apart, places upon the believer the scriptural demand to “mortify the deeds of the body” through the Spirit (Romans 8:12, 13) and to “Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication (sexual immorality), uncleanness, inordinate (abnormal) affection, evil concupiscence (desire for earthly things), and covetousness, which is idolatry” (Colossians 3:5). Second Peter 3:17, 18 further encourages growth in God’s grace and in the knowledge of Jesus Christ: “Ye therefore, beloved, seeing ye know these things before, beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own steadfastness. But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen.” There is then in sanctification, a responsibility on the part of the believer to “put off” some habits and practices, and to “put on” others, which means there must be intentionality to holiness (Ephesians 4:22–32). I see somewhat of a diffrence in the story of Cornelius. In the first verses of Act 10 you will see that Cornelius was pure in heart and deeds and he was a vessel clean for the filling.
I was raised pentecostal and witnessed many tongues and have come to understand NOT all tongues are of God and I would rather error on restraint of tongues and rather see the fruit of the Spirit as evidence. If tongues come on me while I’m in my daily prayer time it should a spontaneous blessing from the Farther and not rehearsed ritual of my own. When scriptures talk about the gift of tongues and prayer in tounges it is ALWAYS Spirit induced and NOT ritualistic. The message of the cross removed rituals and law through grace and the Spirit.
Enjoyed it, but I’ve gotta go and God bless you as well…
Ed
LikeLike
Thanks, Ed, for your input. We as believers help each other by rounding out each others’ perspectives as we interact with each other. I often learn from hearing other people’s viewpoints — viewpoints that I would otherwise not have thought of. Thank you so much for yours! 🙂
LikeLike
Thank u for the info….. my husband, daughter and I were baptized in the Spirit last week. They r growing and quite fluent…..I am not having as much luck. The days later proved to be difficult and locked but after reading ur 6th blog I am feeling relieved! Thank u for ur encouragement…..been a believer for 25+ yrs but feel so new to this new aspect.
LikeLike
Hi Lee Ann,
First of all I would like to say that you have a great site, and i’m so very thankful for all this info!
I was raised in a very charismatic israeli family (Toronto blessings and all that, i’m imagining that’s as charismatic as it gets 🙂 ) and always knew about tongues and the baptism of the spirit. I have been born again myself a few years back, and have felt Gods presence and the Holy spirits presence and for long i assumed i have been baptized in the holy spirit. Recently I got this sudden hunger for more of God, and I want more out of this relationship. But till now, i have not yet received my prayer language, and I don’t know why. No one has ever prayed for me to get tongues ( not that i know of anyway) or anything like it, but I have asked God for it more than once, and just now tried your steps, but nothing. I felt The spirit and I am at so much peace, but no tongues….
Is it possible I have been focusing too much on the tongues or other spiritual experiences, that I have forgotten that it’s all about Jesus? If so, How can I get back to the heart of worship?
Also, I always have this fear that the tongues i will have will not be real, but will just be out of my memory (because i’ve heard so many people speak in tongues through out my 18 years of age).
Thanks so much and God bless,
Ruchama
LikeLike
Hi Ruchama,
Thank you so much for sharing your experience. 🙂
First of all, if you asked God for the Baptism in the Spirit, believing that He would do it for you, you did receive the Baptism, simply because you asked. And you felt His touch upon you, with His peace, all of which you can rejoice in! The Baptism in the Spirit is most wonderful, whether you came into your prayer language right then and there or not. We must never forget that being immersed in the Spirit is so that we will have power to share the gospel and move in His anointing to do His works. And now, having received the Baptism, you really do already have the ability to speak in other tongues.
What is holding you back from releasing your prayer language is revealed in what you said, “I always have this fear that the tongues I have will not be real.” This is a very common hang-up. A lot of people worry about it. Some already really are speaking in their prayer language, but because it starts out for them as just a couple of simple syllables, they don’t recognize that it is the real thing. A key is to just keep using the one or two syllables that come out, and let God do the expanding of that as He pleases. Babies don’t start out with a full-blown vocabulary. They start with one or two words. And for many people, that’s the way their prayer language happens.
I would suggest that you relax, first of all, and get your focus back on worshiping the Lord, as you said. Rejoice in Him, and thank Him abundantly for Baptizing you in His Spirit, too. Ask Him to give your faith and assurance a little boost. At some point, when you are enjoying the Lord in worship and feel very peaceful in Him, ask Him again to slip you into tongues. Like I said in the post, initiate speech in your vocal cords, and let it out. For some people, it helps them loosen up if they can initiate the movement of their tongue as well, with a syllable such as “la,” and let it go from there.
I think you would really have to be trying awfully hard to just mimic from memory what you have heard other people speak in tongues. It would take quite a bit of deliberate concentration to do that. So when you find yourself praying in what sounds like tongues you have heard, you should just accept in faith that it is the real thing, and that it is your very own.
If you can find another Spirit-filled believer to pray with you, with them praying in tongues while praying with you, that might be a big help to you as well.
Please let me know how it goes!
Blessings,
Lee Ann
LikeLike
Hi Lee Ann! I tried again and again but nothing came out… I think I will try to find someone to pray for me. Thank you so much!
LikeLike
Hi Anonymous,
Yes, it would probably be of great value for you to find someone to pray with you. Just remember that you can’t expect sound to automatically happen. You do have to initiate sound in your vocal cords and let it out, and yield your tongue, too. Bless you, and I hope to hear back from you when you do receive your prayer language! 🙂
LikeLike
Jesus said ” If you being evil know how to give good gifts to your children… How much more will the Heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask? ” So ,I say ,if the Holy Spirit didn’t obviously fall on us when we first believed, then we should obviously ask for it believing the father will give it. And yes then by His grace let us be holy and not grieve the Spirit so He should not take it from us. We are praying now Lord to establish in us your foothold , your down payment, the fervent yearning to abide in you holiness, closer to you and not aloof from your constant brooding over us . And re-enter the covenant of our youth , our zeal and seeking first your kingdom. To,with hand to the plow turn over fallow ground and sow good seed ,your Word,which we will reap if we faint not. Let our repentance reach deep so that refreshing might come from the presence ,the presence, the presence of the Lord. Our hearts look to you now Lord, Glorify your name, Even in all the earth. Thank you God, through Jesus.
LikeLike
Thank you for reading at my blog and for commenting / praying, Mark. 🙂 ~ Lee Ann
LikeLike