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