In my previous post, I spoke about how I received the Holy Spirit during my time of worship. One thing I have realised is that everyone’s experience is different. I know of people who received the Holy Spirit during their water baptism, others who received Him after being prayed for, and hands were laid on them, and others who received Him in their secret place, while praying on their own. Therefore it is important to let go of our expectations in terms of how we expect to receive the Holy Spirit and allow the Holy Spirit Himself to lead every step of the way. Our responsibility is to seek Him with our whole hearts and pray for Him to fill us, melt, mold us, and use us.
In the book of Acts, we see some examples of different ways through which various people received the baptism of the Holy Spirit. I will first speak about the disciples. After Jesus left the disciples and asked them to wait for the baptism of the Holy Spirit, they did not disperse but constantly came together in prayer according to Acts 1:14. During one of these times, “suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them”. Acts 2:2-4. They obeyed after Jesus asked them to stay and wait and they constantly prayed together not letting go of their faith because their master had left them physically. Rather they elected a replacement for Judas, having a vision to carry on the good work of Jesus Christ. Here they received the Holy Spirit not by laying of hands or by being prayed upon, their experience was different. Together with other believers as Jesus had said, they received the Holy Spirit in quite a dramatic way with they speaking in tongues, different tongues which could be understood by people from other parts of the world.
In Acts 10: 23-48 as well, we see how Cornelius and his family received the Holy Spirit. Through a vision from God, Peter ended up in the house of Cornelius preaching the word to them. Verse 44 states that while Peter was still preaching, the Holy Spirit came on all who heard the message and they started speaking in tongues and praising God. A good thing to note is that these were Gentiles and had not even been baptised with water. It was almost like the Holy Spirit wanted to use them to prove a point. How could Cornelius and Peter have related visions almost at the same time? Two people who did not know each other were linked together by the Holy Spirit just like that and they both obeyed. If Cornelius had not obeyed, he would not have gone to look for Peter and if Peter had not obeyed, he would not have gone with the people to even go and preach in Cornelius’ house in the first place. During this time of preaching, these people received the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is truly amazing but he requires our obedience because He works through us. Here also, how the people received the Holy Spirit is different from how the disciples received the Holy Spirit. This also highlights the need to allow the Holy Spirit to lead completely and obey Him every step of the way. His ways are completely different from our normal human expectations.
Again in Acts 19:1-7, we also see how Paul led some disciples in Corinth to receive the Holy Spirit. These were people who were already followers of Jesus Christ and had been water baptised but they had not even heard that there was a Holy Spirit, let alone received this Holy Spirit. From here, we can learn that being water baptized does not automatically mean that we have received the Holy Spirit although some may receive the Holy Spirit at the same time as being water baptized. Verse 6 of this chapter says that when Paul placed his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied. Here we see that these people received the Holy Spirit after they were prayed for and had hands laid on them which is quite different from the other two experiences above. Everyone’s experience may be different however we need to allow the Holy Spirit to lead and be obedient to his promptings no matter how they may seem.
Outside of Acts, in the book of John, we see how the Holy Spirit came upon Jesus Christ as evidenced by the testimony of John the Baptist. See John 1:32-34, “Then John gave this testimony: “I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him. And I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’I have seen and I testify that this is God’s Chosen One.” In Luke 3:21-22, this is also captured beautifully as follows, “When all the people were being baptized, Jesus was baptized too. And as he was praying, heaven was opened and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.” My question here is this: Why did Jesus also have the Holy Spirit descend on Him? And in such a way as it did? As Jesus Christ is already part of the Trinity, why did this need to happen for him as well?
Here also, we learn the very key significance of the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer. After Jesus received the Holy Spirit, he went to do the forty-day and night fast in Luke 4 followed by performing miracles and selecting his disciples. He was empowered by the Holy Spirit for His journey on this earth and did not start without the empowerment of the Holy Spirit here on earth. The key message for me from here is that if we want to find, follow, and fulfill our purpose and be empowered as we do it, we need the Holy Spirit. Even Jesus did not begin his ministry without the Holy Spirit, what makes us think we can work on this earth meaningfully without Him. Also, Jesus received the Holy Spirit during His water baptism which was also evidently different from the other two above.
In my own case, after seeking the infilling of the Holy Spirit for some time, I believe that I received Him at the best time possible in my life and season. I had then developed a better consistency with spending time with God, praying, worshiping, and studying His word, and understood more about the Holy Spirit then. Therefore in one of my personal prayer and worship sessions, I had Dunsin Oyekan’s ‘The Gospel of the Kingdom’ album playing which was filled with a good number of portions where they prayed in tongues. As I listened and heard the prayers in tongues I asked for the Holy Spirit to pray through me, for me to pray in tongues and within a few minutes I started. It started with a few syllables and some doubt wanted to creep in but gradually I gained some more confidence, definitely not from myself but from God, and kept on praying in tongues for about an hour. I knew thereafter that this was what I had been praying for and my life was never going to be the same. Again this experience is quite different from the other examples above.
I want to highlight again that being baptised with water is different from the Holy Spirit baptism. These are different experiences and although they may come together, that may not always be the case for everyone. Therefore the fact that you have been baptised with water does not mean you have the infilling of the Holy Spirit automatically. Also, from the above examples, it can be seen that it doesn’t have to follow a particular order. Like the people in the house of Cornelius, they received the Holy Spirit upon hearing the word of God, without being baptised and this was even orchestrated by the Holy Spirit.
You may not receive the Holy Spirit automatically by reading this post, however, I am hoping that you realise that experiences and encounters with the Holy Spirit are different for everyone but the key thing is to trust God and obey Him, seeking Him with our whole heart. In the testimony of John the Baptist in John 1:32-34, he mentions that Jesus Christ is the one who baptises with the Holy Spirit. Therefore the first step to receiving the Holy Spirit is believing in Jesus Christ and accepting Him as our Lord and personal saviour and also seeking Him with our whole heart. Therefore let us together pray this prayer if you are seeking the infilling of the Holy Spirit:
Jesus Christ, I believe in you as the one true way to the Father. I believe that you are the one that baptises with the Holy Spirit therefore please grant me the infilling of the Holy Spirit. I today seek and desire the Holy Spirit with my whole heart. Holy Spirit please fill me, melt me, mold me, and use you. In Jesus' name. Amen 🙏🏼