How to Receive the Holy Spirit and Speak in Tongues

5 Steps of Biblical Insight to Experience the Promise of the Father

It’s one thing to know about the Holy Spirit and quite another to experience Him. I’ve written two recent articles on this topic recently “Why Speak in Tongues?” and “The Top 10 Objections to Speaking in Tongues.” Consider this part 3 (and maybe I will have Part 4 after Wes Huff’s recent interview with Mikhaila Peterson included an answer about speaking in tongues. I love Wes Huff, but disagree with him on this one). But without anymore delay, here are 5 steps you can take to receive the Holy Spirit and the gift of speaking in tongues.

Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash

1. Understand.

The baptism of the Holy Spirit or filling of the Holy Spirit is available to all believers. We see the pattern throughout Acts of people first believing in Jesus, being water baptized and then receiving the Holy Spirit. In the apostles’ lives specifically we see that in John 20, they receive the Holy Spirit but then later in the story in Acts 1, Jesus tells the same apostles, as well as other disciples, “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:5).” Search the Scriptures and understand what is available to all believers.

2. Believe.

We receive all gifts from God by simply believing in His promises. In the gospel of John, Jesus promises what is the inheritance of every believer. “On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.” By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified (John 7:37-39 NIV).” We ask for the forgiveness of our sins with simple faith, believing that God accepts our confession based on His promises. So it is with the baptism of the Holy Spirit, we ask in simple faith believing we receive based on God’s promises.

3. Ask (and keep asking).

Jesus taught that when we ask we receive because our Heavenly Father is a good Father who gives us what we ask for. We don’t need to be afraid of not receiving or somehow something bad interfering with our request when we earnestly seek God for this gift. Sometimes we need to be persistent in our hunger and pursuit. Some people receive very quickly when they ask and God seems to bring others into the baptism of the Holy Spirit through a journey of pursuit. “So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. “Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, though you are evil, 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 11:9-13 NIV)!”

Throughout the book of Acts we see that sometimes the Holy Spirit falls upon people and baptizes them with His power as they pray to God without anyone praying for them in Acts 1 & 2. We also see that other prayers are very intentional where you ask those who have received the Holy Spirit to pray with you to receive through the laying on of hands as in Acts 8 and Acts 19. Either way, there is typically some process of asking God to fill you and baptize you in the Holy Spirit. Here’s a prayer you might pray to help you as you seek God and have others pray with you:

Father God, thank You for Your promise of the Holy Spirit. I ask in faith today that you would fill me with the Holy Spirit and baptize me with power from on high. I invite you Jesus, the baptizer of the Holy Spirit and fire to come and fill my life. I yield my heart and life to you. Consume me. Fill me and release the rivers of living water from within me. I receive of Your Spirit. Fill me with tongues and all the gifts you have for me. In Jesus name, amen.

4. Receive.

Expect to receive what you ask for. This is not something you strive for, the Holy Spirit’s gifts are just that, gifts. As you understand, believe and ask in prayer for this gift, God will fill you with the Holy Spirit. Spend time waiting on the Lord in a time of prayer personally or with other believers who pray with you. Stressing and striving will not help you out. But praying, asking, and waiting on God to fill you will yield results. Paul said to the Corinthians, “we were all given the one Spirit to drink (1 Corinthians 12:13b NIV).” Receiving is simply waiting upon God and drinking of the Spirit He has given us. I realize there is a level of mystery and faith involved and receiving is not as concrete as a formula or steps we can just speak out to automatically experience this gift. But this is the beauty of a relationship with the Lord that we wait in a posture of trust and God births something supernatural in us through His Spirit.

5. Practice.

When you receive the gift of tongues you may hear a word in your heart that is not your native language or you may feel something bubble up from within. It’s important to give voice to the spiritual language that God is giving you. It could be a tongue from another nation that you haven’t learned (Acts 2) or it could be a spiritual language of angels (1 Corinthians 13:1, 14:14). Either way, tongues is not something you understand with your mind (1 Corinthians 14:14). When you pray in your native language you pray with your mind and your body, but when you pray in tongues, you pray with your spirit and your body, bypassing your mind. In Acts 2, those in the upper room prayed in other tongues “as the Spirit enabled them (Acts 2:4).” The Spirit gave them the words but they gave the Spirit their body. You have to surrender your tongue to God in faith to speak in tongues. As you receive, keep practicing this gift in your daily times of prayer and worship. For the Bible makes us amazing promises about what takes place when we pray in the Spirit:

“In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God (Romans 8:26-27 NIV).”

“But you, dear friends, by building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life (Jude 1:20-21 NIV).”

May God bless you as you seek Him for the fullness of the Holy Spirit’s work in your life. May you overflow with His power and grace. If you have further questions, please leave one in the comments. If you would like prayer to receive, please reach out and I would love to help pray with you or arrange for someone to pray with you.