Praying to Receive the Power of God’s Holy Spirit
Receiving the power or the release of the Holy Spirit often comes through the means of prayer. If you haven’t yet been baptized in the Spirit, what should you do? Here are some guidelines.
How to do this prayer practice
1. Meditate on the power of the promise that Jesus made that believers would receive power from on high.
How wonderful it would have been if we could have experienced Pentecost with the 120 in the Upper Room in Jerusalem. Pentecost was the name of the day when the disciples and followers were gathered for prayer and suddenly heard a noise that sounded like wind and saw tongues of fire which rested on each person signifying the coming of the Holy Spirit. (See Acts 2:1-13) However, our own personal Pentecost is no less important nor empowering.
Jesus told the disciples and followers not to leave Jerusalem but to wait for the Father’s promise, You will be baptized into the Holy Spirit” Acts 1:4-5
“You shall receive power- ability, efficiency and might when the Holy Spirit has come upon you. And you shall be my witnesses to the ends and very bounds of the earth.” Act. 1:8 (Amplified version of the Bible.)
That promise remains, just as true for us today. It is the Lord’s wish that all receive this baptism and power, but there are many ways it can happen.
2. Look for someone who has experienced the power of the Holy Spirit to pray with you.
Don’t expect to receive the baptism in the Spirit by being prayed over by someone who hasn’t experienced it themselves. You can’t push a rope -you can only pull it. See I Cor. 2:12-16
3. Find a charismatic (spirit-filled) prayer group in your area.
Begin to attend. Don’t get spooked- because it seems strange- keep going.
4. Find a Life in the Spirit seminar and enroll in it.
Attend every session, don’t let harassment or calamity block you.
5. Find someone who is ‘on fire’ for Jesus and with a heart to help others and ask them about it.
Ask them to lay hands on you and pray for the Holy Spirit.
6. Read the gospel of John, chapters 14 & 16 and the entire book of Acts
Think of yourself being in those powerful events. Also read good books by reliable spirit filled authors ( Fr. Michael Scanlon’s “Their Eyes Were Opened”; John Sherill’s, “They Speak with Other Tongues” and many others.)
7. Don’t settle for less. The Lord wants each of us to receive His Holy Spirit.
8. Guard against feelings only.
When prayed over for the release of the Spirit, you may feel very different right then- or you may not. You may receive a prayer language (sometimes called speaking or singing in tongues) right then- or you may not. The main thing is you asked and were prayed over. Everyone who asks with the right motive, will receive- sometimes it will manifest itself when you least expect it.
My Personal Tips and Experiences
1. “Baptism of the Holy Spirit” seminars are a short course of explanation and release of the Spirit. usually held one night a week for seven straight weeks. Satan often throws us considerable resistance during the last three weeks of the seminar.
2. Be prayed over for the “baptism” by one or more persons in most any righteous setting. If our hearts are right, the Lord is ready.
3. Sometimes the Spirit is released through prayers over a person for some other need. I got baptized in the Spirit through a small group praying that I could sleep. I slept all night and spiritually woke up the next morning- to a whole new life! Born again and baptized in the Spirit.
4. The Lord may baptize anyone solely by His touch on using scripture, a spiritual book, a movie, an event, being encouraged by someone really on fire in the Spirit, etc.
5. To a great degree, it is made possible by a person’s deep desire to “give it all to Jesus.” this prepares them to receive. It’s actually more about turning loose our own self will.
6. That we receive this baptism of fire is super important- how it happens can vary tremendously.
Biblical Origins
Acts 2: 38,39 Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit, The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off- for all whom the Lord our God will call.” (NIV version)
Acts 8:14 -17 “When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them. When they arrived, they prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit because the Holy Spirit had not yet come upon any of them; they had simply been baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus. Then Peter and John placed their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.” (NIV version)
Copyright Gary Garner 2011, all rights reserved.
