Baptism of the Holy Spirit

“If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children,
how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!”
Luke 11:13

We have so much to share on this because of our personal experience. In the early church in the book of Acts, Christians were often water baptised after they believed in Christ. Water baptism is widely practised in churches up till today. However, there is another encounter that took place in the early church called the baptism of the Holy Spirit, that is unfortunately often not explained to new believers but is explicitly mentioned in Scriptures (Matthew 3:11, Mark 1:8, Luke 3:16, John 1:33, Luke 24:49, Acts 1:4-5,8). The bible says my people are destroyed for a lack of knowledge (Hosea 4:6) and because we lacked knowledge and understanding in this, it was only a decade plus after salvation and getting water baptised that we were baptised in the Holy Spirit. The scriptural understanding of the baptism of the Holy Spirit through Andrew Wommack’s teaching was key to us asking God to baptise us with the Holy Spirit! And in accordance with Luke 11:13, we received when we asked God to give us the Holy Spirit, with the evidence of speaking in tongues. When we are baptised in the Holy Spirit, we are filled with God’s supernatural power. If even Jesus needed to be baptised with the Holy Spirit before the start of his ministry (Luke 4:1), before his first miracle performed, how much more us! If you have already received Christ and prayed the salvation prayer, you are a believer and we encourage you to receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit by asking God and praying below:

Suggested prayer to receive baptism of the Holy Spirit:

Dear God,

I recognize my need for Your power to live this life. I ask that You fill me with Your Holy Spirit and I receive Him by faith right now. Thank You for baptizing me, Holy Spirit and I welcome You in my life.

In Jesus name I pray, Amen

If you prayed the above prayer, believe that God has given you the Holy Spirit to you when you ask in faith (Luke 11:10, 13). As Wendell Parr says, when you pray to receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit is not going to drop from heaven on you. He is not going to sneak up on you from behind. But you may ask, where is He going to come from? The Holy Spirit is already on the inside of you so He is going to rise up out of you. As the Holy Spirit rises up and you receive Him and release, He runs over your vocal chords and out comes “tongues”.

When you are baptised in the Holy Spirit, some syllables from a language you do not recognise will rise up from your heart to your mouth (I Corinthians14:14) and that is called praying in tongues – it is your spirit praying. When you are willing to yield your tongue to speak a language your mind cannot control, it is a sign that you are filled with the Holy Spirit. For a long time after understanding the significance of the baptism of the Holy Spirit and desiring to be filled with the Holy Spirit, I still struggled with praying in tongues. I was waiting but I was not opening my mouth to “speak”. Acts 2:4 said that on the day of Pentecost, the disciples began to speak, as the Spirit gave them utterance (Acts 2:4). So, speak out loud this prayer language by faith. It is releasing God’s power from within you and building yourself up in the spirit.

The purpose of the baptism of the Holy Spirit is to give us power to be witnesses for Jesus (Acts 1:8), to release boldness to operate in who we really are in Christ. It also opens up understanding of the word of God (Proverbs 1:23), it is a doorway to the supernatural and operation of the gifts (I Corinthians 12), stirs us up in our faith (Jude 1:20), keeps us in the love of God (Jude 1:21), edifies and refreshes us (I Corinthians 14:4) and expands our prayer life (I Corinthians 14:14-16).

Andrew’s Live Bible Study on Baptism of the Holy Spirit

At some point in your life, you need to receive God’s ability into your life.

Let me give you a really old earthly illustration to make the point clear. You know, I’ve never known anyone personally but I’ve seen a lot of movies and read stories about rich people and it seems like all of these wealthy people have an individual in their house called a butler, that does things for them.

Suppose you are a wealthy person with such a butler. The doorbell rings. The butler answers. The guest is invited in and he is seated in your living room. Now, you are still elsewhere in your house. The question is, is the guest now in your house? Your butler brought him in, seated him in the living room and you’re somewhere in the house, but is the guest in your house?

Yes, he is. He’s in your house but at that moment in time, you have not received him. Are you getting the picture?

And so, when you walk into the living room, you acknowledge his presence, you accept his company, you take his hand and you welcome him then you have received him.

To many, the Holy Spirit is in their house. When you were born again, the Holy Spirit came in.
When I was born again, the Holy Spirit came into my life, but I was like those folks at Ephesus, I have not so much as heard if there be a Holy Spirit. But He came in. So from the time I was born again, the Holy Spirit was in my house.

But it was many years later, after I’d really begun to search the Word and to seek God with all my heart, that I recognized the Holy Spirit and I received Him. I welcomed Him. I acknowledged Him. I gave Him attention. I began to recognize His activity in my life.

Now, when I was baptised in the Holy Spirit, you know what, He didn’t come flying from heaven. He was already in there, been there all those years, probably just at every moment trying to get my attention. But you know, because of my ignorance, I didn’t recognise Him so I had not received Him but then I saw the truth and I received, I acknowledged His presence, I welcomed His presence and recognized His presence. And as I studied the Word, I began to recognize what He could do in and through me, the ability that was now mine. That before I didn’t know I could do, didn’t know that it was possible for me to do those things. But it’s amazing when you give the Holy Spirit the right and the privilege to do things through you and to say things to you, and you give an ear to hear what He is saying, what a transformation takes place.

And so many believers still have not acknowledge or received or recognized the Holy Spirit in their life. And as a result like I did for several years of my Christina life, I tried to do what God wanted me to do, I tried to do what the preacher said I should do as a Christian, but I was doing it all in the power of the flesh. And how many of you know the flesh is weak. And after I had determined that that I was going to live for God and do good, I wore out and I burned out. And I thought to myself “God, I don’t know how to do this, I don’t think I am capable of doing all of this.”

Then, after I received the Holy Spirit, recognized and acknowledged Him on the inside of me, I started doing all the same things I had been trying to do before, but you know what, it wasn’t taking my strength. I was doing it in the strength and the ability and the power of the Holy Spirit and it was a joy to do it. It’s still an excitement to see God do things, and you’re sitting there thinking to yourself “Man, I can’t do this.” When I reflect on all the things I’ve done, people I’ve ministered to, places I’ve been to, there is no way I could that in the power of the flesh.

But I received, I acknowledged, I recognized the Holy Spirit in me, wanting to do the works of Jesus through me. And I know and I know me better than anybody else knows me, and I know I can’t do what I’m doing if the Holy Spirit didn’t enable me to do it.

So folks, receive Jesus’ redemptive work , realize that He took care of everything, receive the right to use His name, and receive the Holy Spirit and guess what, you’ll begin to do the works Jesus did and move on to the greater work.

Wendell Parr

In so many ways, Wendell Parr’s account resonates with us as that was what happened to us as well. Today, we know there are denominations that object to speaking in tongues, yet if we will allow the Bible to get in the way of what we believe or what the traditions of men teach and if we would carefully search out the scriptures, we will know the truth and the truth will set us free (John 8:32). In the Bible, the born again experience and the baptism of the Holy Spirit was 1) explained by Jesus 2) took place in Gospels and Day of Pentecost and 3) continued in Acts. They are separate experiences and the baptism of the Holy Spirit is not automatic, i.e. we need to ask to receive (Luke 11:13).

1. Explained by Jesus
Born Again ExperienceBaptism of the Holy Spirit
Jesus answered and said to her, “Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.” – John 4:13-14On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified. – John 7:37-39
2. Occurred in Gospels and
Day of Pentecost
Born Again ExperienceBaptism of the Holy Spirit
 So Jesus said to them again, “Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.” And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.” – John 20:21-22

[Other cross references to explain I Corinthians 15:45 And so it is written, “The first man Adam became a living being.” The last Adam became a life-giving spirit.

And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being. – Genesis 2:7

See also Romans 5:12-19]




 Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high. – Luke 24:49

But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” – Acts 1:8

When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. – Acts 2:1-4
3. Continued in Acts
Born Again Experience | Baptism of the Holy Spirit
Peter and John with Christians at Samaria
Now when the apostles who were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them, who, when they had come down, prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit. For as yet He had fallen upon none of them. They had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then they laid hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit. – Acts 8:14-17

Peter with Cornelius’ household
While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who heard the word. And those of the circumcision who believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles also. For they heard them speak with tongues and magnify God. Then Peter answered, “Can anyone forbid water, that these should not be baptized who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?” And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord. Then they asked him to stay a few days. – Acts 10:44-48

Paul with Christians at Ephesus
And it happened, while Apollos was at Corinth, that Paul, having passed through the upper regions, came to Ephesus. And finding some disciples  he said to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” So they said to him, “We have not so much as heard whether there is a Holy Spirit.” And he said to them, “Into what then were you baptized?” So they said, “Into John’s baptism.” Then Paul said, “John indeed baptized with a baptism of repentance, saying to the people that they should believe on Him who would come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus.” When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul had laid hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke with tongues and prophesied. Now the men were about twelve in all. – Acts 19:1-7

Dan Mohler gives a very compelling explanation based on scriptures regarding baptism of the Holy Spirit. If the Baptism of the Holy Spirit were automatic, Luke 11:13 would not have said “how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him”.

This teaching also shares a testimony regarding receiving by faith and not being unduly concerned about whether or not one speaks in tongues immediately at the point of prayer.

We see in the scriptures a very clear presentation of the importance of the born again experience and the baptism of the Holy Spirit as explained by Jesus, telling the disciples to tarry and wait for the Promise and how the Apostles would also ask the believers about it and praying for them to receive the Holy Spirit because through that, we receive power to be His witnesses (Acts 1:8).

We share below another more recent sharing by Dan Mohler.

Wendell Parr gives an amazing teaching on the three dispensations of the Holy Spirit in this Charis Bible College Daily Live Bible Study.

Wendell Parr and Greg Mohr‘s teachings on gifts of Holy Spirit have been such a blessing. You can also go on YouTube to search “Wendell Parr Holy Spirit” for more teachings on the gift of the Holy Spirit by him.

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