Steps to Receive the Holy Spirit

Earlier, we ran an article about receiving the Holy Spirit. In this article, we want to tell you how to do so.

Here are steps you will find helpful when you pray to receive the Holy Spirit:

First of all, close your eyes, and close out everybody else. Remember that Jesus is right there by you, to baptize you in the Holy Ghost. It’s going to be you and God.
Give him praises.

Lift your face and hands to him; he will bless you. It’s not going to come from below; it’s going to come from above as you lift your arms in an attitude of worship. When you receive a gift from somebody, you reach out your hands for it. This is the most priceless gift of all. You reach out your arms to Almighty God, and Jesus will baptize you in the Holy Ghost.
Start to praise Jesus, first in your own language, and at the moment when hands are laid on you, stop speaking in your own language and start speaking in tongues. You cannot speak two languages at the same time. You cannot speak English and Spanish at the same moment. God wants to give you his heavenly language, and you’ve got to be available to do that. As you praise him, he fills you with the Holy Spirit.
Don’t listen to anybody else, don’t try to copy somebody else, and don’t think of what to say. This comes from heaven. You don’t have to think it out, just yield your lips to the Holy Spirit and start to speak. As the Spirit prompts you, he will give you the words to say. Don’t tell me it doesn’t happen; we’ve seen it happen again and again.
And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.” (John 20:22 ESV)

After the resurrection Jesus appeared to his disciples, and the Bible says that “he breathed on them.” Now, how do you breathe on somebody? You exhale, you breathe out on them. Then Jesus said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit!” So, what is Jesus saying? He’s breathing out, and now he’s saying, you take it in, receive it in your spirit.

Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water’” (John 7:37-38 ESV).

How do you drink? You take some water, and you receive it into you. You drink it. Now these are physical examples. You don’t get the Holy Spirit by the drinking or the breathing. You get the Holy Spirit when your Spirit begins to do that. When you in your heart and spirit say, “Yes, Lord, I receive,” the Holy Spirit comes in. A lot of people get down and pray, and they say, “Oh Lord, fill me, fill me, Lord!” instead of just receiving. Receiving is the way to get it.

There’s a difference between asking and receiving. Asking is passive, receiving is active! Yes, ask for the Holy Spirit, then begin to receive, just open up. Nobody else is going to come in except the Holy Spirit. Jesus is going to give Him to you. You just need to receive. The Bible teaches distinctly that it is a gift. You cannot earn it, or work for it. It is there for the taking. The Promise is for you, too!