How to Receive the Holy Spirit

Receiving the Holy Spirit is a action that comes after getting born again. It is also known as being filled with the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues. It is a requirement for every Christian. There will be no successful Christianity without the Holy Spirit at the helm of affairs. The Holy Spirit is the one who empowers a Christian to live the Christian life. Since he (the Holy Spirit) was the one who empowered Jesus, how much equally do we need him to empower us.

Receiving the HS ought to be as easy as getting born again. But due to unbelief, ignorance or any other reason, it appears to be something difficult to do. Many people go years looking for the Holy Spirit as though he’s lost, but with the right tutelage and knowledge, the HS can be received easily.

5 Steps to Receiving the Holy Spirit

1. You must be born again: There is something that precedes receiving the HS: receiving Jesus into your heart. The Holy Spirit cannot reside in a heart where Jesus is not present. When you invite Jesus into your heart, then he (the HS) can come in and stay.

Apostle Peter, in Acts 2:38, puts this in clarity, “Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.”

From Peter’s statement, we can adduce that to receive the Holy Spirit you have to:

- Repent from your sins

- Receive Jesus into your heart

- Then, you can receive the Holy Spirit

Before receiving the HS, it’s requisite to be born again because the Holy Spirit is, as his name implies, Holy, and he’ll only reside in a house ready-made for his coming, in holiness. Since receiving Jesus into your heart makes you Holy (whether or not your behavior says so), then the Holy Spirit can also come into your heart to reside.

2. Be thirsty for him: Jesus made a profound and important statement about being thirsty in John 7:37. He associates it with receiving the Holy Spirit (v. 39). The statement was this: “If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink.” Did you notice that he said “any man”? That means it’s open to everybody. Whosoever is thirsty should come unto him and drink.

Desire is very important in receiving the Holy Spirit. He would not go where he’s not invited. He needs to know you want him. Apart from that, you also have to know why you want him. Recognizing the reason you need something creates a sense of dissatisfaction that makes you crave it even more. God’s love it when you yearn for him.

3. Recognize and look up to Jesus as the baptizer: One of the most important things that need to be noted is that there is no man on the earth that can fill anyone with the Holy Spirit. Jesus is the Baptizer—not man. And if your faith goes towards him, you’ll receive the Holy Spirit freely.

Remember, he said in John 7:37, “If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink.” You see, he already told you where to go—go to him.

It might be that you had been looking at all the wrong places for the right thing, no. Look towards Jesus. He is the one whom the Holy Spirit came to replace. He is the one whom the Holy Spirit glorifies. He is in charge of the Baptism. The Holy Spirit is simply here to do what Jesus would have done if he was still on earth. And he’s ever willing to give the HS to anyone who yearns to receive him.

4. Be open to learn how to receive: Part of what you’re doing by reading this article is what this 4^th step is saying: learn how to receive him. There’s a couple of ways you can receive the HS. They are listed thus:

- Through the spoken word. John 20:22: “And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost.”

- By laying on of hands. Acts 8:17: “Then laid they their hands on them, and they received the Holy Ghost.”

- By your longing. John 7:37: “If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink.”

- Through hearing the word of God. Acts 10:44: “While Peter yet spake these words, the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word.”

5. Make a specific demand for him: You can ask for the Holy Spirit by prayer. Jesus enunciates this in Luke 11:13, “If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?”

The words ‘how much more’ accentuates his desire to give the Holy Ghost to anyone who desires him. When you receive the Holy Spirit, it comes with the evidence of speaking in tongues. If you’d free yourself and allow his heavenly vocabulary come through your lips, you’ll find yourself speaking in tongues.

That’s the main scriptural sign that you’ve received the Holy Ghost. Any other evidence is secondary. Speaking in unknown tongues is the primary evidence. So ask for the HS and begin to speak in tongues fluently, as he gives you the utterance.