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CHAPTER FIFTEEN

THE POWER OF PRAYING IN THE HOLY SPIRIT
“I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I… He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.”
Matthew 3:11
HOLY SPIRIT BAPTISM
There is another dimension of prayer that needs to be mentioned if the intercessor desires to be fully equipped with every tool available for spiritual warfare and personal edification. John the Baptist mentioned an experience called the Baptism in the Holy Spirit. The fact that this experience is recorded in all the gospels indicates its significance to the Christian:
“I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry, He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.” – Matthew 3:11 (see also Mark 1:7-8, Luke 3:16, and John 1:33)

THE HOLY SPIRIT WITHIN – “THE HELPER”
We are not, at this time, given details of this particular experience. But later in Jesus’ ministry, our Lord spoke of another Holy Spirit experience. He told the disciples that He would send (not baptize with) the Holy Spirit to them after He left the earth:
“It is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away the Helper (or Counselor) will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you.” – John 16:7

This work of the Holy Spirit, Jesus said, was the following:
“He will convict the world of sin, of righteousness and of judgment.” – John 16:8
“He, the Spirit of Truth, will guide you in all truth…He will tell you things to come.” – John 16:13
“He will testify of Me…and glorify Me.” – John 15:26 & 16:14

Then on the evening of His resurrection, the fulfillment of this promise of the Helper came. Jesus appeared to the disciples who were gathered behind closed doors for fear of the Jews. At this time He commissioned them and filled them with His Holy Spirit. They were now “Christians” (“anointed ones”) being filled with the Spirit of Christ:
“Peace to you! As the Father has sent me, I also send you. (see Matt. 28:19-20 – the Great Commission) And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit.’” – John 20:19-22

THE “PROMISE OF THE FATHER”

Luke records an interesting statement of Jesus following the issuance of the Great Commission, and before His ascension, in Luke 24. From these words below, we can deduce that whatever He had given them so far, there was something more they needed to fully equip them with power for the job He had called them to. And so He instructed them to go to Jerusalem and wait for it :
“Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high.” – Luke 24:49

Acts 1 picks up this scene, and further explains what the Promise and the Baptism are. It is clear here that this experience with the Holy Spirit is different from the infilling they already had. – This time the Spirit will come upon them in power. The following analogy may be helpful in understanding the difference between these two experiences. If we think of the Holy Spirit as water, receiving the infilling of the Spirit at salvation would be like drinking a glass of water, while receiving the Baptism of power in the Holy Spirit would be like jumping into a swimming pool of water – and being immersed, completely covered over, or baptized.According to the passage below, this new Baptism of Power was primarily for more effective service and witnessing to fulfill the Great Commission. :
“And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, ‘which,’ He said, ‘you have heard from Me; for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now’ …. (and) ‘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 1:4,5 & 8

The above phrase “witnesses to Me” suggests not merely needing power to preach the Gospel and tell about Jesus, but the importance of demonstrating the life and works of Christ:  Witnessing to the power of a holy life baptized with the Spirit of God.  As some wise person once said, “preach the Gospel and sometimes use words.”  The Apostle Paul depended upon this Holy Spirit empowerment in his ministry:
And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man’s wisdom but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power. – 1 Corinthians 2:4

Jesus said of the ministry of the Believer:
He who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these
will he do…  –  John 14:12

PENTECOST BAPTISM

And so the disciples obediently returned to Jerusalem and gathered in prayer waiting for this Promise to come:
“Then they returned to Jerusalem…and they went up into the upper room…and continued with one accord in prayer and supplication…” – Acts 1:12-14

Acts 2 records the day of the Holy Spirit Baptism that they had been waiting for. This was the celebration of the feast of Pentecost. It was no coincidence that the Lord chose this particular day to send His empowerment to the fledgling Church. The day of Pentecost did not originate with the New Testament Church. For centuries the Feast of Pentecost on the Jewish calendar had been a celebration of the barley harvest. So on this day, while the Jews were gathered in Jerusalem to celebrate the agricultural harvest, God was equipping them to bring in the Harvest of souls from the nations. – Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the ends of the earth!

“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, 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.” (verse 4)

BAPTISM FOR PRAYER POWER
WHY TONGUES?

Here was the “baptism of Holy Spirit and fire” that the gospel accounts mentioned earlier. We see from the passage above that the evidence of the Baptism was “speaking with other tongues.” In this particular case, it goes on to explain that the tongues were given to these Galilean men so that all who were gathered in Jerusalem (from other nations) could hear “in our own tongues the wonderful works of God.” (verse 11)

In Romans 8:26 we see another function of tongues: empowering prayer:
“Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.”

The word “weakness” (or in the King James version, “infirmities”) in this passage literally means dullness of perception and inability to achieve results. We do not know how to pray as we ought because we lack spiritual perception and discernment. And so we cannot, in our own strength, achieve the results we, and God, desire. Therefore, He has given us His Spirit to pray through us and for us, as we yield our tongues to Him. Praying in tongues is, indeed, a powerful weapon of spiritual warfare.

Not only does the Spirit pray through us and for us in intercession, but He also prays in us to edify and build up our faith. Even when we are baptized in the Spirit, we need “recharging” from time to time. We know that all that God has provided for us we access by FAITH, and so we need to have our faith continually rejuvenated. We see in Jude that one of the ways to accomplish this is to pray in the Holy Spirit:
“But you, beloved, building yourself up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit…” – Jude 20
So we see from these passages that praying in tongues (or praying in the Holy Spirit) is given for power in service, for power in prayer, and for personal edification.

BAPTISM FOR MINISTRY GIFTS

Besides tongues, there are other power and revelatory ministry gifts that are manifested through the Baptism in the Holy Spirit. Paul listed a total of nine such spiritual gifts in 1 Corinthians 12:7-10:
“…the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all: for to one is given theword of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge…to another faith…to another gifts of healings…to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to anotherdiscerning of spirits, to another different kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues.”

BUILDING UP THE BODY

Paul taught much about the use of these spiritual gifts in 1 Corinthians chapters 12-14. He instructed that in the worship service the gifts should be focused on building up the Body of Christ. For instance, in giving instruction on exercising tongues in corporate worship, he emphasized, “God is not the author of confusion, but of peace” (1 Corinthians 14:33). Therefore, he taught that, though tongues was very significant, prophecy was more edifying than tongues in the corporate worship setting:
“I thank my God I speak with tongues more than you all; yet in the church I would rather speak five words with my understanding, that I may teach others also, than ten thousand words in a tongue.” – 1 Corinthians 14:18-19

“He who speaks in a tongue edifies himself, but he who prophecies edifies the church. I wish you all spoke with tongues, but even more that you prophesied…that the church may receive edification.” – 1 Corinthians 14:4-5

“Since you are zealous for spiritual gifts, let it be for the edification of the church that you seek to excel. Therefore let him who speaks with a tongue pray that he may interpret. For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays but my understanding is unfruitful…(therefore) I will pray with the spirit, and I will also pray with the understanding.” – 1 Corinthians 14:12-15
He concluded, “Therefore, brethren, desire earnestly to prophesy (and interpret), and do not forbid to speak with tongues.” (1 Corinthians 14:39)

EMPOWERING THE CHURCH

…The Baptism is for all

The book of Acts is designated in Scripture as the “Acts of the Apostles,” but could also be titled: the “Acts of the Holy Spirit.” For throughout the pages of this book are the glorious accounts of the ministry of the Holy Spirit empowering the Church. Through these scriptures we see that God is no respecter of persons: “But in every nation whoever fears Him and works righteousness is accepted by Him.” (Acts 10:30) We see in these accounts how the Baptism came upon the Samaritans, Gentiles, and Jews alike. We also see clearly the difference between Holy Spirit Baptism and water baptism, or the “baptism of John” for salvation. In Acts 8:14-17, for example, we read the account of the Samaritans, who had already received salvation, receiving the Holy Spirit Baptism:
“When the apostles…heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them, who…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 in Acts 10:44-48 we read the account of the Gentiles receiving the Holy Spirit Baptism, even before they received water baptism. Apparently there was belief among the Jews that the salvation experience was not for uncircumcised Gentiles. But God taught them a lesson. While Peter was preaching to the Gentiles, the Holy Spirit moved:
“While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who heard the word. And (the Jews) who believed were astonished…because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles also. For they heard them speak with other 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.”

How did the Jews know that the Gentiles had received the Baptism? They spoke with other tongues and magnified God.

In Acts 19:2-6, we read an account of Jewish disciples receiving the Holy Spirit Baptism, like the Samaritans, after being baptized with a baptism of John, or the baptism of repentance:
(Paul) 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.’ Paul said, ‘John baptized with a baptism of repentance, saying to the people that they should believe …on Jesus Christ.’ When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul laid hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke with other tongues and prophesied.’’

…The Baptism is for today

Just like the growing church in the book of Acts, there are those today who don’t understand that there is a Pentecostal experience – the Holy Spirit Baptism – to empower the Church in these last days. According to the words of the Lord through the Apostle Peter in Acts 2:16-18:
“This (Holy Spirit Baptism with evidence of speaking in tongues) is what was spoken by the prophet Joel*: And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, That I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your young men shall see visions, your old men shall dream dreams, and on My menservants and on My Maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days…” *Joel 2:28-32

We are now living in the days that Joel was writing about nearly 3000 years ago. This prophetic manifestation is not something sensational to build personal ministries or to bring attention to any man. This is not about those who “have” and those who “have not.” The Baptism in the Holy Spirit was given by God to His Church, His Body, so we can be fully equipped for spiritual warfare and personal ministry to advance His Kingdom in the earth.

The weapons, tools and strategies we have been talking about in Part Two are indeed “mighty in God for pulling down strongholds,” casting down everything that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing every thought obedient to Christ. (2 Corinthians 10:4-50) Use them often in “offensive” warfare and watch the enemy flee! (James 4:7)