I’ve been a Christian my whole life and asked God for the Holy Spirit multiple times. I have done everything the Bible says to do to receive. What do I do to receive the Holy Spirit?
There are two answers to this question. First, every person who believes in Jesus, praise the prayer of salvation, and becomes a Christian receives the Holy Spirit at salvation. Paul says that we are sealed with the Holy Spirit at salvation (Ephesians 1:13-14).
There’s nothing more you need to do except to accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior and follow him. You have the Holy Spirit if you are saved. Now begins a lifetime of learning to hear his voice and obey him.
Second, the Holy Spirit empowers every Christian to live and serve more effectively for him. It begins with the baptism in the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:5, 8; 2:1-4). When you are baptized in the Holy Spirit by Jesus, you speak in a language you did not learn.
This language can be the language of men (Acts 2:5-8) or of angels (1 Corinthians 13:1). At least three times in the book of Acts when people received the Holy Spirit, they spoke in tongues (Acts 2:1-4; 10:44-48; 19:1-7).
Seeking the baptism of the Holy Spirit requires waiting on the Lord. We must expectedly wait to receive from him. Jesus instructed the apostles to wait in Jerusalem until they received the promise of the Father (Acts 1:4-5).
Avoid others trying to coax or coach you into speaking in tongues. It must be a supernatural work of the Holy Spirit. But one of the best ways I’ve found people receive is through praise and worship. Praising God gets our thoughts off of ourselves and off of wanting to receive and places them on God. He does the rest.
No matter how long it takes to wait on the Lord to receive the baptism in the Holy Spirit, continue to seek him eagerly and expectantly. Focus more on God then receiving the baptism. God promised that we would receive this powerful gift from him. He always fulfills his promises.
The Holy Spirit also empowers us with gifts for service to him. You can find these gifts in 1 Corinthians 12-14, Romans 12, 1 Peter 4, and Ephesians 4. They are all gifts of service that help us to serve God and his people.
