~ A place to find answers to gnawing spiritual questions ~
Question: I want to go all the way with the Lord. I feel an overwhelming drawing from the Lord. I have sincerely prayed, but it's like there is no change. How do you surrender all to the Lord? How do you know when it happens? Also, I've been seeking the Baptism of the Holy Ghost. How does one receive the Holy Ghost? Please I'm miserable and I need answers. I want to be ready when Jesus comes.Answer: Your letter has been received and prayerfully considered. What a fantastic letter it is! Praise the Lord for that great spiritual desire you are feeling. God is moving in your life to accomplish something great.
I want to go all the way with the Lord.
You are heading in the right direction. A half-way experience with Jesus just doesn't work.
I feel an overwhelming drawing from the Lord.
This is actually the fulfillment of a promise: "Draw nigh to God and he will draw nigh to you" (James 4:8). He is drawing close to you because you are seeking more of Him...and, I'm happy to tell you, it gets better!
I have sincerely prayed, but it's like there is no change.
What do you mean? What sort of change are you expecting? Are you struggling with something that needs to be changed in your life? You are doing the right thing by sincerely praying. It is important to do it seriously, long enough and in the right way to feel the effects.
A few things to keep in mind:
- Confess and repent of any known sin. "If I regard iniquity in my heart the Lord will not hear me."
- Pray from your heart, not from any prayer book. It sounds like you are already doing that.
- Have faith when you pray. Know that the Lord is there hearing every word and that He wants you to be close to him even more than you want to be close to Him.
- Take time to worship and love the Lord, just because of who He is, not asking for anything.
- Spend time praising Him, thanking Him for everything you can think of. He deserves praise.
- Be sure to read your Bible each day. That is the Lord's way of speaking to you.
How do you surrender all to the Lord? How do you know when it happens?
How does a woman say "yes" to her fiancé's proposal: "Will you marry me?" She thinks it over. She knows she loves Him. She considers the cost: leaving home, job, taking on new responsibilities, etc. She is willing to give up her present life, to begin a life of pleasing and loving her husband. She recognizes her longing to be with Him forever, and with everything in her she responds, YES!
That's about how it is with surrendering to the Lord. After prayerful consideration you come to the place where you can truly, with all your heart say: Lord I give myself completely to you. Whatever you want in my life is what I want. I surrender my own will to yours. I say YES LORD to anything you want. Take me, break me, mold me, fill me.
You will know that it has happened when you find yourself submitting yourself to what God wants even in small things daily. You will sometimes change your own plans or activities just because you sense the Lord wants something different.
There is a great peace and fellowship with the Lord that accompanies a full surrender to Him. You can say it out loud daily: "Lord, I am yours and you are mine. I am in your hands."
Also, I've been seeking the Baptism of the Holy Ghost. How does one receive the Holy Ghost?
Jesus said, "Tarry... until ye be endued with power from on high.." (Luke 24:49). He called it the Promise of the Father. So the first step is to "Tarry," which means taking time to wait in prayer UNTIL it happens.
I remember how the Lord baptized me with the Holy Ghost when I was 10 years old. And that same experience has continued to be alive and powerful until this present day and I am now 58 years old. Each day I am vividly aware of His infilling.
- Get yourself in a good Pentecostal church where people pray at the altar, and worship from their hearts throughout the service. Some churches are simply "dead," and it is difficult to gain spiritually there. But if you have no choice, you still can grow spiritually, if you pray on your own.
- Go to the place of prayer very frequently while you are seeking to be filled. My mother wanted me to receive the Baptism of the Holy Spirit so badly that she took me to churches almost every night of the week. She called around and found different ones having revival services, etc; and we went, on train, on bus, walking... but we got there. Every service I went to the altar and earnestly prayed, asking the Lord to fill me. Others gathered around me and prayed with me. Then also, spend time alone in prayer at home, or in another private place, a walk in the woods, or wherever you can really pray. Concentrate on what you want! Be earnest! Go after it.
- Cater to your spiritual hunger. Help it to grow. Avoid things that kill spiritual desire, like worldly pleasures, filling yourself with TV, reading fleshly materials, hanging with a carnal crowd, any bad attitudes. You can't become spiritual or grow spiritually if you continually feed the carnal flesh. "For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the spirit ..the thikngs of the Spirit. for to be carnally minded is death: but to be spiritually minded is life and peace" (Romans 8:6-7).
- Pray out loud, lifting up your hands in surrender and worship. "Call upon me and I will answer thee and show thee great and might things that thou knowest not" (Jeremiah 33:3). You can't do a good job of CALLING if you remain silent. Open your mouth. Lift your voice. Put your mind on the Lord. Seek Him. Don't worry about what others say.
- You can't baptize yourself, and no one else can baptize you by having you repeat words after them, etc; Jesus is the Baptizer, and in His time you will begin to feel that mighty power of God coming over you. You may weep, shout. But on the day of Pentecost they were all filled with the Holy Ghost and began to speak with other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.
You may find your lips quivering as the Spirit of God begins to take full control. You will soon find yourself speaking in a brand new language that you never studied. You don't think the words in advance. The spirit bypasses the mind and speaks through your voice and mouth. You are glorifying God in a heavenly language, which is the initial sign or evidence that you have indeed been Baptized with the Holy Spirit.
I hope this helps you and stirs you to keep seeking. What joy and thrill will be yours on that day!
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