As we saw yesterday, when we are born again the Holy Spirit comes to live in us. There is another experience with the Holy Spirit called the “Baptism of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 3:11).

The word "baptize" means to immerse or submerge. To be covered entirely, saturated, and absorbed. To be baptized with the Holy Spirit is to be completely saturated with the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives.

Why is this so important?

Jesus instructed His disciples not to go anywhere until the Holy Spirit had baptized them with the power to be witnesses. What happened next was amazing. As the Holy Spirit fell on the disciples they begun speaking in new tongues and boldly declaring the message of Jesus, and immediately people were saved. The Holy Spirit gave them the power to do what they couldn't do by themselves. It made them bold and courageous. They were able to preach the gospel with power!

"And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name, they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues" (Mark 16:17 NKJV).

In the book of Acts we see that those who were baptized in the Holy Spirit began to speak in other tongues (Acts 2:1-4; Acts 2:32; Acts 8:14-24; Acts 10:44-48; Acts 19:1-7).

From the above scriptures we can see that speaking in tongues is one of the signs of being filled with the Holy Spirit. The purpose of the Baptism is for power, but the evidence is often the speaking in tongues.

Why do we pray in tongues?

Praying in the spirit is like our own ‘personal’ prayer language. There are times and situations when we do not know how to pray for someone or something. It is during these times that the best thing to do is to pray in the language of the Spirit (Romans 8:26).

When we pray in the Spirit, our minds do not understand what we are saying. Praying in the Spirit will strengthen your inner spirit man. In 1 Corinthians 4:14 and Jude 19-20 the Bible explains that speaking in a tongue edifies you, meaning you are 'building yourself up'.

For us to live a victorious, overcoming life and to walk in boldness and courage, we need the power of the Holy Spirit.