Once you have opened yourself to the Spirit, do not expect the Holy Spirit to grab your tongue and force you to speak. He has given you a free will. The Spirit is a gentleman who will never push you. Satan will push you; the Holy Spirit will guide or lead you. The Spirit will give you the words (it may begin with syllables, sounds, or stammering fragments of words), but you must yield to Him in three areas: your lips, your tongue, and your vocal chords. As you do, a heavenly language will start bubbling up from your spirit like a percolator. It may only be one syllable at first. But as you yield by faith to speak that syllable, more will continue to come. Again, everything is received from God by faith. The gift of tongues is no different. Just speak what He gives you by faith, and though you may begin with a stammering lip, what you utter will eventually become a fully developed language.

Greater Levels

The reason I spent the majority of the last two chapters discussing the gift of tongues is that I believe God wants us to have a heavenly language that connects us more deeply to Him and unites His people for His kingdom purposes. The Holy Spirit’s passion (His desire) is for all men and women to know Jesus. As we grow in intimacy and partnership with Him, He will lift up our eyes and reveal the world to us in a new light. We will see a world in desperate need of Christ, but we will also see and know by His Spirit how we can play our part in making Christ known.

I hope you have enjoyed this introduction to the Spirit of God. All that you have learned in these chapters is truly a small taste of His infinite, eternal, matchless wonder—and He longs to take you to greater levels every single day of your life. I encourage you to read this book again from time to time so that the Spirit can quicken your heart to know Him in new and deeper ways.

The Holy Spirit delights in revealing Jesus to you. Honor His presence and invite Him into every area of your life, not just the “spiritual” ones. He has promised never to leave you or forsake you—enjoy that amazing promise every minute of every day. As you read God’s Word and spend time in His presence, you will come to know the Spirit more and more intimately. The exciting news is that it is an endless journey. There will always be more that He longs to reveal to you. Don’t settle for what you’ve heard, seen, or known. Challenge the limits of your understanding by allowing the Spirit of Jesus Christ to rule your life. As you do, I believe that you will see the glory and majesty of God displayed in your world like never before.