Re: Sounds like a Baptism in the Holy Spirit.

Refreshed: I believe my very first experience with the Holy Spirit is where my huge love of Jesus came from...so I can't say that the speaking in tongues experience made it an extremely closer experience.

MST: Reading this blessed me :). I had a similar experience where the huge love for the Lord hit me and similarly there was no tongues involved.

Refreshed: Of course any gift brings one closer I think. It mostly helped me feel purged of something. Sin, guilt, shame...who knows. I just felt lighter and burden free afterwards.

MST: Myself, i feel that even though the tongues accompanied this purging in this instance, these seem like two separate blessings. I have prayed with a lot of people who described this kind of purging but without the tongues :).

Refreshed: I have always said if the Lord never did another supernatural thing in my life, I would still always hold on to the very first and only time that I heard His voice. It created so much faith for me. How could I not believe and love Him when He revealed Himself in such a personal way? It changed my life forever and that is when I feel the Holy Spirit came into my life in a big way. Even without the speaking in tongues.

MST: Amen, i can very much relate to what you have said here and share in all of it.

Refreshed: So no, I don't fit your pattern exactly...but I have never believed that God is going to fit anyone's pattern. He has His own I feel sure.

MST: Amen, yes He's a great and mighty and creative God, not a God in a box. I do feel He tends to gift people in certain ways though and not others, like certain people are much more likely to release certain specific blessings into others through their prayers while not other blessings. maybe the Lord designed it this way to make the journey more interesting for everybody. Like, "if you want to fall more deeply in love with me, go to this person and s/he will pray it for you, if you want tongues or visions, go to this other person". The key being to have an open heart and to seek His living voice for guidance. Of course the Lord sometimes and even often seems to pour out different blessings all on His own without the participation of His servants being a requirement. I do believe He delights in using us for such things though and for all aspects of His work.

As an example of seemingly specific giftings, when i pray for people many have felt His love and presence for the first time, have fallen in love with Him for the first time, experienced His immense peace and joy, got instant deliverance and emotional and physical healing... (all for the first time in many cases), but not one time in hundreds has anybody received tongues :). It's like i have no anointing for praying tongues into people, at least not as yet :). Also, i don't have waking visions like some do, don't walk in the seeing of angels or anything else in the Spirit realm, or traveled in my Spirit to heaven, though some people have seen angels for the first time ever while i was praying for them, or seen visions, though this has been relatively rare as if not a primary specific gifting the Lord has given me to help others to receive.

I believe that if we delight in doing the Lord's work, love people and want to see them blessed, people will sometimes receive specific blessings through our prayers that they would never have received this side of heaven if we hadn't been obedient in doing our part in His work. Tweet