Tap Into God’s Power

Changed by the Power 
It takes an encounter with the Holy Spirit to receive the power to do what God wants a believer to accomplish in his life. I had this kind of experience in 1972, while I was in college.

I had become depressed because of some circumstances in my life, and I was beginning to have trouble at school. My hands sometimes shook so much that it was difficult for me to play the piano. Each day I would force myself to sit down to practice, but I had to work to steady my hands on the keyboard. You can imagine the seriousness of this situation as I was earning a degree in music education.

One day a friend gave me a book that described the Holy Spirit.

I knew that the Holy Spirit was God, but I was not intimately acquainted with Him. I had heard about what I thought were weird practices, such as speaking in tongues, laying hands on the sick and falling on the floor. But I had met only one or two people who claimed that they actually spoke in tongues.

The book explained that it was important to invite the Holy Spirit to take complete control in your life, and it described speaking in tongues. I was somewhat afraid because I had heard many bizarre stories about people who rolled on the floor and acted strange after being filled with the Spirit.

But I decided to study further. So I read the book of Acts. When I did, Acts 1:8, the verse I quoted previously about receiving power, leaped off the page.

Finally I believed I was as ready as I would ever be to have a serious talk with God about the Holy Spirit. Though I had many questions, I was particularly concerned about speaking in tongues.

At last, my desperation overrode my fears. Sitting cross-legged on the floor, I started to pray: “Dear God, there isn’t any gift You have for me that I don’t want. So, if You want to give me more of the power of the Holy Spirit and the gift of tongues, I want to receive them.”

For a few moments, nothing happened—then all of a sudden it was as if God opened up heaven and poured peace into every part of me. I had never seen anyone lift his hands in the air to worship God; nonetheless, I lifted mine.

I basked in the peace for as long as I could, but after a while I had to get ready for school. As soon as I stepped into the shower, I started to sing—only it wasn’t like any singing I had ever done, and it wasn’t in English!

Wow, I thought, this is amazing! I had never sung so beautifully.

In fact, the sounds coming out of my mouth were more heavenly than anything I could have made with my own earthly style—with or without voice lessons! I sang all the verses of “Are You Washed in the Blood?” in a language that sounded like German.

Next I sang “The Old Rugged Cross.” I was having a wonderful time! When I finished the second song, I wondered, Can I sing all those verses again in the same way?

By that point I was singing in a different language. It sounded like French. Though I did not know all the languages, I am sure that, as I continued, I sang not only in German and French, but in other languages as well.

The peace of God continued to wash over my soul. The depression lifted, and joy took its place.

Other changes became evident as well. First, the Scriptures came alive. There was so much in the Bible that I had read but never understood in my 15 years as a Christian. (I accepted the Lord into my life at 5 and was 20 at the time of this experience.) But after my experience I began to gain insight into what I was reading.

Second, I became bolder in witnessing. I indeed received power to witness when the Holy Spirit came upon me.

Finally, I began to walk in the supernatural in a way I never had before. For example, I had words of knowledge about people that could have come only from God.

In the beginning, I wasn’t sure how to cooperate with what had occurred in my life when I invited the Holy Spirit in with all His fullness. One thing I was certain of, however, was that I was radically changed.

And I was pleased to discover that becoming supernaturally natural doesn’t make you weird, as I had thought it would. On the contrary! Rather than acting as if you are from the moon, you walk around with the power of the Holy Spirit and do what comes naturally, only from the perspective of the heavenly realm. When you flow in this manner, even unbelievers will be awed by the amazing power of God. Even though their heads might not truly understand what is happening, their hearts will attest that God is at work.