Q: I have been experiencing internal conflict for 20 years. I understand in my mind that I love God and want to live according to His commandments, but I do not feel this love and joy in my heart. Guilt plagues me for not relying on God completely, and I’m tired of medication and constant internal struggle. How can I attain inner harmony?

A.  I believe we have some really good news for anyone struggling like this. You may have already been saved, but there is a second experience that holds so much power for believers that I want to tell you about, and it’s called the baptism of the Holy Spirit.

In Matthew 3:11, John the Baptist says, “I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.”

We see in this verse that Jesus is the Baptizer in the Holy Spirit, and I can tell you that when His Spirit fills us, we have the power to overcome things like depression, anxiety, and pride.

Before I got baptized in the Holy Spirit, I was a Christian, and I loved Jesus as much as I could, but I didn’t know that there was power. Whatever I felt, I felt; whatever I wanted to do, I did; I couldn’t even witness to anybody.  I was religious, and I knew Jesus, but I didn’t have any power.

But when I asked the Lord to baptize me with the Holy Spirit, my life completely changed. I got right up from where I was sitting, and I immediately went and witnessed to a Jewish girl, and she got saved four days later. I went to my mother and apologized to her for not having a right attitude towards her. The Lord spoke to me about my clothes, so I started dressing more modestly, and He filled me with His joy!

Many times when people get baptized in the Holy Spirit, the Lord gives us a new language.  This is called speaking in tongues, and it’s the language of your spirit. You won’t understand what you’re saying, because it’s not going to be from your mind — it’s going to be out of your spirit. The Bible says that when you speak in tongues, you’re building up your faith. By letting the Holy Spirit speak, you are just recharging your spiritual batteries, friend!

If you’re a born-again Christian who is still struggling like this, then it sounds like this is exactly what you want, so I want you to pray right now. Just put yourself in that place of seeking the Lord and open your heart to Him. Go ahead and ask Him. Just say, “Jesus, baptize me with the Holy Spirit and with power and fire. I want to be filled with your Holy Spirit. I want to be able to witness to people. Lord, right now, I’m asking you, baptize me with the Holy Spirit.”

If you are struggling to pray with this for yourself, I would encourage you to call our prayer team. Sometimes, we need other believers to help us in our prayers, and we would love to do this for you. Just call1.844.473.6637 so we can pray with you and for you, or you can even just email us at denisesocial@renner.org. I just hope you will contact us, because I think that this baptism is really the answer to what you’re facing right now.