The entire time I read this chapter and listened to the video on the baptism in the Holy Spirit and the gift of speaking in tongues, I kept thinking back to when my son Sean and I received the baptism of the Spirit and spoke in tongues.

Let me be a witness and recount that experience and show you the ease of this experience. At the time, we attended a traditional Lutheran Church.

One day, as I spoke to the church secretary after service, she (a born-again, Spirit-filled, speaking-in-tongues Christian) briefly told me about being baptized in the Spirit and speaking in tongues. On Monday morning, as I made my one-hour drive to work, I thought about what she said. I still remember the location on the parkway where I said to the Lord, “I want to be baptized and speak in tongues.” Instantly, I received and started speaking in tongues. I never thought there was anything more to it than asking and receiving. When I got home that night, after dinner, I mentioned to my 13-year-old son, Sean, about the experience.

You must realize that Sean was born with a degenerative disease and was born deaf. He had never heard. We used sign language at home. I asked him if he wanted to be baptized and speak in tongues. He said, “Yes.” I don’t remember what I said or did because I had no format to go on. He immediately started speaking in tongues and sang a beautiful song. I asked him what the song meant. He immediately interpreted the song.

Can you imagine! We didn’t know you could sing in the spirit. Nor did we know you could interpret what you said or sang. Nor did it occur to us that you had to hear to receive. God’s mercy, grace, and goodness to his children are so sweet, amazing, and beyond our understanding. I think the hardest part for many people is the ease of receiving. There are no barriers. Only the ones we build ourselves.