Though we believe it is true that you can be saved without what we now call the Baptism of the Holy Spirit, I’m not sure about that. It may well be true that this empowerment of the Holy Spirit is actually required. I do know that for most of us, if we want this immersion into the power of the Holy Spirit, we need to ask for it. In general, it comes with the laying on of hands by believers who have already received this empowerment with the manifestation of the ministry gifts of the Holy Spirit.

At this point, our communication with God is greatly enlarged. The gifts of the Holy Spirit listed in I Corinthians 12 become much more active in our lives. The Holy Spirit has much easier access to our consciousness once we have given Him permission to do that. Praying in tongues is a powerful tool to help us communicate with God and access His power. Prophecy gives us concrete examples of the mind of God. But it is all still external as far as intimate communication is concerned. It is still watching the Lord work even though He is working within us.

Entering oneness with the Father

More and more I find that I want to understand God better. I want to be able to talk with Him. Not just ask Him for things and not just hear Him give me directions, but I increasingly want to discuss things with Him—have a dialog.

After all, I want to follow Jesus and do what He and the Father want me to do. God’s opinions and advice are what I seek and what I want. His opinion is the one that counts. It’s dawned on me that I need to ask for this also.

Don’t hesitate to pray now

Ask the Lord for that oneness Jesus talked about and that you hope for. We’ll get more specific as we go. But asking as we go is a good thing also.