This truth was confirmed to me in the 1960s during the move of God in the denominational churches that we call the charismatic movement. I was one of the speakers at a meeting, alongside an Episcopal priest named Brother Patterson. As he was teaching on the baptism of the Holy Spirit, Brother Patterson recounted an incident that occurred during one of his meetings when a man stood up at the back of the auditorium during his teaching and challenged him.

As not everyone could hear the gentleman in the audience, Brother Patterson, a very kind and soft-spoken man, said, “Brother, if you have something to say, come down here where everyone can hear it.”

The man, who was obviously upset, stepped forward, and Brother Patterson handed him the microphone. The man said, “I was saying that I am a pastor [and he mentioned his denomination], but I do not speak in tongues. But I am just as filled with the Holy Spirit as you or anyone else! I don’t speak in tongues, and I don’t need to speak in tongues!”

Brother Patterson then took back the microphone and said:

“Dear brother, if you are content with what you have, that’s perfectly fine with us. If you don’t want anything more from God or if you have everything you need from God…”

“Oh, no!” the pastor interrupted. “I didn’t say I don’t want more of God.”

Brother Patterson said, “The way you were talking, I thought you had everything you wanted from God.”

“Oh, no, no, no, no,” the man said, “I want more of God. I would like…”

Before the pastor could say more, Brother Patterson placed his hand on his head and said, “Lord, he wants more. Give him more.” And that pastor was filled with the Spirit and began speaking in tongues right then!

This happened because the man desired more of God. He was open to the idea of continuing with God, but he hadn’t realized that to get more of God, he needed to speak in tongues! This denominational pastor had already been introduced to the Holy Spirit at the new birth, but that day, he entered into a new dimension of his walk with God—deeper and further than he had ever been before!

This text is an excerpt from the book “The Power of Speaking in Tongues: Everything you want to know about Speaking in Tongues” written by Kenneth Erwin Hagin.

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