Acts 2:1-4 says, “1When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. 2And suddenly there came from heaven a noise like a violent rushing wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3And there appeared to them tongues as of fire distributing themselves, and they rested on each one of them. 4And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit was giving them utterance.”

The day of Pentecost in Acts 2 was the church’s birthday, which was marked with an encounter of the Holy Spirit. Unity welcomed the Holy Spirit, and unity sustained His presence. Ephesians 4:3 says, “Be faithful to guard the sweet harmony of the Holy Spirit among you in the bonds of peace.” Our main goal should be to guard unity in the Spirit by being peacemakers rather than peace destroyers! The 120 were gathered together in unity, and this unity attracted the covering of the Holy Spirit, whose mission was to make 120 duplicates of Jesus Christ on the earth! One of the evidences of the Holy Spirit filling these individuals was the gift of speaking in other tongues. 

When you are baptized in the Holy Spirit, you have died to your own will and flesh to carry the nature and gifts of the Holy Spirit. When you are filled with the Spirit, you are filled with His character and nature, insomuch that the same breath and wind in the holy of holies and upper room now moves within you. You can speak with and operate in the same authority on earth as Christ does in heaven!

Nonetheless, in the present-day church of America, instead of welcoming the Holy Spirit, some have dishonored Him in the Pentecostal/Charismatic realm:

1. We have treated the baptism of the Holy Spirit as a form of “peer pressure” in the church, showing that speaking in tongues is the evidence that one has received the Holy Spirit. People just want the gift to say they have the gift, but they are not taught how to “build their faith” by praying in the Spirit (Jude 20). 1 Corinthians 14:2 says, “For one who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God; for no one understands, but in his spirit he speaks mysteries.” Praying in tongues is about speaking the language of heaven, from your spirit directly to the throne room of heaven. Praying in the spirit is more than praying in tongues, but it is following the direction and leading of the Spirit so that we can pray the mind of Christ on earth as it is in heaven. The Holy Spirit searches the mind of Christ and intercedes for the saints according to the will of God (Romans 8:26-27). We must remove the pressure insomuch that instead of seeking to speak in tongues we just want His presence and covet the “best gifts”. 
2. We have youth who seek to speak in tongues and shout, but they are watching to see who takes notice. We want to be recognized for what we have received, and others may not have. 
3. I have seen people pray for others who are seeking to speak in tongues, and their prayers are just so stressful and challenging. God doesn’t operate that way! You have someone trying to coach them into receiving the gift, while someone else could be moving their mouth hoping they would just give in. If you cannot impart a gift into someone’s life, then you surely have to give room for the Holy Spirit to operate as He sees fit! 

Three purposes of speaking in tongues are to pray the language of heaven, minister the gospel in languages that people understand, and overturn and undo the curse of what took place at the Tower of Babel, for God is not the author of confusion but peace. The gift of speaking in tongues and prophecy cannot be taught in a classroom, but it grows in the presence of God and relationship with Him. Nobody can teach you how to speak in tongues. For example, why didn’t Daniel teach the empire the language of the wall? Had they learned it they would only depend on their knowledge and wisdom instead of a man who was saturated in prayer and the anointing of God for direction and answers. God has never intended for us to depend on our gift more than Him! *The baptism of repentance will always precede a baptism of the Holy Spirit, but many have become lifted in pride and have correlated their gift with the character and nature of the Holy Spirit, even being deceived to believe their gift approves unrepented sin in their lives. That is why Jesus will say, “Depart from me, I never knew you” (Matthew 7:23), when people tell Him how much they spoke in tongues and prophesied. A gift will never approve your character! You must guard when God has given you in prayer and humility. 

Can the Holy Spirit make you do things, such as speak in tongues? No. God has always been about freewill, and the Holy Spirit is the same. It is about being in total submission to the Holy Spirit and releasing what God is speaking and revealing to you, and it may be totally different than someone else. The fact of the matter is God doesn’t operate in a method or formula. Because He did it one way for one person doesn’t mean that is the only way. God is bigger than the box we have put Him in! You have to give the Holy Spirit access to work in and through your life, yielding yourself fully to Him. The spirit of a prophet is subject to the prophet (1 Corinthians 14:32). In other words, the gift that God has given you is not an idol dominating your life, but it flows from your spirit. 1 Corinthians 14:13-15 says, “13Therefore let one who speaks in a tongue pray that he may interpret. 14For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my mind is unfruitful. 15What is the outcome then? I will pray with the spirit and I will pray with the mind also; I will sing with the spirit and I will sing with the mind also”. This signifies you have authority over your spirit and the gifts God has given you, and when you are “full of the Spirit”, this is very easy. You have the authority to pray and sing in the Spirit. It is up to you to release what God has freely given you!