On the day of Pentecost, Peter preached that the Holy Spirit is a gift and a promise from God that is available to all. “Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call”  

As such, the Holy Spirit cannot be bought. Neither can you barter with God—God if you give me the Spirit, I’ll do this, or I’ll never do that again; plead—God I am desperate, please give me your spirit or beg—Jesus, please, I am begging you, give me the Holy Spirit. Receiving the Holy Spirit requires none of these actions.

Here is the story of one person who thought he could buy the Holy Spirit. Simon was well-known and highly regarded in Samaria as a sorcerer. People even thought he had godlike power, with which he enchanted them; however, his power was threatened when through Phillip’s preaching the people in Samaria believed the gospel and were baptized in Jesus’ name. Meanwhile, the apostles in Jerusalem had heard the good news about these new believers; therefore, they sent Peter and John to Samaria.

When Peter and John came to Samaria, they prayed with the new believers then they laid their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit. Simon was amazed, so he offered Peter and John money so he could have this power. “Let me have this power, too,” he exclaimed, “so that when I lay my hands on people, they will receive the Holy Spirit!” (Acts 8:19, NLT). Peter’s response was swift, “May your money be destroyed with you for thinking God’s gift can be bought!” (Acts 8:20).

Considering this, if you think you must do something extraordinary or unusual to receive the Holy Spirit, please change that mindset. You do not have to do anything extraordinary or unusual, but I can understand why you may think you need to. Let me explain. The church culture that you grew up in may have made it seem like receiving the Holy Spirit is difficult, so one could get the wrong idea that the Holy Spirit is elusive; therefore, one needs to put extra effort into receiving the Holy Spirit.

For example, I have watched people tarry for hours and by this, I mean they are at the altar working themselves into a frenzy and calling out for Jesus as if their life depended on it. Now do not get me wrong. I am not speaking against this method because it has worked for countless people; however, when they got done, they were exhausted and probably sore. Well, let me speak for myself. When I got done, I was exhausted, and the next day, I was sore, especially in my throat. Now if you think I was the only one exhausted think again. It was worse for the altar workers. Those tarrying for the Holy Spirit would exhaust them. I know this firsthand because I have relatives who are altar workers.

Consequently, I started thinking that receiving the Holy Spirit should not be this difficult, and you know what, it is not; however, because people have taken the word “tarry” out of context, receiving the Holy Spirit is made to seem like something one must work for when it isn’t. The Holy Spirit is a gift from God. A gift is something that you do not have to work to receive. Therefore, you do not have to work yourself into a frenzy at the altar or do anything special to receive the Holy Spirit. All that is required to receive the Holy Spirit is faith, repentance, and praise.