What I have learned about being filled with the Holy Spirit is this; it is for every child of God and requires denying yourself and absolute surrender down to the minutest things. Additionally, only those who have been filled can truly be obedient to God and allow him to work through them. Power from God comes into us when we have been filled with the Spirit, until then we are weak and feeble. Someone who is filled with the Holy Spirit no longer lives according to the flesh but has put away all lustful desires. This means that those who Paul calls infants, cannot be filled until the sins they continue in are conquered and they no longer continue in them. Speaking in tongues and prophesying like the disciples and many other Christians is possible through the power of the Spirit when someone becomes filled with the Spirit. It is not always the case, however. Andrew Murray encourages us to surrender all and believe that God has accepted it and has now filled you with the Spirit. Though you may feel no differently at first, he says to have faith and believe and the power will come.
I have learned this information by studying Andrew Murray’s book called Experiencing the Holy Spirit, reading some of Oswald Chambers works, and listening to what Tozer taught in his book Life in the Spirit. These may just be three men, but they are three men who many have been greatly influenced by and who many have called great men of faith. The amazing thing is that they all echo one another despite being born at slightly different times and living in completely different places. As I continue studying about the Holy Spirit, I fully intend on reading other men of faith’s view on it. However, I have confidence that what these other people say, will also echo the men I have already read. I would encourage you, my friend, to study about the Holy Spirit. Learn for yourself what it means to be filled with the Holy Spirit.