Can one receive the baptism in the Holy Spirit and not be aware that he has received it?

Generally speaking, the answer to this question is no; one cannot receive the baptism in the Holy Spirit and not know he has received it. But to be more precise, we must qualify that answer in three ways:

1. On rare occasions, people have received the baptism in the Holy Spirit with speaking in tongues and, although they knew something strange and wonderful had taken place, did not know what had happened to them. They had never heard of the baptism in the Holy Spirit and so had no way to define the experience. In such cases, the baptism usually comes in some deep moment of prayer or during a time of spontaneous praise to God.

We know one friend who went forward in a meeting for what she thought was to be prayer for healing. She had misunderstood the minister’s invitation, which had been for those seeking the baptism in the Holy Spirit. As she sat in the appointed place, people gathered around and began praying for her. 

Suddenly, she felt her tongue begin to thrash around in her mouth and found herself speaking in tongues in the midst of a glorious feeling of love and power. But it was only after friends had explained her experience that she understood what had happened. But again, let us stress that such experiences are rare.

2.A second part of the answer is directed to yet another group of people. There are those Christians who seem to feel that the baptism in the Holy Spirit is a blessing that God mysteriously and secretly bestows, here and there. 

They may wonder if, at some time in their Christian walk or experience, they received this blessing without being aware of it. They wonder if they received the baptism when they accepted Christ or at some point when they made a special commitment to God. I believe it is fairly safe to say to all such persons, “If you doubt that you’ve received the baptism in the Holy Spirit, you haven’t.” 

This encounter with God’s Holy Spirit is too charged with divine life and power for us to take it for granted or to assume it came to us unnoticed. And this is one of the reasons we look for the manifestation of speaking in tongues. It is concrete evidence that the person speaking has been baptized in the Holy Spirit.

3.A third part of the answer to this question deals with those who have actively sought the baptism in the Holy Spirit, have received prayer for the baptism and have even spoken a strange word or two in tongues, but doubt that they have really received the baptism. Many, many people experience this problem. 

They have received the baptism but are not yet sure of their experience. They haven’t spoken as fluently as their friends do, or their experience has not measured up to their expectations. If this is your situation, then let me assure you, yes, you have received the baptism in the Holy Spirit, but the devil is trying to talk you out of it. If you’ve spoken so much as one syllable in tongues, claim your experience by faith and persevere in prayer until you become fluent in your new language of praise.

So, to summarise, on rare occasions, God does baptise people in the Holy Spirit, and they do not know what happened, except that it was wonderful. 

Second, if a person has never sought the baptism, never spoken in tongues, yet wonders if maybe God baptised him without him being aware of it, no, he has not received. But third, when a person actively seeks the baptism and is prayed for, he may receive and even speak a few words in an unknown tongue, yet doubts, then yes, he has received, but the devil is doing his dead-level best to talk him out of it.