23/01/2026
CHARACTERISTICS OF A SPIRIT FILLED LIFE.
The first characteristic of a Spirit-filled life is “Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord” (Eph. 5:18).
If you’re filled with the Spirit and you’re maintaining the glow, you will have a song in your heart. And if you’ve got a song in your heart, you just can’t help but speak it out of your mouth, because the Bible says that out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks (Matt. 12:34; Luke 6:45).
Notice Ephesians 5:18 says, “Speaking to YOURSELVES in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs. . . .” Speaking by the unction of the Holy Spirit in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs is something you do from your own heart — to yourself and to God.
A psalm is a spiritual poem or an ode. It may rhyme or it may not rhyme, but there is always an element of poetry about it. There are 150 psalms in the Old Testament that were given by the Spirit of God. Many of them were given to the psalmist David by the gift of prophecy or the inspiration of the Holy Ghost. And if you’ll read them carefully, you’ll find out that many of them were given to David for his own benefit to encourage him in difficult circumstances.
Those psalms are also to benefit us today (2 Tim. 3:16). And just as those psalms were given to encourage David, the Holy Ghost will do the same thing for you! He’ll give you a psalm to encourage you in the midst of tests and trials and to lift up your spirit so you can maintain the glow!
A psalm, hymn, or spiritual song can be a supernatural utterance given to you by the Holy Ghost. They don’t have to be psalms, hymns, or songs written in a songbook. To tell you the real truth about it, so many songs in songbooks are not given by the Holy Ghost at all. They’re not thoroughly scriptural, and some are filled with unbelief.
But the psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs the Holy Ghost gives register on your heart and minister to your soul because they are Holy Spirit inspired. And before you know it, you’re singing or speaking them out of your mouth.
You see, you cannot be filled with the Spirit without speaking.
EPHESIANS 5:18,19
18 And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be FILLED WITH THE SPIRIT;
19 SPEAKING to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord.
ACTS 2:4
4 And they were all FILLED WITH THE HOLY GHOST, and began TO SPEAK with other tongues. . . .
ACTS 10:45,46
45 And they of the circumcision which believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because that on the Gentiles also was POURED OUT the gift of THE HOLY GHOST.
46 For they heard them SPEAK WITH TONGUES, and MAGNIFY GOD. . . .
So keep on speaking with tongues and magnifying God! And be continually filled with the Holy Spirit, speaking to yourself in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. This is the will of God for you.
- Kenneth E Hagin 📕 FOLLOWING GOD’S PLAN FOR YOUR LIFE .
- Spiritual Notes
