Praying In Tongues

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One of the most powerful, supernatural gifts we possess is the ability to pray in tongues, but you guessed it, many churches turned away from this long ago. So why is this blessing so important?

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Acts 1:4-5

4 And while staying with them he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, “you heard from me; 5 for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”

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Jesus had told the disciples to go up in the Upper Room to wait for the Baptism of the Holy Spirit. Has Jesus EVER told someone to do something that was not vitally important for their life? So why would it not be just as necessary to our own lives today? In fact, believers already have the gift and ability, but for many it is lying dormant because they do not believe.  

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Acts 2:1:4

2 When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. 2 And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. 3 And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.

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Of all the gifts mentioned in the Bible, tongues primarily is for the person speaking it. Many other gifts benefit other people, but praying in tongues is to build up the speaker as it is the Power of the Holy Spirit at work to fill you up and your inner spirit.

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Benefits: 

~Enables us to have spirit-to-Spirit communication with    God.

~Builds and increases our faith.

~Activates the fruit of the Spirit

~Pray in accordance with the will of God

~Quiets the mind

 ~Supernatural Understanding of God’s Mysteries

 ~Grants You Access to Other Revelatory Gifts of the Holy Spirit

~Opens Up the Bible in a New, Living Way as You Read It

~Empowers You to Engage Spiritual Warfare From the position of Victory

~Reveals the Wisdom of God

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There are basically two types of experiences initially.  If the person receives the baptism through impartation or a service centered around receiving the gift, they may just start spontaneously speaking as the Holy Spirit flows up inside of them. 

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But I have found the more common scenario is that the person was already given the gift from the Holy Spirit and they have been unaware of it. For this, you will need to use your faith and just believe you have the gift. Start by putting air in your lungs like you normally do to speak, and just move your mouth and let the air make the sounds. It will sound like gibberish and baby babble. You will believe you are doing it, BUT as you keep practicing, at some point you will feel the Holy Spirit take over as you keep going. It will start out just as a child learns a new language, but the more you do it, the more like a full language it will sound. The language will change as you mature in the gift and even between prayer sessions. 

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My experience was the latter. I made a decision that I wanted to use this gift and after years of frustration because others just thought it should flow as in the first example, I finally got a book on it. I quickly flipped through it until I found one paragraph that said I needed to put air in my lungs. That was the whole key for me. I spoke for 2 hours straight that night and it has forever changed my walk with God. 

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There are many books that teach more about this gift and how to use it properly and effectively. Your mind will be empty since you may not fully know what you are saying, and so I encourage you to keep your active mind focused on productive things like a prayer list or just worshiping God. It is too easy to think about mundane tasks in life and miss out on an even more powerful moment with God.  At times, your spirit will know what is being said in tongues. It is a powerful connection in your whole inner being. Praying in tongues will change every aspect of your walk with Christ. 

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