A SPECIAL KIND OF PRAYER AND SPIRITUAL BUILD-UP
On my walk home from grade
school, I would sing songs in a made-up language. Later in life, I realized
this was singing in tongues. Often when children get born again, they exhibit
the freedom to yield to the Holy Spirit by speaking or singing in their new
God-given language. When people in the New Testament times were born again,
they were also inspired to speak or sing in a different language than they
normally spoke. The Bible says speaking with tongues was an outward sign of
something spiritual that had happened on the inside.
There’s been a lot of
misunderstanding about speaking in tongues. People think a spirit takes over,
and it’s like in the movies where a person’s eyes roll back in their head, they
get possessed, and then they speak in a different language and are totally
unaware of it. But it’s just the opposite. The person speaking or praying in
tongues completely controls their actions. The Spirit from within gives the
words, but the person does the speaking. They can start or stop anytime, like
speaking in their native language.
In the Old Testament
times, the Spirit of God was “on” a person. In Jesus’ time on earth, the Spirit
of God was “with” them. Jesus told his disciples that after he returned to the
Father in Heaven, they would soon have the opportunity to receive the holy
spirit to dwell “in” them. Then Jesus told them how they could build up that
seed of His Spirit within.
“And he [Jesus] said unto
them, ‘Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every
creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved. And these
signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils;
they shall speak with new tongues” (Mark 16:15-16).
Jesus told them they would
speak in new tongues. Why would they need that? Jerusalem and that part of the
world weren’t peaceful, much like the world is not peaceful now. The believers need
to grow that spirit in them as much as they can, to be spiritually strong, to
be peaceful, and to be able to pray perfectly for even those things they knew
nothing about. We need to be spiritually sharp on the inside to handle the
things happening on the outside.
The devil is getting bolder
with his attacks, but we can get stronger spiritually by speaking in tongues. That’s
what the Bible says: “He that speaketh in an unknown tongue edifieth himself”
(1 Cor. 14:4). The Greek word for “edifieth” means “to be a house-builder,
build up, embolden.”
Praying in tongues also
builds up our faith. “But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most
holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit” (Jude 1:20). We want to have big faith
when it comes to caring for ourselves, our families, our friends, our
neighborhoods, our world. Bigger faith action is needed, and speaking with
tongues helps facilitate that.
.
There are going to be
problems with people and circumstances where we’ll want to see solutions, but
we don’t really know what we should pray for. Romans 8:26-27 tells
us: “The Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we
should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us
with groanings which cannot be uttered. And he that searcheth the hearts
knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the
saints according to the will of God.”
The Greek translation
reads: “The Holy Spirit maketh intercession for us in groanings that cannot be
uttered in articulate speech.” Articulate speech refers to our known languages.
We don’t know what God knows, but the Holy Spirit within us does. The Holy Spirit
gives us the words in another language so that we can pray the perfect will of
God for any person or in any situation.
We need to let our adult
selves be more like children, who so easily respond to singing or speaking in an
unknown language. Just ask the Lord to give you your spiritual language, then
you breathe in, believe to receive the words, and start to speak them out.
That’s how Jesus taught his disciples to speak with new tongues.
Jesus told the disciples to breathe in, then speak
out the words the Holy Spirit gives. They will be a different language than you
already know, so don’t think it’s weird just because it sounds odd to you. “And when he had said
this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost”
(John 20:22). The original Greek word that is translated here as “receive”
means “to take hold of, to take what is one’s own, to take
to one’s self. It means “to
receive what is offered, not to refuse or reject, but to claim and procure for one’s self.
God doesn’t force anyone to speak in tongues. He wants us to receive the gift
as His connection: His heart to ours.
If you want more documentation, read the book of
Acts and see how often it comes up. Regular people all over spoke in tongues.
The more you speak, the more comfortable you will
be. Once you start speaking in tongues out loud, you can start speaking in
tongues in your head, just like you would talk to yourself silently. This way,
you can speak in tongues while you’re at work or the gym or just going about
your regular daily routines, without people wondering about what the heck
you’re doing.
There are many other great benefits to speaking in
tongues that you can read about in the book of Acts and the Epistles. And of
course, as you speak with tongues, you’ll also experience yourself growing
spiritually in your daily life.
We can be better equipped
as ambassadors for our Lord when we do what Jesus instructed: “They shall speak
with new tongues.” He said: “Out of his belly shall flow rivers of living
water” (John 7:39). So, let’s let it flow.
Love, Carolyn
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