One tremendous weapon that is available to us as Christians is a form of prayer that has amazingly caused much controversy in and out of the body of Christ.
This valuable type of prayer is praying in an unknown tongue or praying in the spirit. Paul declares in 1 Corinthians 14:14-15.
“For if I pray in an unknown tongue, my spirit prayeth, but my understanding is unfruitful. What is it then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will pray with the understanding also: I will sing with the spirit, and I will sing with the understanding also.”
You may ask, “I do not speak in tongues yet I have sought it. Is there something that could be stopping me?”
Most tongue speakers talk about tongues as a “gift” from God that can neither be forced nor controlled. This act involves knowing a few things. It can also be easily faked.
The problems regarding speaking in tongues stem from a lack of understanding of what the purpose of this beautiful gift. Let’s follow up on scripture.
1 Corinthians 14 verse 1 begins: “Follow after charity, and desire spiritual gifts, but rather that ye may prophesy. For he that speaketh in an unknown tongue speaketh not unto men, but unto God: for no man understandeth him; howbeit in the spirit he speaketh mysteries.”
From this we can see that when one speaks in tongues, he is not speaking to men, but to God.
We can also use our unknown tongue to pray and intercede for others.
That is why the devil tries so hard to keep people from asking for it. We need to understand this because unlike many people do not see any purpose for speaking in tongues, and therefore do not see their need for this gift, 1 Corinthians 14 stands relevant.
In Church, we find two main groups, one emphasizing on the gifts, and the other the fruit of the Spirit. The truth is, however, that it is necessary to possess both. It takes “two wings for a bird to fly.”
The fulfillment of the Great Commission in Mark 16:15-20 requires both the fruit and the gifts.
This account is recorded: “And he 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; but he that believeth not shall be damned. And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with NEW TONGUES;…”
He does not stop with the salvation message, but goes on to instruct His disciples that they should cast out demons, speak with new tongues, heal the sick, and that nothing would have any power over them, not even poison. He said these signs would follow “them that believe.” He did not say just the apostles would do these things, but all who were believers.
Today, the Lord wants the same signs that followed the early day believers to follow us. It is a confirmation that He is with us when we have these signs evident in our lives.
The Lord does not send us out to do His work without His power and His gifts. The gift of tongues is an important part of our prayer life as it gives us that power and prepares us for spiritual battles, enabling us to pray as the Spirit directs instead of being solely dependent on our natural minds and understanding.
We do not understand why God chose this method of prayer, but as with other things in God’s Word that we do not understand with the natural mind, they remain truths nonetheless.
Finally, I know you might be facing hard time seeing the manifestation of the tongues, focus on God – His word which says, “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.” (Luke 11:9)
Don’t give up. Make sure your eyes are on him rather than any gifts themselves and the motivation of your heart is to serve him. After that, trust him to give you in his timing ALL that he intends for you—tongues or not!
Sometimes people receive a beautiful tongue in a foreign sounding language, while others only receive stammering syllables or a few strange words. Do not be discouraged at whatever sound comes out. It is beautiful to God and it comes from His Spirit.
Bettymiller@gmail.com.
