Tag: holy-spirit

Tongues–An Edifier

by Ms. Rita's Minute

1 Corinthians 14:15

“So what shall I do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will also pray with my understanding…”

For readers who accept that speaking in tongues is a biblical practice available to Christians today, I’d like us to recall its purpose and significance. For those who may not know, this is a spiritual gift of speaking in languages we do not know, but is inspired by the Holy Spirit. It’s a gift we see show up in the disciples, given on the Day of Pentecost, described in Acts 2:1-4, when they were all gathered together in prayer in one accord.

I’d like you to know that if you have been given the ability to speak in tongues, please do it more now than ever before. The Bible tells us in 1 Corinthians 14:4 that a person edifies themselves when they speak in tongues. That Greek word is oikodomeĊ, which means house builder. Hence, when we speak in tongues, we are building and strengthening ourselves. This is a very good thing.

In the world we live in today, many things can deplete us or work for our attention. God has given us His word and prayer to assist us. Speaking in tongues is another way we can develop ourselves. It is a language we speak ourselves that we’re unable to understand unless we, or someone in our presence, has the biblical “gift of interpretation” (1 Corinthians 12:10). Nevertheless, it is a gift from God to be used for His glory and our edification.

Finding time to speak in tongues doesn’t have to be hard, though it may feel somewhat difficult to spend a longer amount of time doing it, versus praying “with understanding” (1 Corinthians 14:15) as the Bible describes in your native tongue. Yet it is an edification tool that is very useful to us, or the Lord would not have made it available to us.

One doesn’t have to just sit quietly alone and speak in tongues. For some, it may be practiced while ironing clothes, cleaning, driving, or even working out. Yet it’s always nice if one has some pleasant worship music on hand, or a place to relax and pray. Sometimes, I’ll even braid, brush, or set my hair while doing it, as it helps me to be more consistent in doing it while doing habitual duties.

At other times, one may be in a prayer meeting, and for those who welcome the practice, the group may begin to pray using their prayer language. Anything appropriate that assists in helping us to use this precious gift will be a blessing to our edification.

The languages we may hear in prayer by another person may be very different from one’s own spiritual dialect. I’m reminded of a church in Silver Spring, Maryland, where some visiting Native Americans spent an evening with us. We had a time of prayer, as many of us began to speak in tongues.

It was a sweet and encouraging time. As we began to pray for one another, a young man approached me with tears and a holy hug, and I was amazed. That very Native American, Indian man spoke a dialect that sounded exactly like mine! It gave me such joy. This was my brother in Christ, though very different in appearance. His prayer language sounded very much like mine and was very amusing to me. This was just a glimpse of heaven in my eyes.

Sometimes, spiritual encounters like these may not be acceptable to some people and may appear weird. However, we must remember that God, heaven, and all things spiritual are not earthly, human-created things. These things and ways of God are higher than our ways and are SUPERnatural! So we shouldn’t expect much from God to be earthly as we know it. Just reading the Bible should help us to understand this.

In any event, allow this post to be a short reminder of another gift the Lord has so graciously given us that is very helpful to us in living a successful Christian life. Being “built up” in our “most holy faith,” praying in “the Spirit every day” (Jude 1:20-21) is an honorable exercise.

Knowing and Enjoying God’s Presence and Leadership

by Ms. Rita's Minute

Thinking about getting to know God, and experiencing His presence in our decision-making and relationships, the Bible has provided so many promises and stories that encourage us toward maturing in our walk with God.

In Exodus 33:13 Moses speaks with the Lord and says, “… Show me now Your way, that I may know You and that I may find grace in Your sight. …” The Lord replies in verse 14, “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.” How wonderful is that? To experience God being with you, and giving you rest? An amazing privilege. And yet we have this blessing today via His Holy Spirit living inside of us. We only need to seek Him and we’ll find Him, when we seek Him with all our hearts, as stated in Jeremiah 29:13.

Regarding the lives of believers in Christ, John 10:10 tells us that “The thief comes only to steal, kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full..” Knowing this truth, we as believers in Christ should accept nothing less than what God says He wants for our lives. Hence, it should be our ambition to stay closely connected to Him; growing in who He is and being who He desires us to be.

Spending enough time in God’s presence, we’ll eventually recognize His Holy Spirit in our lives, as well as in the lives of others we may encounter. We’ll also develop the ability to rightly discern good and evil.

The Bible tells us, “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world.” (1 John 4:1/NKJV) This scripture was written for all believers, as we are His Beloved.

Then a few verses down in verse 7 we find “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.”

So, we should know God’s Holy Spirit and His love for us and not be deceived. We should also know that this love is not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His son to be the propitiation, or atoning sacrifice, for our sins, also stated in 1 John 4.

Our love for one another should be reflected in our speech toward others as Colossians 4:6 tells us to let it “always be with grace, seasoned with salt” so that we may know how we ought to answer each one.

In addition, the safety measures of setting healthy boundaries are good and necessary to be established in all places; work, church, family, and friendships. Knowing when someone is going beyond what the Bible shows to be a sound and respectful relationship of any kind helps us to guard our hearts as mentioned in Proverbs 4:23. Its importance is highlighted as it is written that our hearts are the wellsprings of life. What is a wellspring? A bountiful source of something.

Praying to God and studying the Bible to learn God’s character and principles for godly living, we come to know God specifically for ourselves, versus only through the experiences and advice of others.

We should then ask God to show us how to be led by His Holy Spirit, and then how to be led by others as we’ll need to do both in life. We’re told in Galatians 5:16 to be led by the Spirit so that we won’t fulfill the lusts of our flesh. These include those selfish things that are harmful to us and others; and those things that displease God. These things include: “sexual immorality, impurity, and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions, and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like” as stated in Galatians 5:19-20. Thankfully, His Holy Spirit’s fruit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23).

Moreover, we should ask God to give us His perspective on relationships and not be discouraged if we haven’t fully seen it in our lives yet. God is available and willing to help us if we desire His help.

Living in His presence will protect us and help us to understand that love isn’t devious, deceptive, or controlling. We need only focus on Jesus, who’s full of goodness, honesty, and freedom. Hallelujah! Per Psalm 16:11, He’s made known to us “the path of life” and in “His presence there is fullness of joy;” and at “His right hand are pleasures forevermore.”