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.
Ms. Rita's Minute 