For those individuals that have the current-day gift to speak in tongues (called Glossolalia), this means people say unknown words (and phrases) to the Heavenly Father that few others can understand as part of a spiritual practice.
There are two
types of spiritual tongues God can give someone. One is an earthly tongue. If
your native language is English, then your Heavenly
Father can give you the ability to speak in
Chinese, Japanese, Spanish, or some other earthly language.
The other type
of tongues that He can be given is a heavenly language one. It will be a foreign
language that only the Holy Spirit will give someone the ability to speak out.
God will make this heavenly language bubble out whenever He wants it to occur
in such times as of prayer, worship, emergencies, or anyplace. The receiver has
no control as to when or where this will occur. Below are ways the gift of
tongues can benefit these individuals when they pray:
1. Praying in your heavenly language will build up, strengthen, and recharge you. “The one who speaks in tongues advances his
own spiritual progress,[a] while the one who prophesies builds up the
church.” (1
Corinthians 14:4, TPT)
2.
Praying in your heavenly language is evidence that the
Holy Spirit resides in you. “The Jewish brothers who had accompanied
Peter were astounded that the gift of the Holy Spirit was poured out on people
who weren’t Jews. for they heard them speaking in
supernaturally given languages and passionately praising God.” (Acts
10:45-46, TPT)
3.
Praying in your heavenly language builds up your
faith, and helps you trust God more fully. “But you, my delightfully loved friends, constantly and progressively
build yourselves up on the foundation of your most holy faith[a] by praying every moment in the Spirit.” (Jude
1:20, TPT)
4.
Praying in your heavenly language is a great way to
give thanks to God. “So here’s
what I’ve concluded. I will pray in the Spirit, but I will also pray with my
mind engaged. I will sing rapturous praises in the Spirit, but I will also sing
with my mind engaged. Otherwise, if you are praising God in
your spirit, how could someone without the gift participate by adding his
‘amen’ to your giving of thanks, since he doesn’t have a clue of what you’re
saying? Your praise to God is admirable, but it does nothing to strengthen and
build up others.” (1
Corinthians 14:15-17, TPT)
5.
Praying in our heavenly language helps us to yield our
bodies, to the control of the Holy Spirit. “But
the tongue is not able to be tamed. It’s a fickle, unrestrained evil that spews
out words full of toxic poison.” (James
3:8, TPT)
6. Praying in our heavenly language
helps us to pray God's perfect will, even when we don't know what or how to
pray. “And in a similar way, the Holy Spirit takes
hold of us in our human frailty to empower us in our weakness. For example, at
times we don’t even know how to pray, or know the best things to ask for. But
the Holy Spirit rises up within us to super-intercede on our behalf, pleading
to God with emotional sighs too deep for words.” (Romans
8:26, TPT)
7.
. Praying in our
heavenly language brings us into God's rest and refreshing. So God will use this strange way of talking, and He
will use other languages to speak to these people. In the past
he spoke to them and said, “Here is a resting place. Let those who are tired
come and rest. This is the place of peace.” But they would not listen to Him. (Isaiah
28:11-12, ERV)
“When you speak in other tongues, no one
understands what you’re saying because you’re speaking to God. It’s a direct
communication between your spirit and God. You’re speaking the language that
only He understands.” (Chris Oyakhilome)[i]
[i] Sources used:
·
“Different
Kinds of Tongues” by BibleKnowledge.com
·
“Glossolalia”
from Wikipedia
·
“Speak in Tongues” by Merriam-Webster
·
“The Many Benefits of Speaking In Your Spiritual Language”
by Healing the NW & International Ministries
NOTE: Though I have
friends that practice both speaking and praying in tongues, it is not something I want to engage in. This post
is for my friends that realize this is important in their life. Hopefully, the information
provided will answer some of their questions on this topic.
No comments:
Post a Comment