Every Occasion

1 Cor.14:^14-15 “For if I pray in tongues, my spirit is praying, but I don’t understand what I am saying. Well then, what shall I do? I will pray in the spirit, and I will also pray in words I understand. I will sing in the spirit, and I will also sing in words I understand.”

Sometimes, we think we know what we are doing. Or maybe we think that we are just going through the motions, so we do not really consider what we are doing as weighty. Or we do not appreciate the weight of what we are doing. Therefore, we are not as committed to doing it as we should. I pray that God will open our eyes to see as we ought to see in Jesus Name. Amen. For the next few days, we are going to be talking about the benefits, not just of praying but particularly the benefits of praying in tongues. Have you had anyone question why you or Christians speak in tongues?

Kenneth Hagin, one of the fathers of faith in our generation, shared a story about a program they had where they ministered baptism of the Holy Spirit to people. He said at about two o’clock in the morning, a teenage girl who had received the baptism of the Holy Spirit earlier, came to his house crying. His wife had to wake him to attend to the girl. He asked the girl, ‘What is the problem, and why are you crying?’ The girl said that the baptism of the Holy Spirit she received was fake. Kenneth Hagin then asked her who told her it was fake, and she said something kept telling her that it was fake and not the original. She was obviously really sad and was convinced she needed help. She wanted Kenneth Hagin to pray so that she would receive the original.

Kenneth Hagin told her that he had been praying in tongues for over fifty years and the devil still tells him that it is fake. This is a man that God has used to heal the sick, to raise the dead, to open blind eyes – speaking in tongues. But the devil still tells him it is fake. The devil is a liar so do not let him lie you out of your blessings. It is so powerful that we retain what God has given us. Interestingly, there are some Christians who do not want anything to do with speaking in other tongues. Will they go to heaven? Of course, they will go to heaven, but they would not have accessed the full benefit of their Christian life while on earth. One of the blessings that God has given us is the gifts of the Spirit and speaking in other tongues is one of the gifts.

Praying in tongues cuts across all the different types of prayer we explored some weeks back. Eph.6:¹⁸ “And pray always with all manner prayer and supplication in the Spirit: and watch thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all Saints.” (GNV, emphasis added). In other words, pray the different types of prayer – supplication, intercession, thanksgiving, warfare, communion, and the others, in the spirit. So, we can give thanks – praying in the spirit. We can do warfare – praying in the spirit. We can do intercession – praying in the spirit. We can do supplication – praying in tongues. The New Living Translation puts it this way, Eph.6:¹⁸ “Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere.” How often are we to pray in the spirit? At all times and on every occasion.

Prayer: Father, I thank You for giving me a prayer language. I commit afresh to praying in the spirit on every occasion so that I can align with Your will, in Jesus Name. Amen!