About Tongues, I

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.”

There is no way you can pray at all times if you do not pray in the Holy Spirit. If you are not baptized in the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues, I pray that you will open your heart to the Holy Spirit today and He will fill you to the overflowing. There is no way you can pray at all times; you will run out of what to talk about with your understanding. Please read 1 Corinthians 14:1-15, it is a passage of scripture that is clear but sometimes misunderstood. And it has caused some misunderstanding in the lives of several people. I pray that God would bring light in your life, in Jesus Name.

A few pointers from 1 Corinthians 14:1-15. love should be your highest goal. Speaking in tongues is like a cipher [coded] language between you and God. A person who speaks in tongues is strengthened personally but the person who speaks a word of prophecy strengthens the entire church – the difference is understanding. When a person prophesies, people understand but the person that speaks in other tongues, the communication is between his spirit man and God.

The problem with the Corinthian church was that in their church meetings, people in order to show forth their spirituality, would just get up and begin to speak very deep articulated tongues. And Paul was saying, to do that is crazy. Now imagine all that we have shared today, we shared in tongues, would that make sense to you? Of course not.

But that was what was going on in the church. So, Paul did not have an issue with speaking in tongues. He had an issue with the public speaking of tongues over a congregation. In fact, he made his desire known in 1 Cor.14:⁵ “I wish you could all speak in tongues…”; so, Paul does not have a problem with people speaking in tongues. You need to know that gifts are on different levels, some gifts have greater weight than others. 1 Cor.14:⁹ “…If you speak to people in words they don’t understand, how will they know what you are saying? You might as well be talking into empty space.” [emphasis added]. Folks have said 1 Corinthians 14 is saying people should not speak in tongues in the church. But that is clearly not what it says. When you are speaking in tongues in a prayer session in church, are you speaking to people? In fact, people have no business listening to your prayers. It is between you and God.

There is nothing wrong with being eager to have the special abilities that the Holy Spirit gives but Paul says in 1 Cor.14:¹² “… seek those that will strengthen the whole church.” 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?…” Do I stop praying in tongues? Paul says, “…I will pray in the spirit…”; which means I choose to, it is under my control [volition], I have decided that this is what I will do. Which means I can turn it on, and I can turn it off, it is my call.

Prayer: Father, please give me the grace to pray in tongues as You have purposed for me, in Jesus Name. Amen!