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The practical use of tonguesThe Holy Spirit’s direct actions in the world |
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The practical use of tonguesThe Holy Spirit’s direct actions in the world |
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Why would I spend extra time on what is arguably the least important of the gifts? I do it as a favor to you so that you will not cut yourself out of a real blessing.
We see that in the I Corinthians 14 passage seen to the right. Speaking in tongues builds you up. It is impossible to speak in tongues without focusing on Jesus. The act itself often brings peace and comfort.
Again, this is just practical experience speaking. However, the spiritual reasoning is given in the same passage in Corinthians. Verse 14 says in NASB, “For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my mind is unfruitful.”
It protects you during meditation. Those of you who are familiar with occult practices know that meditation involves blanking the mind. This is a very dangerous practice because the Holy spirit will not enter your mind without an invitation. The enemy has no such compunctions, however. Demons will gleefully rush into a blank, unprotected mind.
Praying in tongues allows you to safely have your mind open and receptive to the Holy Spirt as you ask Him to speak to you. It really does protect you from enemy voices under these circumstance.
Often we do not know what would be the best course of action or the best result. We may be absolutely overwhelmed with emotion, confusion, disease, or whatever. Praying in tongues enables us to release the Holy Spirit into a situation with miraculous results in many cases.
One of the most important passages in the New Testament is the first few verses of Romans 12—present yourself as a living sacrifice. For many of us, tongues is the first act of total surrender we experience.
This is what we are pretty sure happened on the day of Pentecost when the church was born, when the Holy Spirit was given. The phraseology strongly suggests this:
All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.
Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard them speaking in his own language. Utterly amazed, they asked: "Are not all these men who are speaking Galileans? Then how is it that each of us hears them in his own native language?
This is also seen in meetings where a message in tongues will be heard in a foreign language to a participant. In one of Dennis Bennett’s meetings in Seattle a message in tongues was heard as tongues by everyone, but a woman in the back stood up exclaiming that she had heard the message in flawless, unaccented Mandarin Chinese. She had been raised speaking the language though she hadn’t done so for many years. The Holy Spirit spoke directly to her in this way and she was redeemed, delivered, and healed on the spot.
This is extra-biblical for the most part, but the daily experience of those of us who have been given tongues. There are a couple of scriptures that seem to apply here.
For one who speaks in a tongue speaks not to men but to God; for no one understands him, but he utters mysteries in the Spirit. On the other hand, the one who prophesies speaks to people for their upbuilding and encouragement and consolation. The one who speaks in a tongue builds up himself, but the one who prophesies builds up the church.
This is often taught as a reason to forbid tongues, but Paul goes on in the next verses to talk about how he speaks in tongues more than them all and that tongues are not to be forbidden.
Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.
This is much more tenuous, but in practical experience, most of us slip into tongues when we run out of words. We believe that giving the Spirit control over our tongues we can pray perfect prayers—unclouded by our flesh.
In practice, praying like this is often very powerful with answers to prayer that are amazing.
Again, this is extra-biblical but very practical. It works. You begin a deliverance by praying in tongues until you are given the liberty to move into English (or whatever your normal language is). I had demons cry out in pain revealing themselves to be dealt with. I've had it result in words of knowledge and wisdom to guide our prayer into effective paths. It’s simply a very effective way to begin a cleansing prayer session. It’s much more effective than shouting.
I've heard several evangelists testify to this. The scenario is usually a crusade or a preaching event in a foreign country and the translator does not show up. One in particular happened in Tokyo. There was a huge crowd. The translator did not show. The time to begin came, and the man was convinced that he should just go out and start speaking in tongues. The entire audience heard in Japanese and hundreds received amazing conversion and deliverance experiences.
...do not be anxious how you are to speak or what you are to say, for what you are to say will be given to you in that hour. For it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.