“Even so ye, forasmuch as ye are zealous of spiritual gifts, seek that ye may excel to the edifying of the church. Wherefore let him that speaketh in an unknown tongue pray that he may interpret. For if I pray in an unknown tongue, my spirit prayeth, but my understanding is unfruitful. What is it then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will pray with the understanding also: I will sing with the spirit, and I will sing with the understanding also. Else when thou shalt bless with the spirit, how shall he that occupieth the room of the unlearned say Amen at thy giving of thanks, seeing he understandeth not what thou sayest.? For thou verily givest thanks well, but the other is not edified. I thank my God, I speak with tongues more than ye all: Yet in the church I had rather speak five words with my understanding, that by my voice I might teach others also, than ten thousand words in an unknown tongue.”
1 Corinthians 14:12-19
Some in the church have used the above scripture to try to forbid people praying in tongues in the church. Some have even gone further to try to downgrade the importance of tongues. Yet, you can clearly see Paul saying “I thank my God I speak with tongues more than ye all.” And in 1 Corinthians 14:39 “Wherefore, brethren, covet to prophesy and forbid not to speak with tongues.” What Paul is saying is that when we gather together in the church to hear from God, and the Pastor is preaching, we are not just to pray in tongues and interrupt the service. What is important to note is that the early church all appeared to speak in tongues and so much so that it seems they were interrupting the service regularly, so that they weren’t able to receive a teaching from the Pastor. Instead, he tells us that if we have a word by tongues that we can stand up and give that tongue as long as there is interpretation of tongues present and we aren’t interrupting the message. Otherwise we are to pray to ourselves and God. Does this mean we don’t pray in tongues in church? Absolutely not. It just means, we don’t stand up and interrupt the service to speak in tongues, any more than we would stand up and interrupt the Pastor to give a testimony or share a prophetic word. We are to do things decently and in order, so that all can be edified.
As Paul said, “I thank my God I pray in tongues more than ye all.” There is power in tongues. Jude 20 says: “But ye, beloved, building up yourselves in your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost, Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.” As we pray in tongues we are building up or edifying our spirit. Just as weight lifting in the gym builds up our muscles and makes us stronger, praying in tongues builds up and strengthens our spirit. Too many Christians are suffering in the church and falling into traps and temptations because they aren’t spending enough time praying in the spirit. Not only do we build up our own spirit, but we are bypassing our minds and praying directly to God. We are praying perfect prayers. In addition, receiving the infilling of the Holy Spirit and praying in tongues is where the power of God is released.
Many people think that when they are born again they receive the Holy Spirit and that’s all they need. That is true when talking about eternal life. Yes, the only thing we need to receive eternal salvation is Jesus. However, to walk in complete victory here on earth, we need the power of the Holy Spirit operating in our lives. We need the infilling of the Holy Spirit.
After Jesus was raised from the dead and met with the disciples it says in John 20:22: “Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you. And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost.” It’s at this point they were born again and became a new creation. Yet, even though they were now born again and had received the Holy Spirit, Jesus told them in Acts 1:4-5 & 8 “And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which saith he, ye have heard of me. For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence…But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria and unto the uttermost part of the earth.”
The disciples obeyed Jesus’ command. There were about 120 of them, men and women (and likely children) that met together daily in the upper room. This is when they were Baptized with the Holy Ghost. Acts 2:1-6 says: “And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were ALL filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven. Now when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them speak in his own language”
The outward sign of what happened inwardly, which was being filled with the Holy Spirit, was their speaking in tongues, which is their heavenly language. There was a reason Jesus commanded them not to witness to the world until they received the Infiling of the Holy Spirit. It’s this baptism where the Power Gifts live. In the time we live in, we need all the weapons God has given us in His arsenal. We can’t leave any gifts on the table. Praying in the spirit is for our protection and edification. As we spend time praying in the Holy Ghost we are building up/edifying our own spirit. We are becoming stronger in the spirit so that we walk in the spirit and do not fulfill the lusts of the flesh.
When we pray in tongues we are praying directly to God and bypassing our mind so we are praying perfect prayers. 1 Corinthians 14:2 says; “For he that speaketh in an unknown tongue speaketh not unto men, but unto God: for no man understandeth him; howbeit in the spirit he speaketh mysteries.”
Romans 8:26 says: “Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.”
Some people think that this gift isn’t for everybody. However, when you study the book of Acts you see the opposite. Whether it was the 120 people in the upper room in Acts 2, or Cornelius’ household in Acts 10, or the 12 men Paul met on the road in Acts 19 or in Acts 8; we see time and again that all present received the infilling with the evidence of speaking in tongues. Paul would not command believers to pray both in the spirit and the understanding and sing in the spirit and the understanding if this gift wasn’t for every believer. Jesus wouldn’t have commanded the believers to wait for this gift before sharing the gospel if this wasn’t important to have.
Take time to pray in tongues everyday, more and more. As you do, you will see the breakthrough you’ve been wanting. You will find it easier to walk in the spirit and not fulfill the lust of the flesh. The fruits of the spirit will become stronger in your life! You will amplify the power of God in your life!
Further reading: Acts 1&2, Acts 10:44-46, Acts 8:5-19, Acts 19:1-3 & 6, Acts 9:10-12 & 17, 1 Corinthians 14: 1-28, Romans 8:26-27, Isaiah 28:11-12, Hebrews 6:1-2, 1 Corinthians 2
