Greetings,
I
remember when I first received the gift of speaking in other tongues. I was in
my senior year of high school. My mom
had received the gift years before and I knew it was something that I wanted.
With limited understanding, I walked into our house one day and found that no
one was home. I figured that if it really was a gift then I should simply be
able to receive it. I put one of my mom's worship CD's in the CD player and
turned up the music.
I
began to seek God for the gift, not entirely sure of what to expect. I had no
idea what would happen. With no one around, I didn't feel self conscious so I
just went with the flow. I prayed and then I waited...and waited...and waited.
After a while I began to feel something bubbling up inside of me. It was kind
of awkward but, I wondered if that could be it. The bubbling sensation worked
its way into my chest, then my throat, and finally a few sounds came out.
WEIRD! I stopped.
After
hearing the first few sounds come out, I thought that it must just be me. I
suppressed everything and started over. I prayed, sought God, and then waited.
After more time passed, the same feelings began to occur. The bubbling
sensation worked its way back into my throat and then out of my mouth. Still
unsure of what exactly was happening, I decided to just let it happen. I was
seeking God, earnestly desiring the gift of the Spirit, and was in a place of
prayer. I had peace because the Bible says, "If ye then, being evil, know
how to give good gifts unto your
children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit
to them that ask him (Luke 11:13)?"
Sure
enough, the same sounds from before came out of my mouth. Instead of resisting
the Holy Spirit, I simply submitted to Him this time. Suddenly the awkward
sounds that were coming out of my mouth were accompanied by joy that is nearly
indescribable. The feelings of release and freedom were absolutely fantastic. I
felt such joy, such peace, and such closeness with God in that moment that I
will never forget it. That was the day that I received the gift of the Spirit which
is also referred to as the baptism of the Holy Spirit.
It
hurts me to know that there are still many denominations and Christians that
shy away from this gift of God. What hurts even more is that some will
downright reject it. As a matter of fact, I have even come across certain
theological positions that would accuse me of having received a demon that day!
I would respond to those holding this position by asking: what kind of demon
would bring with it such a heavenly experience? What kind of demon seeks to
bring the Christian into greater intimacy with God and bestow upon him or her
such excessive peace and joy? I certainly haven't confronted any!
Since
that day I have had the privilege of being used by God to help other believers
receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. In every case, the believer has
experienced similar feelings of joy, peace, freedom, and greater intimacy with
God. Some have also had other manifestations such as becoming drunk in the
Spirit (Ephesians 5:18) or simply falling out under the power of God. In all
cases, God has worked to further His relationship with the individuals and
bring them closer to Him.
We
are talking about the gift of the Spirit in order to close out our study on the
armor of God. The last part of the following passage clearly speaks to praying
in the spirit.
"Wherefore
take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the
evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins
girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; And your
feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; Above all, taking the
shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of
the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit,
which is the word of God. Praying always with all
prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all
perseverance and supplication for all saints" (Ephesians
6:13-18)
The
Bible is clear that in addition to putting on the whole armor of God we are to
be praying with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit. What does it mean to
pray in the Spirit? The Apostle Paul put it this way.
"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." (1 Corinthians 14:15)
The
Apostle Paul makes it clear that he prayed with the spirit and also with the
understanding. Praying with the understanding means to pray in the language
that we naturally speak and understand. This is pretty straightforward.
Therefore, praying in the spirit means praying in a language that we do not
naturally speak and understand. In other words it means praying in a spiritual
language. This is what the Bible refers to as speaking in an unknown tongue (or
calls the gift of tongues). In accordance with this understanding the Apostle
Paul stated the following:
"For
if I pray in an unknown tongue,
my spirit prayeth, but my understanding is unfruitful." (1
Corinthians 14:14)
When
we pray with an unknown tongue it is actually our spirit that is praying. The
purpose of this letter is not teach about how to receive the gift of the Holy
Spirit or to lay out systematic theology to prove that it is biblical. Instead,
my purpose for this letter is simply to bring out a few points regarding the
purpose and power of praying in the Spirit. Many people are resistant to this
gift of God because they simply don't understand its purpose. Even those that
have already received the gift will often not understand how important it is.
"But ye, beloved, building
up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost" (Jude 20)
Praying
in the spirit is essential for spiritual growth. It actually causes us to be
"built up on our most holy faith." When we are born again, we are born
into the kingdom of God as babies in Christ. It is from this point that we
begin our process of spiritual maturation.
While time and experience should all factor into our spiritual growth,
praying in the spirit directly impacts our maturation. We are built up as we
pray in tongues, making it incredibly important.
"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 Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost
part of the earth" (Acts 1:8)
When Jesus prophesied about the
Holy Spirit "coming upon" His disciples, he was referring to the
coming day of Pentecost when they would be filled with the Spirit and enabled
to speak in other tongues. He said that they would receive power along with
this experience. This word power comes from the Greek word dunamis
and actually means ability, might, and miracle working power (Vine's Expository
Dictionary). When we receive the gift of the Spirit as believers, we are
empowered for the purpose of bringing our prayer life, ministry, and holiness
to a new level. Our ability to walk according to the power of God will
inarguably be limited if we refuse to receive God's dunamis.
"He that speaketh in an
unknown tongue edifieth himself; but he that prophesieth edifieth the
church." (1 Corinthians 14:4)
When we pray in tongues we will
edify ourselves. The word edify comes from the Greek word oikodome.
It denotes the act of building and is used in the sense of promoting spiritual
growth (Vine's Expository Dictionary). This confirms what we learned from Jude.
Praying in the Spirit is a direct contributor to our spiritual growth. We
actually grow as we pray in the Spirit. We are building ourselves into mature
warriors for Christ as we take the time to edify ourselves according to
biblical instruction.
"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." (1 Corinthians 14:2)
As we speak in tongues we speak
to God, using God's own language. In the spirit we speak mysteries. The
biblical concept of mysteries denotes that which is hidden now being revealed
(Vine's Expository Dictionary). In other words, as we pray in tongues we
declare the deep and hidden things of God. This allows our prayers to reveal the
mysteries of God. Practically speaking, I experience more revelation, visions, and
prophetic insights while praying in tongues than during any other time. When I
pray in tongues it opens up the mysteries of God to me, and it will do the same
for you too. Furthermore, when we obey the biblical instruction to pray that we
may interpret (1 Corinthians 14:13), the floodgates to the things of God are
literally flung open! Through the practice of praying in tongues and
interpreting it back to myself I have received boatloads of revelatory
information. Who wouldn't want this?
In closing, this letter is by no
means all-inclusive regarding the benefits of praying in the Spirit. It is
simply scratching the surface. The goal is that you would be empowered, by
understanding what the purpose for it is. For those of you that have not
received this gift, it is my prayer that this letter will inspire you to go
after it. For those of you that have it and don't use it: it is my prayer that
this will motivate you to use the gift that God has given to you.
