"The entrance of thy words giveth light (Psalm 119:130)."
How to Pray in Tongues
{For personal edification}
"Pursue love, yet earnestly desire spiritual gifts, but especially that you may prophesy. For the one who speaks in a tongue does not speak to people, but to God; for no one understands, but in his spirit he speaks mysteries. But the one who prophesies speaks to people for edification, exhortation, and consolation. The one who speaks in a tongue edifies himself . . ." {1 Corinthians 14:1-4 NASB}
"For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my understanding is unfruitful." {1 Corinthians 14:14 NKJV}
" I will pray with the spirit, and I will also pray with the understanding. I will sing with the spirit, and I will also sing with the understanding." {1 Corinthians 14:15 NKJV}
Praying in tongues means you're yielding your voice to the Holy Spirit. And the Holy Spirit, living inside of you, is communicating directly with God.
Singing in tongues is another way praying in tongues. And this is also recommended.
Praying in tongues and speaking in tongues, for personal edification, are the same thing: you are praying, or speaking, to God.
Praying in tongues is one way of making your prayers more effective. This is, however, not a substitute for conventional prayer. Rather, it is something to be done in addition to conventional prayer.
You can add praying in tongues to your regular prayer routine and you can also pray in tongues when you're coming under a spiritual attack.
In order to pray in tongues, three things are necessary:
- It is necessary to first get saved.
- Receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit.
- Practice.
Getting saved is explained in the above link.
It is also necessary to receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit. This is a separate gift that you can pray for after you've been saved.
Jesus, speaking to His disciples, said this:
"If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!" {Luke 11:13 NIV}
God promises that He will give you the gift, or baptism, of the Holy Spirit if you ask Him.
This is simple to do: just pray, in Jesus' name, for the gift of the Holy Spirit, believe you have received it and thank God.
It's that simple.
People have varying experiences when they do this. This information is available online. You may not experience anything at all.
If you're thinking that this is not necessary, check out the following Scripture:
"When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to Samaria. When they arrived, they prayed for the new believers there that they might receive the Holy Spirit, because the Holy Spirit had not yet come on any of them; they had simply been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then Peter and John placed their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit." {Acts 8:14-17 NIV}
New believers were indwelled with the Holy Spirit once they became saved. But they received an additional empowerment of the Holy Spirit once the apostles laid their hands on them.
Today, you can get the same blessing by praying for the gift of the Holy Spirit as explained previously.
Next, practice.
OK, so how do you now learn to do this? You learn by doing.
Set aside 10 minutes, every day, and practice praying in tongues. Lift up your hands to God, just as you might do with conventional prayers.
Udder whatever sounds come out. The sounds must come from your belly, not your mind. It may sound like an infant babbling. If nothing comes out, just use the time to sit silently before God.
Watch and listen to someone else praying in tongues. Imitate the sounds they are making. This will jump-start your progress. You will soon have a prayer language of your own.
Just keep trying. It won't take that long before you get the hang of this.
As with conventional prayer, it's a good idea to begin with praise and thanksgiving.
"Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name." {Psalm 100:4 NIV}
And, of course, for beginners, ask God to teach you how to pray in tongues.
Learning to pray in tongues is valuable. Sometimes, you really don't know what you need from God. The Holy Spirit, living inside of you knows, and this is communicated directly to God whenever you pray in tongues.
You can also practice praying in tongues when you come under spiritual attacks or are otherwise struggling. This will give you the opportunity to gauge how effective this is with different issues.
You can also pray in tongues about different life challenges, just like you do with conventional prayer.
When you pray in tongues, it's harder for demons to interfere with your prayers since they cannot understand what you're praying for.
When you pray in tongues, your prayers can't be infected with doubt since you don't know what you're praying for. This is another reason why praying in tongues is so effective.
Learn how to pray in tongues. It is well worth your time. It will make your prayers more effective. And it will result in you experiencing more peace.
Suggested video: The Secret Weapon of Praying in Tongues.
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