5 Ways That Praying in Tongues Will Change Your Life Forever by LARRY SPARKS

5 Ways That Praying in Tongues Will Change Your Life Forever

3/20/2014 LARRY SPARKS  CHARISMA MAGAZINE

One of the most controversial and, sadly, most misunderstood gifts of the Holy Spirit is praying in tongues. I am convinced that there is so much antagonism aimed at this gift because of the incredible power it releases into our lives. In the same way that many reject the prophetic ministry because of abuses, misuses and bad experiences, the same approach has been taken—perhaps in greater extremes—toward praying in tongues.

Tongues Is a Controversial Subject That Requires Our Attention

At the end of the day, we need to be honest with ourselves and honest with the biblical text. This unique gift of the Holy Spirit actually announced the birth of Christianity on the Day of Pentecost. It was highly prized by the man who wrote the majority of the New Testament (Paul). It equips believers to communicate with God on a unique level and empowers us to effectively live the supernatural life. In short, it would make a lot of sense that the enemy would tirelessly fight against something that has such strong potential to pillage his expansion of darkness in our lives and on the earth.

Corey Russell, a senior leader at the International House of Prayer in Kansas City, wrote the book and curriculum The Glory Within not simply as a teaching on the subject of tongues, but as a summons to experience the power of a Person—the Holy Spirit. In the past, many books and teachings have emphasized tongues in almost a robotic way. What was intended to be a source of supernatural power and a catalyst for deep intimacy with God has been reduced to a mere theological position in many charismatic churches.

Speaking in Tongues Is More Than a One-Time Experience

The Glory Within makes the powerful point that tongues is not some spiritual merit badge we receive when we are baptized in the Holy Spirit, use it for a season, and then put it out to pasture. Evangelist Reinhard Bonnke comments on the gifts of the Spirit, emphasizing that “they are not badges of honor but tools for the job.” The gift of tongues is something that the apostle Paul deeply cherished, and he provided nearly an entire chapter of instruction on it in 1 Corinthians 14. This is not a call to place an inappropriate emphasis on tongues, as many have done in the past; it is, however, an invitation to re-evaluate where we stand on its purpose, relevance and present-day power in our everyday Christian lives.

In fact, Corey took the additional bold step and developed a DVD-based Bible study focusing on how a lifestyle of consistently praying in tongues significantly benefits your Christian life. It is not spooky. It is not exclusive to the super-spiritual. It does not even signify elevated spiritual maturity. Tongues is a gift. It is a tool. It is powerful, available and absolutely life-changing. However, many receive this gift at one point in their lives and taste its power, but they never actually make it a part of their normal Christian lives. This is why Corey invites all readers and participants to “throw their badges in the trash.” Yesterday’s encounter with God cannot sustain us for today. Yesterday’s touch is insufficient for today’s trials.

Do You Really Know Who Lives Inside of You?

In these powerful resources, Corey takes you on a journey, revisiting some of the most familiar and yet misunderstood topics on the Holy Spirit: Do we really understand that God lives inside of us? In the introductory sessions about the Person of Holy Spirit—who He is, what He does, and His purpose in the life of the believer—you will be absolutely awestruck. I am convinced that if we really get a clear revelation of the fact that the Genesis 1:1 God—the One who said “light be” and light was—lives inside of us in the Person of Holy Spirit, it would become impossible for us to change the subject. We would devote our lives to discovering how to see the living God accurately represented in the earth through our lives. You will be inspired and encouraged as you discover who it is that decided to take up residence in your spirit—and what He wants to do through you!

5 Ways Praying in Tongues Will Change Your Life Forever

Based on The Glory Within, here are five ways that praying in tongues will change your life forever. 

1. Praying in Tongues Gives You Supernatural Understanding of God’s Mysteries

"For he who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God, for no one understands him; however, in the spirit he speaks mysteries" (1 Cor. 14:2, NKJV).

Corey describes the Holy Spirit as the Google, or “search engine of heaven.” God is mysterious, yes, but the Spirit who knows everything about the mysterious, expansive, glorious God is the same Spirit who lives inside of you! And furthermore, He wants to reveal mysteries to you about God, His will, your life and the circumstances you are facing.

How do we access this revelation? Communion with the Holy Spirit on His level—in His language. Remember, Paul defines Holy Spirit as the One who “searches out everything and shows us God’s deep secrets” (1 Cor. 2:10, NLT). As you pray in the Spirit, you will discover things that were previously mysterious and unknown will start coming into greater focus and clarity.

2. Praying in Tongues Grants You Access to Other Revelatory Gifts of the Holy Spirit

"For to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit ... to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another different kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues" (1 Cor. 12: 8, 10, NKJV).

Praying in tongues actually unlocks other revelatory gifts of the Holy Spirit in your life, namely the word of wisdom, word of knowledge, prophecy and discerning of spirits. Remember, you are not praying on a natural dimension, but rather engaging on a purely spiritual one. Don’t be surprised if, while praying in tongues, the Holy Spirit gives you supernatural insight about something, leads you to pray for people and unlocks clarity over people, situations and even regions, enabling you to effectively pray for and break off the spiritual strongholds that are influencing them.

3. Praying in Tongues Opens Up the Bible in a New, Living Way as You Read It

"However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak" (John 16:13).

For some modern believers, reading the Bible can feel like a life-draining experience. It’s not just history. It is not a mere record of facts. Scripture isn’t just stories. The same Holy Spirit who inspired the writing and assembly of the Holy Scriptures lives inside of you. He wants to guide you through the Bible, make the words jump off the page, give you understanding on confusing matters, empower you to apply God’s Word to your everyday life, share prophetic promises with you and help you discover your role in God’s unfolding story. Corey describes praying in tongues as a way the Holy Spirit “shines a flashlight on Scripture.”

4. When Praying in Tongues, You Are Speaking Directly to God

"For he who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God" (1 Cor. 14:2).

As you pray in tongues, you have a direct line to the president of the universe. Sometimes while praying in our native languages, we have the tendency to veer off and get distracted. We may start complaining. We may start going through the routine laundry list of prayer requests—and by the time we are finished reading them off to God, we feel more burdened than refreshed (because we actively thought of every single one of those circumstances as we listed them off in prayer). Tongues keeps us talking directly to God, praying in agreement with His perfect will (Rom. 8:26-28).

5. Praying in Tongues Empowers You to Engage Spiritual Warfare From the Position of Victory

"Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit" (Eph. 6:18).

Praying in tongues is not some magic formula that guarantees us some free and easy lifestyle of health, wealth, prosperity and all of those fixings. Jesus assured us that in this life, we will experience tribulation (John 16:33). In the same passage, the same Jesus declared that He has overcome the world. Victory has already been secured at Calvary.

In times of trial and assault, it is easy for us to become weary in the place of prayer, often not knowing what or how to pray. Praise God for the Holy Spirit! Paul reminds us "for we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us" (Rom. 8:26). When in the heat of spiritual combat, it is easy to start praying prayers that agree with the size of the attack, emphasizing the problem rather than focusing on the size of the blood-bought victory that Jesus purchased at the cross. Praying in tongues empowers you to agree with God’s victorious battle plan for your life and your circumstances, no matter what is going on around you. It does not deny reality; it simply positions you to agree with the higher truth of Scripture: Victory has been purchased, and it is yours through Jesus Christ.

Tongues Reveals the Wisdom of God

Again, praying in tongues does not make you a better Christian. It does not instantly elevate you into spiritual superstardom. There are many believers who speak in tongues but live like the devil. However, tongues is a relevant and available gift to believers today. Why tongues—something that seems so foolish, uneducated and ungraspable to our natural human minds?

Keep in mind that you are dealing with the King of the universe who arrived on Planet Earth in a manger surrounded by farm animals. He is the holy God who died the death of a criminal on a Roman cross to make atonement for the sins of the world. Our God is the One who deals in wisdom that is so infinitely superior to what our natural minds can comfortably wrap around that, at first glance, such methods appear downright foolish. Birthing His church with wind, fire and speaking in tongues would be another such demonstration of God’s otherworldly wisdom. But consider the words of the apostle Paul"

"But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, that no flesh should glory in His presence" (1 Cor. 1:27-29).

Just because our minds cannot understand the whys of God’s ways, that does not give us permission to ignore them. Tongues is surely a mystery, but at the same time it is a powerful gift that will not only enrich your personal prayer life but will bring you into deeper intimacy and communion with the Holy Spirit.

If you are looking for a solid, biblical approach to the topic of praying in tongues, I encourage you to look into Corey Russell’s The Glory Within curriculum. It is ideal for Bible studies, small groups and church classes. Corey’s approach is fresh, nonthreatening and completely motivated by love. Whether you are looking to go to the next level in developing a lifestyle of praying in tongues or you would like to have more clarity about the topic, The Glory Within will be a blessing to you.

You can visit Corey Russell's website at www.coreyrussell.org.

Larry Sparks is the author of Breakthrough Healing (Destiny Image, 2014). He is a conference speaker, blogger, columnist and host of the weekly radio program Voice of Destiny (www.thevoiceofdestiny.org). Featured in Charisma magazine and on CBN’sSpiritual Gifts webcast, Larry is also founder of Equip Culture—a ministry that equips believers with the tools and resources to live victoriously through the supernatural power of God. Subscribe to his blog at www.lawrencesparks.com. Follow him on Twitter @LarryVSparks.

Secularism Sucking the Pneuma Out of Spirit-Filled Christianity

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Secularism Sucking the Pneuma Out of Spirit-Filled Christianity

11:00AM EDT 10/25/2013 JENNIFER LECLAIRE, charismanews

 

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When Pentecostals don’t speak in tongues and Baptists aren’t getting baptized, it signals a deeper issue of faith. (Ashley Campbell/Flickr/Creative Commons)

Fewer Pentecostals are speaking tongues. Fewer Baptists are getting baptized. Wait, what? Yes, you read that correctly. But what are we to make of the decline of baptisms in water and in the Spirit? I’ll get to that in a minute.

A couple of months ago, I wrote a column entitled, “Are We Pentecostals Losing Our Religion by Holding Our Tongue-Talking?.” In it I referenced an AP report about a small Assemblies of God congregation that looks just like every other Pentecostal church service—except nobody is speaking in tongues.

What I didn’t include are the stats from the Assemblies of God, the largest Pentecostal denomination in the world with 66 million members. At the General Council meeting in August, the AG talked about the decline baptisms in the Spirit.

According to the denomination’s statistics, tongue talking decreased by about 3 percent to less than 82,000. That’s the lowest rate since 1995. How is that even possible, given that Pentecostalism is one of the fastest growing sectors of Christianity? The Pew Research Center reports that at least 25% of the 2 billion Christians in the world are connected to the Pentecostal or charismatic movements.

“This is a long-developing phenomenon," Harvey Cox, an expert in Pentecostalism and professor of religion at the Harvard Divinity School, told the Associated Press. "They don't want what appears to be objectionable to stick out or be viewed with suspicion."

And it’s not just the Pentecostals that are straying from the defining characteristics of their faith. The Baptists are also reporting a decline in Baptisms. Indeed, the North American Mission Board (NAMB) reports water baptisms dipped 13 percent in 2012 to under 300,000. Al Gilbert of the NAMB told One News Now that’s the biggest drop in 62 years—62 years!

“Maybe we're not identifying the need to help our teenagers and even our older children understand how to publicly profess their faith," Gilbert says. "Are we even making sure that they've understood the claims of Christ and then they have declared that they're publicly a follower of Christ?"

OK, so what’s going on here and what does it mean for Pentecostals, Baptists, and Christianity at large? It doesn’t take a prophet to see that secularism is attacking the foundations of Christianity and we’re seeing the manifestations in two of the largest, oldest branches in the body of Christ.

Think about it for a minute. When Pentecostals don’t speak in tongues and Baptists aren’t getting baptized, it signals a deeper issue of faith. In an age of interfaith marriages, some may be abandoning their religious roots to avoid offending their spouses.

In a recent article entitled “Interfaith Unions: A Mixed Blessing,” Naomi Shaeffer Riley points out that before the 1960s, about 20 percent of married couples were in interfaith unions; of couples married in this century’s first decade, 45 percent were. She also notes that secular Americans welcome the rise of interfaith unions as a sign of societal progress. But it’s not progress when you abandon the tenets of your faith in the name of compromise.

Secularism is even creeping into churches. What does that look like? Some of the signs are blatantly obvious, such as teaching that Jesus is not the only way to God. But the Bible clearly states that Jesus is the way, the truth and the life and that no one comes to the Father except through Him (John 14:6; Acts 4:12). Approval of homosexual lifestyles is another obvious fruit of secularism in the church, just as is a refusal to confront other sins.

But secularism isn’t always so blatant. There are subtle secularistic messages invading the church. Messages that focus more on moralism than Christ and the cross sound fine and good but morality without Christ is not Christianity. Likewise, pop psychology-centered sermons can take our focus off Christ’s and distract us from our faith in His healing power and place it in steps or formulas that may actually contradict the Word.

When we’re scared our faith will offend, we’re bowing to secularism. When we stop publicly baptizing in water, we may also be bowing to the influence of secularism. And when we stop praying in tongues because we don’t want to scare off seekers, we’ve definitely given in to secularism.

This Scripture keeps coming to mind: “If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?” (Psalm 11:3). Make no mistake, secularism is among the forces working to destroy our Christian foundation. It’s time for the righteous to rise up, bold as lions, and declare the cross of Christ, get baptized publicly, and speak in tongues to build ourselves up in our most holy faith. And ultimately, secularism must bow a knee to the name of Jesus.

Jennifer LeClaire is news editor at Charisma. She is also the author of several books, including The Spiritual Warrior's Guide to Defeating Jezebel. 

You can email Jennifer atjennifer.leclaire@charismamedia.com or visit her website here. You can also join Jennifer on Facebookor follow her on Twitter.

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Those were the Days, but Better are Coming - Jim Croft

Those were the Days, but Better are Coming
Jim Croft

In the early ‘70s Bob Mumford, Derek Prince and Don Basham held weekly teachings at the Governor’s Club in downtown Ft. Lauderdale, FL. The meetings were well attended as the worldwide Charismatic Renewal was in full swing. In ’74 the brothers launched a church called, Good News Fellowship. In September of ’75, Derek asked me to found a satellite branch that became known as Good News Church.

There are many exciting things that I could say about our services. I will only focus on one. It is the prophetic dynamic of our worship. To this day, I still get many comments from aging members and visitors that it was the most memorable time of their Christian experience.

The worship team was comprised of a 10 piece orchestra; at least 4 singers; the worship leader; and a cast of skilled interpretive dancers. Here is a sample of what might occur in most any Sunday service. One of the instrument players would get a spontaneous melody line from the Lord. It was often our cellist, Cheryl or our flutist, Sue. They would play through a melody that had not previously been heard on this planet. The entire orchestra would have revelatory insight for the direction that the piece was going. Whether the essence was classical, country, or rock, it sounded as though it had been rehearsed all week.

At the onset of the second play through, one of the singers would begin to sing lyrics in unknown tongues. After a bit, either one of the platform singers or, perhaps a prophetically inclined parishioner would come to the microphone and sing the lyric’s interpretation in English. At that, the worship singers would all sing in their prayer languages to the same melody line. After a pause, one of them would sing the interpretation.

A new song of the Lord would evolve with chorus and verses. Usually, the entire congregation would unite in singing the chorus. The content of the lyrics could be about the attributes of a member of the Godhead; any imaginable aspect of redemption; and future glories of the Body of Christ. Whether the tone was worshipfully delicate or that of rhythmic praise, the sheen of God’s presence glistened from tearful eyes and smiling faces as each spontaneous installment of verses came forth.

At varying points during these episodes, it was not uncommon for one of the dancers to minister to the Lord in interpretive dance. Their dance was so anointed that the message of the spontaneous song could be discerned without hearing its lyrics.

More Better

Oh’ how I have longed for repeats of those days of the ‘70s and ‘80s. Tonight, I am getting a message in tongues with an interpretation. As I have listened to myself singing several times, the unknown languages seemed to vary, but the interpretations had little variance. I suspect that the message is comprised of more than one language as there do not seem to be the customary repetitions of articles and verbs of a single language. I will give the tongue message with phonetic spelling and then give the interpretation as it comes to me.

Tongues

Et-treach, Wo meek? Et-treach un gaases et-treach un shoeetta zo na tringgal twilla? Ap chan twa gena, bingo eem motetra neech tre mesa dua ing gen. Na peep ean ba twing Sangu Trinco ta timach bosta ean tabchan met ean drunsa twing Sangminyah.

An Interpretation 

Who, I say? Who is this who is created from the nation discounted? It is many people, who will arise and walk the earth united. It is the people of the Living God who will cover the world manifesting the presence of the Spirit of Christ.

That is my hope and I am sticking to it. So be it!

Jim Croft
jcm888@comcast.net

Editor's note: I added the Holy Spirit artwork at the top of this blog page. Steve Martin

The Value of Speaking in Tongues - Jim Croft

The Apostle Paul strongly indicated that speaking in unknown tongues is a volitional act. He said, I will pray and sing with my spirit (in unknown tongues); and I will pray and sing with my understanding. (1 Cor 14:15) Praying / speaking in an unknown tongue and articulating speech in one’s mother tongue are decisions of human will.

The difference between the two is the source of the words spoken. Birth language vocabulary is acquired by learning and is stored in the frontal lobe of the brain responsible for speech. Unknown tongues vocabulary is not acquired by parental exposure and education.

Words spoken in tongues might momentarily register in the brain, but the brain’s speech center is not the origin. The source is the Holy Spirit within a Christian’s personal spirit. The words are spontaneously formulated in the human spirit which is separate and distinctive from the brain.

The language spoken is determined by the Holy Spirit and can be that of men or angels. (1Cor13:1) Known languages are recognizable. Dead dialects and the languages of angels might sound somewhat like nonsensical gibberish even though they are not.

For illustration, I’ll use a word that I occasionally hear as others speak in tongues. It sounds like she-bah-bah and is often repeated again and again. The nuances of pronunciation and voice inflection of a word in given language can have numerous of definitions.

Depending on tone, three repetitions of she-bah-bah could easily have 3 different meanings. The Lord is coming; the Lord is near; and the Lord is here.

Science Concurs

What is happening in the brain when people pray in the Holy Spirit is described in 1Cor 14:14. It says their understanding is unfruitful. A good alternate interpretation is that the brain is out of gear when a person speaks, prays or sings in tongues. This reality has been confirmed by scientific research.

A team from the University of PA conducted a study of the effects of religious activity on the brain. A special solution was injected to enable blood flow to various sectors of the brain to be tracked. When subjects prayed in English, blood flow intensified in the frontal lobe of the brain responsible for speech.

When the same individuals spoke, prayed or sang in unknown languages, there was not any increase of blood flow to the brain’s speech center. The scientists had 2 conclusions: The words spoken in tongues are not generated from any known sector of the brain. And, that unknown tongues possibly originate from a non-human source as claimed by tongues speakers.

For the study go to - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NZbQBajYnEc&sns=em

Clip Clarification

There were statements made by the physician interviewed on the clip and by believers participating in the study that aren’t accurate from biblical and experiential standpoints. The scientist and the narrator insinuated that tongues aren’t intelligible language. In reference to speaking in unknown tongues, the Bible mentions the tongues of angels and men. The implication is that instances of utterances can feature either and perhaps even both.Study spokesmen described tongues as sounding like gibberish.

I’ve spoken and have prayed in with my spirit for decades and haven’t ever heard myself saying anything that didn’t have the sound of distinct language. In addition, I have two personal friends who came to salvation by hearing believers speaking in unknown tongues in prayer services. The speakers, who had no familiarity with my friends or their native language, were heard asking God to forgive my friends of their respective secret sins.

One of the participants in the study inferred that she wasn’t in control during episodes of praying in tongues. She then began to dance about giving the impression that a certain emotional ecstatic state had to be achieved before speaking in tongues could be activated. Her belief is similar to that of a few Pentecostal denominations. It declares that one cannot speak in tongues unless “moved” by the Spirit.

This doctrinal position contradicts the teaching of 1Cor 14 that clearly defines the use of praying and speaking in tongues at the desecration of individual believers. My experience with speaking in unknown tongues is that it is a gift and not an emotional state. For me, the exercise of the gift of unknown languages is a decision. I have observed the same with believers in scores of nations.

Value of Speaking in Tongues

I’m of the opinion that the gift of tongues is too often neglected by Spirit baptized Christians. It’s not a onetime gift. The gift of tongues is multifaceted. It is to be employed throughout a recipient’s lifetime. Here are some of its uses:

1. Tongues are one of God’s signs to a believer and to others that he/she has been divinely acknowledged as a child of God. It is indicative of repentance and that one’s heart has been purified by faith. (Acts 11:15-18; 15:7-9)

2. Hebrews 6:4-5 speaks of believers receiving the heavenly gift that is the foretaste of the powers of the age to come. It is interesting to note that the physical organ with which we taste is located in the mouth. It is the human tongue. Each time we speak in tongues, our mouths taste and pour forth samplings of the powers of
the world to come.

3. Faith is a spiritual substance that can weaken and can be intensified in strength. Praying in the Spirit builds up our reserves of faith. (Heb 11:1; Jude 1:20)

4. As a believer prays in the Spirit, he is edifying himself. Speaking in tongues charges one’s spiritual battery to compensate for life events that drain spiritual, emotional and physical energies. (1 Cor 14:4)

5. While we pray in the Spirit, we are praying about issues that are mysteries to us as we don’t understand what we are praying about. The topics of those utterances are no mystery to God. It is the Holy Spirit praying from within our personal spirits about matters that would never occur to us.

It could be for some future need we have yet to experience. Or, it could be intercession for a believer in crisis whom we might not meet this side of heaven. At crucial times, I’m always comforted to know that believers near and yon are unwittingly interceding for me as they pray in the Spirit. (1 Cor 14:2; Rom 8:26-27)

6. The Bible admonishes us to pray without ceasing and not to quench the Holy Spirit. The only way to pray without ceasing is to pray in tongues. When we do so, it is our spirits that are praying and our minds are free to engage in the matters at hand. I can read a book and can fully comprehend what I’m reading while praying in tongues at the same time. (1 Thes 5:16-19; 1 Cor 14:14)

7. Praying in tongues is a method of giving thanks to God in a manner superior to our own capabilities. (1 Cor 14:16-17)

8. When we speak in tongues during a public gathering the Holy Spirit can give the interpretation. When this happens, the interpretation serves the same purpose as prophecy in that it edifies those present. (1 Cor 14:5)

Occasionally, God gives me the interpretation of what I’m praying about in tongues. In one situation, I was
concerned about my future. The interpretation was, “You’ve never been one who prospered by being in great demand. You’ve prospered by willing obedience to me to be strategically placed in people’s lives time and time again. In the future you will experience greater prosperity as I strategically place you time and time again.” God has been faithful to that prophetic interpretation.

I will close with one of my interpretations of 1 Cor 14:39-40 – Don’t forget to pray often in unknown tongues. Let it be done in an appropriate setting, but make sure it gets done.

Be blessed and be a blessing,

Jim Croft

jcm888@comcast.net

 

(Note: Pictures included with this article were added by this editor. Steve Martin)