One of the best pieces of advice I feel I can ever give anyone, is: 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘶𝘦𝘴.
Paul said speaking in tongues edifies you:
𝐈 𝐂𝐎𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐀𝐍𝐒 𝟏𝟒:𝟒
𝟒 𝐇𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐭𝐡 𝐢𝐧 𝐚𝐧 𝐮𝐧𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐭𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐮𝐞 𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐞𝐭𝐡 𝐡𝐢𝐦𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟...
That means speaking in tongues builds you up—like a building being built. That's good, isn't it!
Sometimes all it takes is one sentence in tongues—and you already feel refreshed. It's like pressing the restart button on a computer, or refreshing the screen. You know and feel that something good has been accomplished, and that everything is okay. Sometimes you might even start to feel a note of joy in your spirit. You might smile, and chuckle or laugh. That's the note of victory. Your spirit has been edified.
Whenever you don't know what else to do—if ever your heart and mind are overwhelmed—you can always speak in tongues. Speaking in tongues is one thing we can do perfectly—because it bypasses our limited understanding. When we speak in tongues we aren't speaking from our understanding, but with our spirit—as the Holy Spirit gives us utterance. And who knows the mind of God better than the Spirit of God! So when we don't know what to pray for as we ought, speaking in tongues is a way we can pray in accordance with the perfect will of God.
Paul said that a person who speaks in tongues is speaking not unto men but unto God, for no-one understands him, nevertheless in the spirit he's speaking mysteries:
𝐈 𝐂𝐎𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐀𝐍𝐒 𝟏𝟒:𝟐
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.
When we pray in tongues, we may be praying about things known only to God—things which perhaps only the Spirit can reveal. It is therefore an effective way to make petitions, supplications and intercessions. It can solve problems, set-up Divine appointments, and establish destinies.
Paul mentioned speaking, praying, singing, blessing and giving thanks in tongues (see I Corinthians 14).
Kenneth E. Hagin said that nearly all of the blessings he experienced in his long and fruitful life and ministry could be attributed to two things: acting on the Word, and praying in other tongues. Coming from him, that's saying something!
He shared that when he was a young teenage preacher, he used to go to a hay barn and pray in tongues. As he did so, if I remember correctly, he felt that when he would be in his 60s, a major thrust of his ministry would be the printed page. And it came to pass! Millions of his books and his magazine were distributed in many languages and nations. And many major ministers have given credit to the foundation that Kenneth E. Hagin's books gave to their own ministries. By praying in tongues, brother Hagin was praying into existence the very plan and purpose of God for his ministry, decades in advance.
Over the years I've often felt that when you meet a person who speaks in tongues a lot, you can almost tell. There's something about them. After all, speaking in tongues involves tapping-in to the Spirit—to God's supernatural ability. So someone who speaks in tongues a lot, is like when the water table under a parcel of land sits very close to the land surface—it doesn't take very much for some of that water to spring up and flow. To such a person, revelation always seems just below the surface; they seem to be of quick understanding; and they don't seem to have to dig too deep before they can also express the Spirit in additional ways besides tongues which are also helpful to the people around them (like words of wisdom, words of knowledge, faith, gifts of healing, working of miracles, prophecy, discerning of spirits, and the interpretation of tongues).
I know an Evangelist who, everywhere he went, words of knowledge and gifts of healing seemed to accompany him so easily, and demons came out of people. He taught that all believers can do the works that Jesus did. He said the key is to keep our pump primed, which he said we can do by spending an hour a day speaking in tongues. An hour a day sounds a lot—but he explained that we can speak in tongues while doing other things throughout the day, such as while cooking, washing, walking or driving. You'd be surprised how easily it can add up to an hour! And like I said above, sometimes it only takes a sentence.
Paul explained that once a believer has received the Spirit and initially spoken with tongues, he can thereafter pray in tongues at will:
𝐈 𝐂𝐎𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐀𝐍𝐒 𝟏𝟒:𝟏𝟓
𝟏𝟓 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐧? 𝐈 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐩𝐫𝐚𝐲 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐭, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐈 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐩𝐫𝐚𝐲 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐥𝐬𝐨...
In this verse Paul is contrasting two ways of praying: praying with our spirit (in tongues), and with praying with our understanding. The words 'I will' indicate volition: it's up to us to decide which way we will pray, and when. Sometimes you feel it sort of pressing on your spirit. Give expression to that. That's praying in the Spirit.
Paul spoke in tongues a lot:
𝐈 𝐂𝐎𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐀𝐍𝐒 𝟏𝟒:𝟏𝟖
𝟏𝟖 𝐈 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤 𝐦𝐲 𝐆𝐨𝐝, 𝐈 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐤 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐮𝐞𝐬 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐲𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐥...
He was referring to when he was by himself praying—not necessarily addressing a congregation in tongues.
And he said he wanted us all to:
𝐈 𝐂𝐎𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐀𝐍𝐒 𝟏𝟒:𝟓
𝟓 𝐈 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐬𝐩𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐮𝐞𝐬...
That includes you, and me.
Speaking in tongues is one of the best things we can do!
Our precious Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ was the first to say that believers shall speak with tongues:
𝐌𝐀𝐑𝐊 𝟏𝟔:𝟏𝟕,𝟏𝟖
𝟏𝟕 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐞 𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐬 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐟𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐯𝐞; 𝐈𝐧 𝐦𝐲 𝐧𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐜𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐝𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐥𝐬; 𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐘 𝐒𝐇𝐀𝐋𝐋 𝐒𝐏𝐄𝐀𝐊 𝐖𝐈𝐓𝐇 𝐍𝐄𝐖 𝐓𝐎𝐍𝐆𝐔𝐄𝐒;
𝟏𝟖 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐮𝐩 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬; 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐝𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐥𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐢𝐭 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐡𝐮𝐫𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦; 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐥𝐚𝐲 𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐢𝐜𝐤, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫.
And the promise of receiving the Spirit is for everyone:
𝐀𝐂𝐓𝐒 𝟐:𝟑𝟗
𝟑𝟗 𝐅𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐧, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐟𝐚𝐫 𝐨𝐟𝐟, 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐚𝐬 𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐆𝐨𝐝 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥.
