When I started praying in tongues, I uncovered truths I never expected. I learned lessons that changed my life, but they also brought challenges I never anticipated. What I’m about to share may not be popular, but every believer who prays in tongues needs to know.
Let me take you through three lessons that revealed the deep reality of praying in tongues to me.
Unexpected opposition
To illustrate the first point, let me share an incident from my early days of praying in tongues. I received the gift of praying in tongues at a time when I attended a small fellowship in school. The fellowship was small, with about 15 to 30 people at most. We spent a lot of time praying in tongues.
The intense praying in tongues was good for beginn ers like me because beginners are often afraid to pray in tongues. Praying alongside other believers makes it easier for them to practice the gift.
One time, the Director of Spiritual Matters in the school received a report that there was a cult-like group praying in tongues. That cult-like group was the small fellowship I was attending. Because we were a small team, it would not have been difficult for the school to take action against us.
At first, many of us were confident that the accusations were just a passing wind. But as the days progressed, many people began talking about the cult-like group that was obsessed with praying in tongues. There were speculations that people who were part of the group would be expelled from school.
When the seriousness of the matter escalated, the number of people attending the fellowship dropped sharply. I still attended the fellowship and continued praying in tongues, waiting for the worst. The pressure remained for a number of weeks, but it slowly died down.
Unfortunately, many members who were afraid of being labeled as tongue-speakers left and never came back to the fellowship.
This brings me to the first lesson I learned: when you receive the gift of praying in tongues, expect opposition at any time.
There were many people in the fellowship who had just received the gift of praying in tongues, but when opposition came, many got scared and left the group. In the process, they killed their gift.
The enemy loves intimidating believers who are new to the gift of praying in tongues. It is one of the best weapons he uses to suppress and kill the gift in believers. Sometimes he whispers discouraging thoughts to believers who are new to praying in tongues.
Other times, he uses people who are close to those believers to discredit their gift. In our case, he used the school administration to plant fear in us. Those who were not prepared became victims of his tactics.
Therefore, as someone new to praying in tongues, and even as an advanced believer in some cases, be ready to withstand the enemy’s scare tactics. They may come from any angle, but be prepared to resist them.
Deliberate prayer routine
The second lesson I learned was responsible for my growth. This is the lesson every believer who prays in tongues must learn in order to grow.
One time, we were in a fellowship, and the pastor leading the meeting gave us an opportunity to ask any questions we had about praying in tongues. One important question was raised by a young man.
He asked, “Should I pray in tongues only when the Holy Spirit prompts me, or should I pray in tongues whenever I want?“
Though I did not ask the question, I had struggled with the same dilemma for a while.
The answer given could not have been better.
“Think of it like rain and lightning,” the pastor began explaining. “Lightning can strike before it starts raining, and strike again while it is raining. In other cases, lightning only strikes while it is raining, and still in other cases, it rains without a single lightning strike.”
He continued, “Praying in tongues is like the rain, and the power of the Holy Spirit is like the lightning strike. As long as there is rain, plants will grow. Trying to predict when lightning will strike is next to impossible. If you want to grow in the gift of praying in tongues, discipline yourself to pray in tongues at set times. In the process, the power of the Holy Spirit will occasionally be deposited in you.”
The pastor’s advice worked perfectly for me. Instead of waiting to feel the power of the Holy Spirit before praying in tongues, I developed a schedule to pray in tongues daily.
At first, the tongues felt dry and ordinary, but sure enough, with time, I began experiencing the power of the Holy Spirit once in a while during my prayers. After several years of consistently praying in tongues, experiencing the power of the Holy Spirit during prayer became a routine occurrence.
Therefore, if you want to grow in the gift of praying in tongues, make it a habit to pray in tongues even when you do not feel prompted by the Holy Spirit. In the process, the Holy Spirit will supply His power, and you will grow exponentially.
Mastering Scriptures
The third lesson I learned when I began praying in tongues was responsible for increasing the effectiveness of the tongues I spoke.
Unknown to many believers, the effectiveness of praying in tongues varies greatly from believer to believer. Though we are all led by the same Spirit to pray in tongues, how we align ourselves makes a significant difference.
When I gave my life to Christ, I was told that I needed to pray every day and read the Word of God in order to grow. I faithfully followed that advice for four years before receiving the gift of praying in tongues.
By the time I began praying in tongues, I had memorized many scriptures from Genesis to Revelation. I even participated in three Bible trivia competitions and won each one of them.
Unknown to me, that knowledge of Scripture had laid a perfect foundation for my gift of praying in tongues to thrive.
You see, when you pray in tongues, you experience many spiritual realities. These experiences can be difficult to understand unless you know the Scriptures. When the Holy Spirit explains those experiences, He often uses Scripture to help you understand.
If you do not know Scripture, you may have a hard time understanding the revelations you receive. And if you cannot understand those revelations, the effectiveness of your praying in tongues is significantly reduced.
Hearing from God, receiving revelations, receiving prophecies, and interpreting tongues are some of the by-products of having a solid understanding of the Word of God and combining it with praying in tongues.
Therefore, if you want the tongues you speak to be effective, make sure you master Scripture. You do not have to understand every passage when you first read it; you only need to remember it.
Just like the Ethiopian eunuch in Acts 8:26–40, who was reading the book of Isaiah without understanding it, continue reading the Scriptures. Once they are stored in your heart and mind, as you pray in tongues, the Holy Spirit will remind you of specific passages and use them to explain deep revelations to you.
The more Scripture you know, the easier it becomes to understand the leading of the Holy Spirit.
God bless you.