To achieve any substantial results through speaking in tongues, you need to be consistent. That is something I learned early on shortly after I got baptized with the gift.
But knowing that I needed to be consistent in speaking in tongues didn’t automatically make me consistent.
For a long time I struggled to find consistency in speaking in tongues. It was not only speaking in tongues that was inconsistent; my life has always been plagued with inconsistency.
Despite the obvious challenge, I was determined to get the best out of speaking in tongues.
In this article, I will share with you the struggles I went through and how I finally solved the inconsistency problem.
Searching for the root cause
When I realized that I was inconsistent in speaking in tongues, I decided to find the cause. I knew that I can only solve the problem if I knew where it originated from.
After a little bit of digging, I learned that my inconsistency in speaking in tongues was a result of being easily distracted by new knowledge.
I have always loved the gift of knowledge and wisdom. I question almost everything until I get to understand the nature of things.
When I first received the gift of speaking in tongues, I had many questions. When I had a question that was unanswered, I would be discouraged to speak in tongues until I found an answer to it.
“Now that I can speak in tongues, do I pray purely in tongues or should I mix it with praying in understanding?” I asked myself.
“Yes I was prayed for to speak in tongues, but how can I confirm that I am actually speaking in tongues?”
“I am not seeing any change in my life, is this speaking in tongues thing effective?”
“I want to pray for a specific issue, how can I know I have prayed for it when I can’t understand the tongues I am speaking?”
These were some of the questions that would discourage me from speaking in tongues.
I knew that the only way for me to be consistent in speaking in tongues meant that I had to find answers to the questions I had.
Finding Answers to My Questions
At first, I thought it would be easy to find answers to these questions and be free to speak in tongues consistently. My first plan was to ask my church leaders but it failed spectacularly.
One time, my pastor attended a small fellowship we had organized in college and I took that opportunity to ask him some of the speaking in tongues questions I had.
I ended up asking only one question. The answer I got for that question made it clear to me that I needed another strategy.
The question was simple, “Is it okay to pray for everything in tongues?” His response was just a bunch of words sprinkled with scriptures.
After his supposed answer, he asked if I had any other questions. Even though I had other questions, I said I had none. There was no point of asking them if those rumblings were the kind of answers I was going to be given.
From that time, I began listening to teachings about speaking in tongues online hoping to get answers. I did understand a few things but not sufficient to satisfy my curiosity.
Eventually, I decided to pray and ask God those questions. I was a bit scared but that was the only other option I could think of.
God’s response was prompt and very helpful. First, God confirmed to me that the tongues I was speaking were valid by using someone else to interpret them.
When my tongues were interpreted and I learned that I was speaking a prophecy, I was elated. The motivation I got from that incident helped me a lot in my journey to be consistent in speaking in tongues.
Becoming Consistent in Speaking in Tongues
The biggest hurdle to speaking in tongues consistently had been the lingering questions. Though I had many questions, it turned out that only one of those questions was making me inconsistent.
The concern that the tongues I was speaking were ineffective made me inconsistent. “Why should I waste my time speaking in tongues when I am not sure if it is effective?” I used to ask myself.
But when God assured me that the tongues I was speaking were valid and effective, I was greatly motivated to speak in tongues.
I found it very enjoyable to speak in tongues. On top of that, God impressed in my heart that if I remained faithful to speaking in tongues, He would answer my other questions.
The excitement of the news made me speak in tongues on a daily basis for many months.
I would speak in tongues on my own as well as with other believers in the fellowship.
The church had organized night vigils twice a week and I made it a priority to attend both of them every week. Those night vigils were primarily for helping people who were new to praying in tongues.
We would pray in tongues for several hours and even though it was often tough, I pushed through it because everyone was doing it.
Getting the Flow
God eventually revealed to me answers to the other questions I had about speaking in tongues. And when I got those answers, speaking in tongues became the sweetest activity in my life.
I understood that the answers I wanted were best experienced rather than told. Because God understood it, He answered questions that could be answered verbally and encouraged me to pursue experiencing answers to my other questions.
Speaking in tongues became so sweet and I was constantly excited to speak in tongues. The revelations I got, spiritual encounters, dreams at night, overwhelming peace and other benefits made me love praying in tongues.
When you experience the joy of praying in tongues, consistency will come automatically. Who doesn’t want an encounter with God and life changing revelations?
To this day, I enjoy speaking in tongues and I do it consistently. It is the benefits that I get from it that keep me going.
The first days were tough but right now it is a breeze. I bless the name of the Lord!