I know it is a common practice for tongue speaking believers to speak in tongues while doing other activities. Some speak in tongues while doing house work, others speak in tongues while driving and some speak in tongues while having intimate time with their partners.
I have heard many things that believers speak in tongues while doing. I am not here to debate whether speaking in tongues while doing certain activities is right or wrong but rather, I’m here to tell you a fact that will go a long way in helping you reap a harvest from the tongues you speak.
Speaking in Tongues is like any other Activity
Speaking in tongues is a supernatural activity that manifests physically but that does not exempt it from the physical law of action and reaction.
In fact, the Bible has a principle that agrees with the law of action and reaction. We are told in the book of Galatians 6:7 that a man reaps what he sows.
Apostle Paul emphasizes this point in 2nd Corinthians 9:6 by stating that whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly.
If you plant few seeds on a piece of land, you can only reap a harvest equivalent to the seeds you planted. If you plant many seeds, you will have a chance to reap a big harvest.
Speaking in tongues is like planting seeds; the more you speak in tongues, the greater your chances of getting a breakthrough.
If you treat speaking in tongues the same way you treat your day job, it won’t be a surprise to reap a harvest worth the effort.
Speaking in Tongues while doing other Activities will take away your Focus
Speaking in tongues requires focus just like any other activity. With every activity, there is balance between quality and quantity.
Each person is usually biased to either go for quality or quantity depending on the circumstances.
When it comes to speaking in tongues, quantity is how much time you spend speaking in tongues while quality is how much focused you are while speaking in tongues.
I used to hear people say they speak in tongues for 7 hours, 10 hours, 20 hours etc and I would wonder how that was possible. But when I investigated, I realized that most of them were speaking in tongues for that long while doing other activities.
That discovery made me understand why such people could spend that much time speaking in tongues and have very little to show for it.
To this day, I have not heard a serious testimony of speaking in tongues from a session where someone spoke in tongues while doing other activities. And that makes sense.
Mixing other activities with praying in tongues lowers your focus and dilutes the power of your tongues. The Bible tells us in James 1:8 that a double minded man is unstable in his ways.
The longest I have spoken in tongues was about 5 hours and after that session, I didn’t speak in tongues for about a week because I felt spiritually saturated the entire week.
Anytime I have spoken in tongues for more than an hour and a half, I have experienced a significant shift in my spirit.
What is the secret?
I focus the entire time I am speaking in tongues. I make sure I do no other activity except speaking in tongues.
When I am in dire need of breakthroughs, I exclude every activity from my schedule and only leave speaking in tongues.
The Lord revealed to me to share about speaking in tongues when I was in the middle of a speaking in tongues session. At that time, I had given up all the activities I was doing; I was desperate.
You can read the full story in the article I wrote.
Focus is important when speaking in tongues and doing other activities while speaking in tongues only cuts it down.
Speaking in Tongues while doing other activities is a bad idea because God is jealous
Unknown to some believers, God is jealous more than they imagine. I’m sure you have heard of love relationships that have ended because one partner felt they were investing in the relationship more than the other.
When God feels you are not investing in your relationship with Him as much He is investing in it, He will withdraw.
And since a relationship is 99% communication and we communicate with God through praying in tongues, it means that if you don’t take praying in tongues seriously, God will not give you the breakthrough you want.
If lovers get angry when their partner speaks to them while doing other activities, what makes you think God doesn’t get angry when we pray in tongues while doing other activities?
The act of a believer speaking in tongues while doing other activities discourages God from paying attention to the tongues the believer is speaking. That is why you should avoid it at all costs if you want a breakthrough.
What if I am busy and Speaking in Tongues while doing other activities is the only option I have?
If you are busy to the point that speaking in tongues while doing other activities is the only option you have, then you should not complain when God leaves you to take refuge in the other activities you do in times of trouble.
God is not a fool. He knows we have priorities and He knows exactly where we have prioritized praying to Him. He answers us based on the priority we give to praying in tongues.
Countless times I have spoken in tongues casually and God was not fooled. Those tongues ended up being a waste of time.
But when I was in serious trouble and I turned to speaking in tongues to salvage myself, God responded. Nowadays, I can tell with great accuracy whether God will respond to what I have prayed for based on how serious I took the praying in tongues session.
Jesus said it clearly in Matthew 6:5-6 that if someone prays with the intention of being noticed, when people notice him, that will be his reward. But if someone prays in secret to God, the God who sees in secret will answer him.
Why should you think that principle changed?
The intention that makes you start speaking in tongues, will determine your reward. And if it is a serious intention, I wonder why you will pray in tongues about it while doing other activities.
If you insist on speaking in tongues while doing other activities, it is your choice
There is no law that says we should avoid other activities when we are speaking in tongues but if you speak in tongues while doing other activities and you fail to get the breakthrough you want, you have no right to complain.
I learned this lesson and I chose to set a specific time only for speaking in tongues. I figured out, it is better for me to have one hour everyday exclusively for speaking in tongues than to speak in tongues randomly throughout the day while I’m engaged in other activities.
If you think this is my unique case and you are different, you are welcome to skip this advice. But wiser still, you can test it for yourself.
Speak in tongues while fully focused for an hour and then speak in tongues while doing other activities and see the difference.
I’ve been there, I’ve done that and I’m here giving you this conclusion. Think about it.
Peace!