Enduring Speaking in Tongues Persecution

Praying in tongues comes with a lot of challenges. Some of the challenges can make you struggle to pray in tongues faithfully. One challenge in particular has proved to be hard for many believers to deal with.

I’m talking about the fear of appearing like a fool when you speak in tongues. This is a challenge I have seen many believers battle with.

I’m here to help you get over this challenge once and for all. If you ever feel scared to pray in tongues because you fear that people will see you as a fool, I’m here for you.

When you are done with this article, not only will you be motivated to pray in tongues boldly, but you will also be able to fight back against anyone who tries to shame you for speaking in tongues.

I will give you scriptures that you can use to defend yourself whenever you are attacked for praying in tongues.

Speaking in tongues is a beautiful gift from the Holy Spirit, and no one should shame you for practicing it.

Details of the challenge

I have spoken to believers who had the gift of praying in tongues, but they were in a very hostile environment. The people around them did not believe in the gift of speaking in tongues.

As a result, they opposed the praying-in-tongues believers fiercely. In some cases, the praying-in-tongues believers had to run away for their own safety. In other cases, they stopped praying in tongues altogether.

Sadly, such persecution happens to tongues-speaking believers. But what can we do? The devil stirs up people to attack praying-in-tongues believers to make them stop praying in tongues.

If such believers don’t have someone to motivate them to continue praying in tongues, they may end up ditching speaking in tongues for good.

The constant threats and attacks against their faith in the gift of speaking in tongues are hard to endure. Some believers might have the courage to endure for a while, but in the long run, it becomes very difficult.

If this is your situation in one way or another, I’m here to guide you on how to tackle it.

Your Defense

Your defense against this type of attack is in scripture. This attack is against your faith in the gift of speaking in tongues. The enemy wants to drain your faith so that you give up speaking in tongues.

Your first assignment is to guard your faith at all costs. Since your faith is a result of the knowledge you have gained from scripture, you have to meditate on scriptures that boost your faith daily.

I’ll give you three scriptures that you can hold onto anytime you are attacked for praying in tongues:

1 Corinthians 1:27

But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong;

First, you need to understand that speaking in tongues is designed to appear foolish to the people of the world. Things of the spirit are foolishness to the carnal people of the world.

This means that you should expect them to see speaking in tongues as foolish. They don’t see speaking in tongues as foolish because you are doing it; rather, they see it as foolishness because they are carnal.

This also means that you can’t convince them through reasoning that speaking in tongues is a beautiful gift of the Holy Spirit. They can only come to see the beauty of speaking in tongues if they humble themselves and get the revelation from the Holy Spirit.

It is not your fault that people of the world don’t understand the gift of speaking in tongues. You are only practicing a gift you were given, and you were given the gift because you believed in the Holy Spirit.

Acts 2:15

For these people are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day.

Peter is speaking on your behalf to your persecutors that you are not drunk. What is happening to you also happened to the first disciples who spoke in tongues; they were accused of being drunk.

But Peter rose to defend them and told the inhabitants of Judea and Jerusalem that what they were witnessing was an outpouring of the Holy Spirit.

When you are persecuted for speaking in tongues, remember that the first disciples to speak in tongues faced similar persecution. The devil was determined from the first day to fight against speaking in tongues, and he has never relented to this day.

You are not drunk; instead, you are led by the Holy Spirit. Be proud of it.

John 15:25

But the word that is written in their Law must be fulfilled: ‘They hated me without a cause.’

Anyone who hates you for speaking in tongues is hating you without a cause. Speaking in tongues is a blessing to you who speaks, and to those who hear you speak. No one has a justifiable reason to hate someone who speaks in tongues.

This should be a consolation to know that those who hate you are just hateful for no reason. It should also comfort you to know that they did the same thing to Jesus.

The world hates God, and everything that comes from Him. Since speaking in tongues is a gift from God, the world is bound to hate it. If you have the gift, the world will definitely hate you.

But in all this, remember that you are suffering the same suffering your master Jesus suffered, as well as all the first disciples of Jesus.

Let this be your strength and motivation.

Finally brethren…

Expect the world to persecute you when you exercise the gift of speaking in tongues. The world has a track record of doing exactly that to anyone who exercises God’s gift. This should not be a surprise to you.

When you are persecuted for speaking in tongues, endure just as your master Jesus and the early disciples endured. If it is possible, run away to a safer place, but understand that as long as you are still in the world, you will be hated by the world.

In the end, have the assurance that God will judge those who hated you and persecuted you for speaking in tongues. Take courage and continue speaking in tongues faithfully.

God bless you!