When you have the gift of speaking in tongues, you can easily get caught up in praying for breakthroughs. When you fail to get some of the breakthroughs you pray for, you will be frustrated.
The frustration can be so bad to the extent that you forget to be grateful for the ability to pray in tongues. I want to remind you today to take a step back and be grateful for having the gift of speaking in tongues.
Remember the Days when you didn’t Speak in Tongues
I don’t know you but at least I know you were not born with the gift of speaking in tongues. With this being the case, it means you received the gift somewhere between the time you were born and now.
If you were lucky to receive the gift without asking for it, thank God. I know cases of believers who effortlessly started speaking in tongues. But for others, receiving the gift was an uphill task.
The irony of this case is that those who received the gift with little to no resistance will find it hard to be grateful. To them, speaking in tongues feels like breathing; it is a gift but people barely show gratitude for having it.
Whichever camp you belong to, I’m sure you remember how tough praying used to be without the ability to pray in tongues.
In my case, I used to struggle to come up with prayer points. I hated having to follow a script of prayer points when praying.
My preference was to get all prayer points so that when I start praying, I don’t have to stop. Looking back, I am grateful for the ability to pray in tongues. Nowadays, I don’t have to worry about prayer points.
I also had the temptation to envy believers who were speaking in tongues at that time. It felt as if they were full of pride. I would get angry when they would say speaking in tongues was easy yet I was struggling to get the gift.
Now that I am able to pray in tongues, I no longer get tempted to envy other believers who speak in tongues. As a way to show gratitude, I do my best not to demean those who don’t pray in tongues.
I would love everyone to speak in tongues the same way Apostle Paul desired but I understand that there are believers who will never speak in tongues. It is their choice and I have to respect it.
I’m sure you have your own memories of how prayer used to be before you received the ability to pray in tongues. I would be surprised if your prayer life was better when you were praying in understanding compared to when you started speaking in tongues.
Whether it was only a few months ago or many years ago, you still have a reason to be grateful for the gift of praying in tongues.
Being Grateful for Speaking in Tongues makes you enjoy the Gift More
It is our nature to appreciate something more when we know we could easily have missed it. We appreciate the love of God more when we fail to get love from people we expect love from.
The same case is true with praying in tongues; you appreciate the gift more when you know you could easily have missed it.
Can you imagine how hectic your prayer life would be if you never received the gift of praying in tongues? There are spiritual levels you would never get to if you didn’t receive the gift of praying in tongues.
You may never have had certain heavenly encounters if you didn’t have the ability to pray in tongues.
When you have this realization, you will speak in tongues with all your heart. You won’t want to waste the precious gift you have received.
Think about the parable of the prodigal son; the prodigal son appreciated more being a son of his father than the son who never strayed.
Being accepted back home after having suffered made him realize just how precious that home was. He had two experiences to compare; the home of his father and the land of slavery.
Speaking in tongues is a sweet experience but you enjoy it more when you know the bitter experience of praying in understanding.
The beauty of praying in tongues is that you can always switch to praying in understanding when you wish. But when you used to pray in understanding, you didn’t have the luxury of praying in tongues at will.
Being Grateful for Speaking in Tongues sails you through difficult Seasons
Speaking in tongues is a powerful gift but that does not mean that if you have it you won’t face difficult times. When tough times come, if you are grateful for having the gift of speaking in tongues you will have something to hold on to.
There are tongue speaking believers who encounter difficult times and they give up on their faith. I have witnessed it happen.
But if you show gratitude for having the gift of speaking in tongues, difficult times will never bring you down.
Why?
Because speaking in tongues is powerful enough to sail you through any storm. If you genuinely appreciate the gift, your faith will never fail even in the toughest of trials.
There was a time I was spiritually low. It was one of my lowest moments ever. I became numb to matters of God. I no longer cared whether I was living to please God; I just did what I wanted to do.
But despite being so drained, I told myself that I had the gift of speaking in tongues. Before I gave up my faith completely, I decided to give the gift I had one last chance to see if it would revive me spiritually.
I took a three day fast and focused on praying in tongues. By the third day, I had bounced back. Praying in tongues had single handedly pulled me out of a death spiral.
I was so grateful that God had given me the gift. My respect for the gift went a notch higher.
Had I not valued speaking in tongues, I would have given up my faith without giving the gift one last chance. I’m grateful I gave it one last chance.
Therefore, don’t always be occupied with getting breakthroughs when you speak in tongues. Take time and appreciate having the gift. It is more valuable than you imagine.
Also consider that there are many believers who are begging God to have the gift yet God has not given it to them. Count yourself blessed to have it. It is not that you have done anything to deserve it; it is a gift.
You are not any better than those who desperately desire the gift but have not received it. Humble yourself and bless the Lord for His wonderful gift even if you feel it has not delivered the results you want.
Until next time…peace!