When you ask if speaking in tongues is compulsory, you have to specify what you want to achieve. There are spiritual experiences that you can only get if you speak in tongues.
If you are talking about going to heaven, speaking in tongues is not compulsory. When it comes to salvation, the compulsory thing is to believe in Jesus.
Speaking in tongues is a gift that accelerates prayer. If you want to get high-level spiritual experiences, speaking in tongues will be compulsory.
The next time you hear a pastor saying speaking in tongues is compulsory, ask yourself what you want to achieve. Then figure out if what you want to achieve requires you to speak in tongues. That is how it works.
In this article, I want to go over some spiritual experiences that can only be accessed by speaking in tongues. In other words, to experience these spiritual levels, it is compulsory to speak in tongues.
If you will want to achieve any of the following spiritual experiences, speaking in tongues will be compulsory for you.
Situations in which Speaking in Tongues is Compulsory
1. Speaking in Tongues is Compulsory if you want to hold a conversation with God
Anyone can speak to God but not anyone can converse with God. Speaking to God includes people who mock God. Provided a person speaks with the intention of having God hear him, that is considered speaking to God.
But conversing with God is more than just speaking to God. This is where you exchange ideas with God. God asks you questions and you answer them or you ask God questions and He answers them.
This is the kind of encounter that the Bible calls ‘as a friend speaks to a friend’. Moses had this privilege.
In this dispensation of the Holy Spirit, we can only converse with God if we have the gift of speaking in tongues.
God has designed it this way for a good reason. You see, when you are speaking to God the Father, whatever you say is law. God is the judge of the universe. Whatever case you give Him, He gives out instant judgment.
This may sound like a good thing until you realize that we are prone to errors in our prayers. If you ask for a foolish thing in a conversation with God the Father, He will grant it. Remember the children of Israel who said they were better off in Egypt and that God had brought them into the wilderness to die.
God responded to their statement by granting them what they asked for; they died in the wilderness.
This was a problem and so Jesus was sent to be our mediator. The prayers we make go through Jesus who analyzes them to see if they are worth going to the Father.
If Jesus sees that whatever you are asking for is foolish, the prayer doesn’t get to the Father and so you don’t get an answer to your foolish prayer.
But when the Holy Spirit came, He gave us the ability to speak in tongues. Speaking in tongues is speaking directly to God. Since the Holy Spirit can never make a foolish prayer, there is no need for Jesus to ‘proofread’ your prayer.
This means that speaking in tongues is the only way you can converse with God as a friend speaks to a friend. When you speak to God in tongues, He is confident that you won’t say something stupid that will force Him to punish you.
The direct access enables you to speak to God in real time but of course you also need to have the ability to interpret tongues for the conversation to flow.
2. Speaking in Tongues is Compulsory if you want to express Mysteries to God
When you need God to provide money so that you pay rent, you don’t need to speak in tongues. Just say it. But if you want to let God know how much pain you feel after a heartbreak, you need to speak in tongues.
Speaking in tongues is compulsory when you want to express abstract ideas in prayer. When God comes through for you and you are so grateful, how do you express your gratefulness to Him?
Usually, we say “Thank you!” But if thank you doesn’t feel enough, what do you say? Usually we say “Words can’t describe how much grateful I am”. But will you tell God that?
This is why speaking in tongues is necessary. If God does something great for you and you don’t thank Him by speaking in tongues, you will appear as ungrateful and of course God will less likely do such a miracle for you again.
If you have the ability to speak in tongues, God can do great miracles for you because He knows you are able to express the required level of gratitude to Him.
I read a story of a woman who survived a car crash unharmed and she began speaking in tongues thanking God for saving her. In such moments when you have no words, speaking in tongues will get the message across.
Since we experience intense emotions every so often, will it be wrong to say speaking in tongues is compulsory?
Be the judge!
3. Speaking in Tongues is Compulsory if you want Edification
This one is straight from the Bible. Whoever speaks in tongues edifies himself. Edification is an ambiguous term. In it are infinite goodies that words can’t describe.
Edification in simple terms is the full repair kit of a human being in the hands of the Holy Spirit who is the master mechanic.
Whatever is wrong in your life be it physical or spiritual, when you speak in tongues, the Holy Spirit will fix it.
When you pray in understanding, you have to mention each of the problems that you want the Holy Spirit to fix but when you speak in tongues, He fixes problems according to His expertise.
When you hear people who speak in tongues say it is compulsory, they know what they are talking about.
In one session of speaking in tongues you can solve problems that would otherwise take you an entire year or even years to solve.
This is why you also hear some preachers say speaking in tongues accelerates your life. It is true because so many of your problems are fixed very fast and you get to grow quicker.
Who doesn’t want quick growth? If you want it, know that speaking in tongues is compulsory.
Is Speaking in Tongues Compulsory? Conclusion
I have listed for you situations in which speaking in tongues is compulsory. If you ever find yourself in those situations, speaking in tongues will be greatly beneficial.
But because everyone has free will, you will decide if you should make speaking in tongues compulsory in your life or not.
As for me (and my house), speaking in tongues is compulsory. I don’t think I need to debate about it given that I know the benefits of speaking in tongues.
I hope I have answered your question.
Peace!