During your journey of praying in tongues, you progress through various levels as the Holy Spirit continues to lead and elevate you. However, there are distinct moments when the shift is particularly noticeable, and one can clearly experience these changes.
The Holy Spirit serves as our teacher leading us into the complete truth, as Jesus described.
“But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.”
John 14:26
Before advancing to a new spiritual level, God will test you to ensure you are prepared and qualified for the transition. Your diligence, discipline, and obedience to God are among the things that will be put to test.
Often, believers may not immediately recognize this transition, however, there are three strong indicators that you have indeed progressed to a new level.
Quicker ascension in the spirit
One of the initial signs is the time it takes for you to feel the presence of God during prayer. As humans, we are distant from God due to the separation caused by sin. When we engage in prayer, there is a struggle between our spiritual and carnal desires.
Overcoming this internal conflict is necessary to establish a connection with God. Fasting can aid in this process by weakening the flesh, making it easier to access His divine presence.
The Holy Spirit guides us to overcome our fleshly desires and thoughts before allowing us to commune with God. This process may take time, depending on your experience and knowledge around making effective prayers.
As you grow spiritually, suppressing your flesh becomes easier due to a lifestyle that minimizes stimulation of the flesh. This makes it easier to feel God’s presence and the higher you go in praying in tongues, the quicker you can experience His presence.
There was a time when it took me about an hour and a half to experience the heavenly presence of the Lord that comes with unexplainable peace. One day I decided to challenge myself by praying in tongues for as long as possible without stopping, just to see what would happen.
After an hour of praying, I continued for another 30 minutes, which was the longest I had ever prayed in tongues.
During that time, I began to feel carried away in the spirit. I made a commitment to persist in prayer, and eventually, I lost consciousness. When I woke up, I couldn’t remember how long I had been unconscious, but from that day on, praying in tongues became a more profound experience for me.
The peace and joy I felt that day now comes after about 20 to 30 minutes of praying, compared to the hour and a half it used to take.
As you progress through different levels of spiritual growth, the time it takes to reach higher spiritual dimensions decreases. This ability to quickly ascend in the spirit signifies growth in the gift of praying in tongues.
Emotional state
The second indicator is your emotional state when you begin praying in tongues. The longer you engage in this practice, the more intense the feelings of peace and joy become.
If you are new to this experience, you may not initially feel the shift but as you progress in the gift, you begin to experience these emotions more intensely.
Over time, the sweet feelings flood your heart, indicating a new level of connection with the Holy Spirit.
Whenever you begin to experience an abundance of joy and peace while praying in tongues, understand that the Holy Spirit has elevated you to a new level of spiritual communication.
This new level will bring about various spiritual encounters and manifestations, such as visions and revelations. These revelations will bring you immense joy and peace, as they often pertain to your life, providing direction, guidance, and assurance from God.
Fluency of tongues
The final indication involves the ease of praying in tongues or the fluency of your tongues. Initially, you may be more aware of the tongues and syllables you are using, but as you continue in prayer, you will reach a stage where you lose consciousness of the syllables being spoken.
You may even forget that you are praying in tongues, resulting in a very fluent and effortless experience. However, achieving this fluency requires persistence through the initial phase of heightened awareness of the tongues and syllables.
As you progress to the next level under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, you will notice that you reach fluency sooner and find it easier to pray in tongues than before.
The struggles that you may be experiencing in your early days of praying in tongues are not permanent. One day, you will find yourself effortlessly praying in tongues, feeling as though the words are flowing out naturally.
This is a sign that the Holy Spirit has elevated you to a new level of praying in tongues. You will notice an increase in joy, peace, and fluency in your tongues, and the time it takes to experience these feelings will decrease. Everything will fall into place, and you will feel a sense of heavenly peace and joy as you glorify God.
If you find yourself praying in tongues but have not yet begun to experience the fullness of the blessings, do not be discouraged. The Holy Spirit will guide you to a new level in due time.
God will test you, and at the right moment, He will lead you to the next level. This transition may happen gradually for some, while others may experience an instant shift.
Personally, I distinctly remember the day I decided to pray for as long as I could without giving up. It was on that day that I first experienced a peace and joy unlike anything I had felt before.
Since then, every time I pray in tongues for an extended period, I continue to experience that same joy and peace.
I hope this encourages you to keep pushing and persevering until you get a taste of the supernatural experiences. Praying in tongues will become the sweetest thing you have ever done, and you will not want to give it up. Blessings!