Recently, I was praying in tongues and encountered a familiar experience that I would like to share with you. It is about the heart becoming unusually tender while praying in tongues.
This experience adds a delightful touch to the gift of praying in tongues, as it ignites a desire to engage in it more frequently.
Purification and edification
When you begin to pray in tongues, it is common to have unresolved issues in your heart arising from our day to day interactions and experiences. These accumulated feelings of grief, chaos, and pain may go unnoticed, but praying in tongues allows the Holy Spirit to edify and uplift us, as mentioned in the Bible.
Anyone who speaks in a tongue edifies themselves, but the one who prophesies edifies the church.
1 Corinthians 14:4
The process of edification involves the Holy Spirit perfecting every aspect of your being. He works to eliminate disturbing thoughts and feelings of bitterness or unforgiveness, cleansing your mind and heart.
During prayer, the Holy Spirit may bring to mind those who have wronged you or whom you have wronged, in order to remove these negative emotions from your heart.
Since the Holy Spirit cannot repent on your behalf, He prompts you to repent your sins in order to purify your heart. By following His guidance and repenting sincerely, you allow the Holy Spirit to continue shaping your heart towards purity.
Once the transformation is complete, a unique sense of sweetness and tenderness engulfs your heart; a feeling that is truly indescribable and can only be attributed to the work of the Holy Spirit.
Private Prayer
I have come to realize that when the Holy Spirit softens your heart, you may feel apprehensive about engaging in conversations or interactions with other people.
This fear stems from the concern of allowing impure influences to enter your heart again, especially after the Holy Spirit has purified it.
As a result, you may find yourself preferring solitude and praying in tongues extensively, which can lead to a decreased interest in socializing.
But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
Matthew 6:6
The scripture emphasizes the importance of praying in private by stating that one should enter their personal room, lock the door, and communicate with their Father in secret.
The Lord Jesus Christ promoted the idea of keeping prayer private, as it allows for a deeper connection with God.
This privacy is crucial because when God is working on an individual, the process of purification is delicate. Being in public may lead to distractions and potential defilement, hence the preference for private prayer.
Heavenly Peace
Through my experience, I have come to learn that praying in tongues for long brings me to a state of profound peace. My heart becomes tender, I feel pure, and I struggle to find the right words to describe the heavenly sensation that envelops me.
Despite the chaos and negativity in the world, praying in tongues transports me to a place of pure tranquility. It’s as if the Holy Spirit lifts me out of this world and ushers me into the heavenly realm.
As one reaches a certain level, the desire to continue praying in tongues becomes very strong, because you seek to prolong that incredible and uplifting sensation.
However, there comes a point where the prayers come to an end. What follows is an uneasy feeling because it is a bit saddening to let go of the heavenly sensations.
This is something I have personally encountered numerous times during prayer, and I felt it was important to share with you in case you have experienced the same.