Speaking in tongues for long hours is a good practice that every tongue speaking believer should embrace. But there is a strange challenge you will face when speaking in tongues for long.
The challenge is a reminder of something deeper. The first time I experienced it, I didn’t know what was happening. But after several experiences, I understood what it was and the Holy Spirit told me how to handle it.
In this article, I will talk to you about that challenge in case you are yet to experience it and how to handle it when you eventually experience it.
The Challenge you will face when you Speak in Tongues for Long Hours
When you embark on speaking in tongues for long, you will hit a sweet spot somewhere along the way. You will experience an overwhelming sense of peace and joy.
But soon you will realize that speaking in tongues is like all other good things in life and it must come to an end. Cutting short the sweet experience is painful.
The reality of leaving such a sweet experience to come back to the troubles of this life is painful. It takes quite a while to accept it.
I have experienced the exceeding joy and peace many times I have spoken in tongues and I have had to endure the pain of ending it as many times.
At some point the sorrow of ending the sweet experience was so overwhelming that I didn’t want to speak in tongues for long. It is serious!
In the early stages, I used to enter that realm of peace and joy after speaking in tongues for an hour and a half. But as I grew in speaking in tongues, I began experiencing the joy and peace after about an hour of speaking in tongues.
I can’t clearly remember the first time I experienced it but I noticed it when I experienced it a number of times. At first, I thought it was a one-off experience but when it kept recurring, I knew it was a realm that could be accessed anytime.
Currently, every time I speak in tongues for about an hour, I enter that realm of perfect peace and joy. It offers a much needed escape from the troubles of this world.
Why the Sorrowful Experience Occurs when you Stop Speaking in Tongues
1. Because We live in a Cursed World
Many times we forget that we live in a cursed world. God cursed life under the sun after the original sin. As a result, there are painful experiences that can’t be avoided. One of such experiences is the sorrow you experience when you stop speaking in tongues.
The Bible is clear that experiencing sorrow is part of life under the sun. In Isaiah 53, Jesus is referred to as a man of sorrows. Jesus experienced many sorrows while living on earth which proved that life under the sun is cursed.
King Solomon wrote extensively about the sorrow of life under the sun in the book of Ecclesiastes. Job also lamented the pain and sorrow of being human.
Apostle Paul was sick and tired of the constant struggle between his flesh and his spirit which made him weary of life on earth.
Anyone who genuinely follows God will be weary of this life on earth. Experiencing sorrow for cutting short the sweet experience of speaking in tongues is a reality we have to face because this world is cursed.
God wants us to always remember that we sinned against Him and caused Him pain. The sorrow is meant to humble us.
2. To Create a Longing for Christ in us
God allows us to experience joy and peace when we speak in tongues and then takes it away so that we desire our heavenly home. The joy and peace is a teaser of what is to come.
Though it is painful, it serves as a reminder that this world is not our home. It keeps alive our hope for the return of Christ.
Many times when I am stressed I choose to speak in tongues because I know there is guaranteed joy and peace even if it is temporary.
The short time I experience the joy and peace is enough to renew my strength to await the return of Christ.
It is also that joy and peace that keeps us longing to speak in tongues. When we get mocked for being blabbers because we speak in tongues, at least we console ourselves in the joy and peace we experience when praying in tongues.
The sorrow that we experience when we stop speaking in tongues is motivation for us to go back to speak in tongues the next time we get an opportunity.
3. Because you are cutting short the Desire of your Spirit
Our Spirits love the Lord. They always want to be in the presence of God. When we speak in tongues and persist, we get to access God and experience His awesome presence.
But since we have to take care of our earthly bodies, we are forced to cut short the sweet experience for our spirits. It is a necessary evil.
The result is a terrible sorrow that we must endure for as long as we still have earthly bodies.
When I first noticed the sorrow when I stopped speaking in tongues, I asked the Holy Spirit why I went from feeling so awesome to feeling so terrible.
He explained to me that I had cut short the sweet experience my spirit was having and that resulted in the grief I was experiencing. When I asked if it could be avoided, I was told it is a necessary evil. Too bad!
How to Handle the Sorrow that comes when you Stop Speaking in Tongues
1. Accept it
You are always going to feel sorrowful when you stop speaking in tongues. The sooner you accept this reality the easier it will be to endure it.
God designed this sorrowful experience to occur and there is nothing we can do about it. This is what the Bible talks about in Ecclesiastes 7:13 when it asks who can make straight what God has made crooked?
We may not like it but it is what it is. We are humans and we have to accept that life on earth will have sorrowful experiences.
One day the Lord revealed to me the scripture in Lamentations 3:39 that says “Why should humans complain when they are punished for their sins?”
The scripture humbled me and taught me to endure all the sorrow that I face in life. The sorrow doesn’t mean God has stopped loving us; we are just getting what we deserve.
2. Set time to Stop Speaking in Tongues
Because you will experience sorrow when you stop speaking in tongues, it is wise to set a time limit so that you know when you will experience it.
It is better to prepare for the sorrow than to wish it away. Knowing you are going to speak in tongues for an hour will prepare your mind for the inevitable.
You will also be at peace when you are speaking in tongues. A number of times I have spoken in tongues without having time set to stop. I ended up experiencing the sorrow a number of times instead of experiencing it once.
I would stop speaking in tongues, feel the sorrow a bit then resume to ward it off but when I stop again I experience it again.
In the end, I didn’t pray peacefully and I experienced the sorrow a lot more times. It is better to go through the sorrow once and be done with it.
Despite setting time to stop speaking in tongues, there will always be the urge to continue for a little while but you have to apply self-control.
3. Be assured you can Always Speak in Tongues
Knowing that you can always come back to speak in tongues whenever you want is a much welcome feeling when you are experiencing sorrow after you stop speaking in tongues.
Assure yourself time and again that speaking in tongues will always be there when you need to feel peace and joy. The Bible has guaranteed us in Philippians 4 that we will experience peace that surpasses human understanding when we make our requests known to God.
Some people don’t stop speaking in tongues entirely; they continue speaking in tongues when they go to do other activities which greatly minimizes the feeling of cutting short the sweet experience of speaking in tongues.
Those of us who find it hard to speak in tongues while doing other activities have to live with the reality of the sorrow.
What happens if you Persist Speaking in Tongues to avoid the Sorrow of Stopping?
You may be asking, why do you stop speaking in tongues when you can persist in speaking in tongues and never feel the sorrow?
Well, the truth is that your body will suffer when you persist in speaking in tongues. Our bodies need nourishment. Remember our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit and God has appointed us as stewards.
If you don’t take good care of your body by feeding it, keeping it warm and cleaning it you will anger God. The Bible tells us in 1st Corinthians 3:17 that whoever destroys the temple of God, he too will be destroyed.
Taking care of our bodies is part of the duty that God gave us. Speaking in tongues is part of nourishing our spirit. We have to do both and balance them using the wisdom God has given us.
The Strange thing you Experience when you Speak in Tongues for Long: Conclusion
Now you know that experiencing sorrow when you stop speaking in tongues is normal. You can come up with your own unique ways to deal with it but the reality is that the sorrow is here to stay.
Don’t let the sorrow discourage you from speaking in tongues. The joy of speaking in tongues is more than worth the sorrow you feel when you stop.
And remember that all other good things in life also have the same sad reality. The very life we live will someday come to an end. Accepting this reality is the best you can do.
Peace!