One of my viewers recently raised an important question that I believe is crucial to address, as it reflects a concern shared by many.
The question reads: Would you consider that the spiritual practice of waiting on God and praying in tongues are two different spiritual disciplines? Psalms 46:10 states, “Be still and know that I am God.” So if waiting on God means we are to be completely still physically and quiet in our minds, does that mean that while I am waiting on God, I pray in tongues after I am finished waiting on God? In any conversation, when someone is waiting to listen to another’s response, they are not talking. So what has your experience been?
So today, I want to talk about praying in tongues and waiting on God in depth as I try to share as much information as possible to help you fully understand this matter.
Understanding waiting on God
The first thing you need to understand is that praying in tongues and waiting on God should happen concurrently. In other words, you pray in tongues while waiting on God.
From the question, the first thing that came to my mind is that the person does not fully understand what waiting on God is. So let me explain.
The best way to understand “waiting on God” is to simply replace it with “learning from God.”
Many times, when people hear “waiting on God,” they think it means sitting there doing nothing, waiting for God to act. But in reality, the process of waiting on God is actually you learning from Him as you seek Him.
The purpose of that learning is to grow your faith and prepare yourself to handle the breakthrough you are trusting God for.
When I say it is good to pray in tongues while waiting on God, it means that in the process of learning from Him, you should also be communicating with Him. God needs to communicate to you, and you also need to communicate with Him. That is what makes the process complete.
In this period of learning, there are two main things the Holy Spirit will be teaching you:
1.Understanding God’s Nature
It is very important to understand God’s nature because you are dealing with Him directly.
You need to know: who is this God? How do I approach Him? What do I do when I’m not hearing from Him? What pleases Him? What does He allow or not allow?
You are learning His nature, so you understand who He is before engaging in any kind of transaction with Him.
2.Understanding the Law of God
After understanding His nature, you must understand His laws.
Every breakthrough God gives operates within certain laws. Before He gives you anything, He teaches you those laws.
Even after receiving a breakthrough, there are limits within which you must operate. Those limits must be learned first.
For example, if you desire wealth, there are principles for how a godly wealthy person should live. If you desire marriage, there are laws governing marriage.
So, before God gives you these blessings, He first teaches you how to handle them.
Personally, I pray in tongues during periods of waiting. And as I pray, I know it is facilitating my learning. I am aware that I need to understand God’s nature and His laws concerning the breakthrough I’m trusting Him for.
Before asking for anything, I often ask God, “What do you want me to learn before you give me this blessing?” This is because I understand that every blessing requires a certain level of understanding of God.
Purpose of the learning process
The purpose of the whole learning process is so that you don’t receive a blessing and then forget the One who gave it.
Think about the children of Israel. After leaving Egypt, they quickly forgot God in the wilderness despite all the miracles He did for them. That displeased Him deeply.
For that reason, God now requires that you know Him to a certain level before entrusting you with blessings.
The level of understanding required depends on what you’re asking for. The greater the blessing, the deeper the relationship required.
This is similar to human relationships. Sharing crucial information or exchanging things of greater value requires stronger trust and connection.
Therefore, when we say we are waiting on God, we are actually building our relationship with Him to the level required for Him to entrust us with what we’re asking for.
That relationship is built through reading the Word of God and earnestly seeking Him in prayer.
In my personal life, I’ve reached a point where I believe that God cannot withhold anything good that I seek from Him. The only challenge on my part is growing in my knowledge of Him and cultivating a stronger relationship with Him to the level He requires in order to entrust me with the breakthrough I desire.
Each blessing has its demand. Some may take longer, even years, since they require deep intimacy with God.
For instance, when someone says, “I waited on God for six years,” it means they were building that relationship for six years to be entrusted with a particular gift.
Actually, you’re not just waiting, you’re growing!
And if you are diligent, you’ll notice that you receive things faster.
If God hasn’t given you something yet, it’s often because you need to learn more about Him or about what He is giving you.
God will not give you something you don’t know how to manage. His blessings are powerful and sweet; however, without understanding, we can easily misuse them or forget Him.
The role of praying in tongues while waiting
Praying in tongues is one of the easiest ways to accelerate your growth and learning process during this period.
The Holy Spirit teaches you, gives you revelation, and helps you understand God’s nature and laws.
The faster you grow in these, the faster you receive your breakthrough.
Sometimes God gives promises not just to give you a blessing, but to draw you into a deeper relationship with Him.
In truth, the main reason we seek God is not the blessing. It is because He is God. But because we are humans who love to see tangible benefits, He attaches physical blessings to motivate us.
However, as seen in Jeremiah 9:23–24, what God truly desires is that we know and understand Him.
‘but let the one who boasts boast about this: that they have the understanding to know me, that I am the Lord , who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight,” declares the Lord .’
Even as you pray in tongues in your waiting season, ensure that your heart is first set on God. If your heart genuinely desires to know God, you will find it easier to receive from Him.
But if not, God may use your desire for a breakthrough to draw you closer to Him, just like He did with the Israelites in the wilderness when He provided manna for the day so they would keep seeking Him.
Conclusion
Waiting on God is simply learning from Him and cultivating a strong and effective relationship with Him as He prepares you to handle what you are asking for.
Many people waste time “waiting” instead of learning, and as a result, nothing happens.
But once you understand your responsibility is to learn and grow in intimacy with God, everything becomes clearer, and the Holy Spirit will help you mature faster.
If you have any questions, feel free to leave them in the comments. I’ll do my best to explain as the Lord enables me.
God bless you.