again...continuing on....
Sorry...I keep on continuing on because i do not want to loose these information. I tend to loose it after long writings.
Okay. So now that I experience things that I never would have believe in or theologically does not make any sense.
So I check on the theology of holy laughter. The closest thing to it is all in Psalms. There are many times in there where David and other psalmists write about shouting with joy and laughter to the LORD. you can take this and interpret differently from me. But I interpret different from a person who does not believe in this. Because I believe that my experience validates what the Bible is saying.
Now comes the tongues. I try hard in learning more about it. And many people including cessationists believe that tongues are praying in the spirit just the same in Charismatic theology. You will met some that do not hold that view. But most do.
read this:
14 For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my mind is unfruitful.
15 What is the outcome then? I will pray with the spirit and I will pray with the mind also; I will sing with the spirit and I will sing with the mind also.
16 Otherwise if you bless in the spirit only, how will the one who fills the place of the ungifted say the "Amen" at your giving of thanks, since he does not know what you are saying?
17 For you are giving thanks well enough, but the other person is not edified.
18 I thank God, I speak in tongues more than you all;
19 however, in the church I desire to speak five words with my mind so that I may instruct others also, rather than ten thousand words in a tongue.
- 1 Corinthians 14:14-19
This is where many people can not reject that Paul is referring to a language that is not understandable to man. That is why they mostly think that it is a heavenly language. But I can only point this out to you. I will let you decide.
When I read this, my mind being baised did reject that there can be any possible view of what Paul is talking about as referring to gibberish. And you can read here that for sure it does sound like the tongues you see in Charismatic movement. Because praying in a human language your mind will be edified. And praying in a human language the church will know. So then why does he say it is better to speak five words with his mind than ten thousand words in a tongue?
Finally reading all this on the opposing views and supporting views of the gift of tongues, I come to believe that it is true. (There are many views that I did not mention.) I believe it through the fruits of the Holy Spirit in me as well as in my friends. My friends are godly young men. They tell me about the gift of tongues. And I know that they are noy lying to me.
Then finally comes the day when a girl calls me up. She tells me that she is calling me to stay awake. I ask her why. Because this is late at night about 12am. She tells me that she is having a fear in the dark as well as just closing her eyes. Whenever she closes her eyes she feels like there is a presence hovering around her or standing next to her. And when she looks at a dark area of her room, she feels like a presence of darkness is around there.
Now I am thinking that this is getting a bit silly because the girl is 20 years old. However, I am not just stop believing her story. Because I have my case of struggling against demons.
After talking and trying to counselor her about horror scenes and thoughts she has fill up with her mind, I know that I am not getting anywhere. She is not getting any better. In fact, she is gtting worse. The more we talk about it, the more scare she gets. (And all this time her 16-year-old sister is sleeping next to her, sharing the same bed.)
After it reaches 3am, I was thinking that this is going to be enough for me. I was getting tired. So I asked her if it was alright to pray. Once I ignitated that, I feel an urge or what I now discern as being filled with the power of the Holy Spirit. I feel an urge to pray for her. It was such a strong urge, that I also ask her to pray for herself loudly.
Then I begin praying for her. She prays too. As I pray for about 5 minutes, I feel a greater urge to pray louder and louder. So I follow that urge. It is like an urge that what you want to get it done, you know for sure with total 100% faith that it will be done. That is the urget I get. And that urge is like a burning in the heart. A passion.
As I pray to her, I pray louder and faster. Louder and faster. Then my mind went blank for like a second, and I find that what was coming out of my mouth were not my own words. I know that I was mumbling something. I hear the sounds clearly. But I never heard those words before.
After about 7-10 seconds of hearing myself slowly mumbling, I quickly stopped. I got embarrassed. I knew that must be speaking in tongues then.
Just to make the story short, I find it hard to speak in tongues again later on. I can not do the same as it happens to me. But as a revival overtake the area where I live, (I did not attend the revival meetings.) I wanted to pray to God that night and not go. So I stay and pray. The same feeling of praying louder and faster with such great faith came again. This time, I pray in tongues for 40 minutes. And I knew that it is tongues because, I was not trying to fake it. Also I can feel the swoosh of wind coming out of my lungs so strong that my mouth just keeps on moving with words coming out. This is never been done before by me. And added to that, I feel such warmth over me that I was sweating like the sweats I get after a football game.
Let my testimony be to you a learning. I can not say that it is the same for everyone. It is different. I can only say to you to seek God diligently without being baised. Read the Bible and read it with your own theology. Try to reach the help of the Holy Spirit and not men.
