Speaking in tongues

[Christelvg]

How do you know that you are really praying in tongues and not only imagining it?
I believe in the praying in tongues, I'm just wondering how you will KNOW that it is the real thing.
Will it neccesarily be a dramatic event when you first start praying in tongues?

 

[Svt4Him]

If my son asks for something to eat, I don't give him a smack, I feed him. If my son is cold, I don't take him to the cold beer and wine store, I give him a jacket. If I, being evil, know how to give good gifts to my children, will God give less? You ask for a gift, believe God gives and it's not a bad gift.

 

[Tobias]

It wasn't a dramatic event for me. And I had many doubts about whether I had received the real gift or not.

But I can tell that when I do speak in tongues, it activates a spiritual awareness in my person. Whether you notice this in yourself right away or not, may depend on how sensitive you are to the spiritual realm. But speaking in tongues is our hotline to God, and it changes us over time if we yield to the gift and let it do it's thing.

 

[Optimax]

The more you do it the more you will know.

When you first start you may have a battle with the mind over "if it real", "is it just me" etc.

Ignore all that and pray in tongues anyway and often, every chance you get.

When i received it wasn't dramatic at all.

 

[The Unforgettable Fire]

You need to put the doubts out of your mind. It's real and it's for you. Remember, He is the Comforter. The place of your need is where He will meet you. Blessings.

 

[he4rty]

One thing I've noticed about praying in tongues often times things are brought to my mind that I need to pray for, also I have found that after prolonged prayer in tongues I just have to start singing.

 

[Yitzchak]

How do you know that you are really praying in tongues and not only imagining it?
I believe in the praying in tongues, I'm just wondering how you will KNOW that it is the real thing.
Will it neccesarily be a dramatic event when you first start praying in tongues?

I have a different answer to your question. If you have doubts and lack peace , that is a huge problem. The Bible teaches that if we have doubts , we should not do the thing that we have doubts about.

Rom 14:23 And he that doubteth is damned if he eat, because he eateth not of faith: for whatsoever is not of faith is sin.

This applies to everything that we do. Some tongues are fake and some are real. But the bigger issue is that you are not operating in faith. The Bible says it directly that you are in sin when you do that.

Go back to studying the word , praying and fasting and consecrating yourself to God through repentance and ask Him to show you and bring you to a place of faith.


It is wrong doctrine to teach to pray with doubt. Besides we are supposed to seek to be filled with the Holy Spirit who brings peace and clarity to us. Real tongues does not operate apart from the Holy Spirit. You should be seeking the Holy Spirit and not seeking tongues.

 

[Christelvg]

Hi all,
thank you so much for all your replies.
How I understand it - if you ask God to give you the gift of praying in tongues, and you start saying whatever comes up in your head in faith, you must believe that it is from the Holy Spirit.
Should, for some reason, the words you are saying be from yourself and not from the Holy Spirit, but you say the words believing that it IS from the Holy Spirit, I dont think that God will let you carry on making a fool of yourself, He will give you the tongues.
Does this make sense?

 

[Christelvg]

Hi, thank you for your reply. So, if I dont notice any change right away, it doesnt mean that it's not real. Did you notice a change right away?

 

[Yitzchak]

Hi, thank you for your reply. So, if I dont notice any change right away, it doesnt mean that it's not real. Did you notice a change right away?

The change I noticed right away was being filled with the Holy Spirit. I felt the unction of the Holy Spirit on me when I prayed in tongues and it was not so much that I noticed any difference from the tongues themselves. I get the same feeling when I give a Prophetic word or when I have a word of knowledge or any or the other gifts of the Holy Spirit. It bubbles up from inside of me and I feel the strong presence of the Holy Spirit when I operate in the gifts of the Spirit.

I am very comfortable going months without praying in tongues. I have prayed in tongues for 26 years now. In some seasons of my life it was every day for a while and other times I went six months without praying in tongues at all.

I have never forced the issue. When I was baptized in the Holy Spirit , the tongues came automatically. I spoke in tongues every day for a few weeks , at that time. Whenever I speak in tongues to this day , I will feel the unction or moving of the Holy Spirit stirring inside of me and I feel the presence of God very strongly. Then as I yield to the moving of the Holy Spirit , then the gift of tongues comes forth. It works the same way for all of the gifts of the spirit.

Sometimes I have seasons where I operate in the gifts of the Spirit daily and sometimes several times in one day. Other times , I go for months without operating in the gifts of the spirit. this is also true about getting slain in the spirit.

It is a huge mistake to try to force it or become obsessed with the gifts. As we seek to move in The flow of the Holy Spirit , the gifts just happen as He leads and wills them to.

To answer your question about noticing a change. I often do not notice anything resulting from the tongues themselves. but I only operate in tongues when I feel the holy Spirit give em the unction to do so. So I always feel the Holy Spirit when I pray in tongues.

 

[Yitzchak]

Hi all,
thank you so much for all your replies.
How I understand it - if you ask God to give you the gift of praying in tongues, and you start saying whatever comes up in your head in faith, you must believe that it is from the Holy Spirit.
Should, for some reason, the words you are saying be from yourself and not from the Holy Spirit, but you say the words believing that it IS from the Holy Spirit, I dont think that God will let you carry on making a fool of yourself, He will give you the tongues.
Does this make sense?

Yes , that is what I am saying and that makes sense. Although , I would not force the issue if I was not sure. I would pray that God would make me sure before praying in tongues.

 

[Yitzchak]

When we read the stories in the bible , we need to realize that sometimes years passed between some of the stories. we get the impression that they were daily operating in the gifts of the spirit. But it is equally possible that they had times where they went months without operating in the gifts. Over a period of years , it was many instances of miracles and the gifts of the Holy Spirit operating. But it does not mean that they did not have their times when not much was happening.

My point is wait upon God and do not force things. If you want to increase in the gifts , try fasting and spending a lot of time praying.

 

[Christelvg]

Hi, thank you very much.
I also believe that you must not force the gifts of the spirit, and speaking in tongues is one of the gifts.
But isnt there a difference between speaking in tongues and praying in tongues? The praying in tongues is for everyone who believes, and the speaking in tongues is a gift that not all get?
Correct me if I'm wrong, but isnt it that the gift of speaking in tongues whould only be operated when led by the Holy Spirit to do so, as you said, but praying in tongues is for everyday living, it is part of the armor of God, the sword of the Spirit?

 

[Deba]

Hi.

Your questions very much parallel my own when I was evaluating whether or not the Baptism of the Holy Spirit and the subsequent speaking/praying in tongues was legitimate.

Along with a small book that I don't remember the name of, I found the position paper regarding the baptism of the Holy Spirit in this link very helpful:
Index of AG Position Papers

Every Bible reference in the paper I ran for myself and since I was using a study bible, I ran every other verse annotated. I was at it all night long. By morning I had decided that I would receive the Baptism IF God met certain conditions for me. That night at Bible study things went a bit off the pastor's schedule, God met my conditions and I received the Baptism of the Holy Spirit as evidenced by speaking in tongues.

I felt very different. I felt humbled and awed by God's goodness to me. I was intrigued by the language and tried for several weeks to figure it out. Years before I had lived in Hawaii for a few years and I recognized a couple of the words that I spoke. After a few weeks the language changed.

The language has changed several times over the years, some for a short intense duration and then changes back to the previous. It has also sometimes changed as I pray from one person to another. The whole phenomenon is fascinating.

Also sometimes if I have trouble concentrating and finding that inner stillness that I need to hear God, I speak/pray (not sure I know the difference without my brain being engaged) in tongues and it helps me to focus, and the cares and worries stand still for a few moments.

I wouldn't worry too much about defining the gift - it's from God so give it back to Him and let Him decide how He wants you to use it.

You don't have to have the complete truth in the beginning. But you do need to trust God. After you have received the Baptism, you will find the acquisition of truth and direct teaching of the Holy Spirit to be another gift given.

 

[Yitzchak]

Hi, thank you very much.
I also believe that you must not force the gifts of the spirit, and speaking in tongues is one of the gifts.
But isnt there a difference between speaking in tongues and praying in tongues? The praying in tongues is for everyone who believes, and the speaking in tongues is a gift that not all get?
Correct me if I'm wrong, but isnt it that the gift of speaking in tongues whould only be operated when led by the Holy Spirit to do so, as you said, but praying in tongues is for everyday living, it is part of the armor of God, the sword of the Spirit?

Yes. Many people do make a distinction between the gift of tongues used in a public meetings versus the gift of tongues for a private prayer life. This is an interpretation of the scripture which I do agree with.

It is the same Holy Spirit that gives the tongues whether as a message for the church or as a private prayer time. I always wait upon the Holy Spirit moving before praying in tongues even privately. If I am not sure that God is giving me the unction to pray in tongues at that time , then I simply pray in English.

 

[frankleespeaking]

I would go to a church where the speak in tongues, and find someone who has the gift to interpret, then speak in tongues and see if they can interpret, if they can't, then maybe you aren't

 

[Presbyterian Continuist]

I would go to a church where the speak in tongues, and find someone who has the gift to interpret, then speak in tongues and see if they can interpret, if they can't, then maybe you aren't

It's a pity you are not close to me. I have the gift of interpretation of tongues, and can interpret every time. That is the extent of my faith. I have a friend who enjoys greeting me in tongues. I tell him that I have the interpretation for that, and I give it to him. I have even interpreted tongues that have been typed to me by email when I have led a person through to the gift online and then asked them to type what they think are the words they are speaking.

Anyway, if a person speaks out in tongues, intending for it to be interpreted and the "interpreter" does not have the faith to interpret right then, it doesn't mean that the person speaking tongues is saying something false. One person's gift should not be evaluated on the basis of another person's faith, or lack of it.

 

[ARBITER01]

Hi, thank you very much.
I also believe that you must not force the gifts of the spirit, and speaking in tongues is one of the gifts.
But isnt there a difference between speaking in tongues and praying in tongues? The praying in tongues is for everyone who believes, and the speaking in tongues is a gift that not all get?
Correct me if I'm wrong, but isnt it that the gift of speaking in tongues whould only be operated when led by the Holy Spirit to do so, as you said, but praying in tongues is for everyday living, it is part of the armor of God, the sword of the Spirit?

Same gift but operated differently.

If used by The Holy Spirit in a corporate setting, it is a ministry. If used personally between you and GOD, it is for prayer.

A prayer tongue is not used in the corporate setting. If a person has not been granted a ministry with their gift, then they don't speak up acting like they have been.

 

[Christelvg]

Thank you!

 

[K2K]

The change I noticed right away was being filled with the Holy Spirit. I felt the unction of the Holy Spirit on me when I prayed in tongues and it was not so much that I noticed any difference from the tongues themselves. I get the same feeling when I give a Prophetic word or when I have a word of knowledge or any or the other gifts of the Holy Spirit. It bubbles up from inside of me and I feel the strong presence of the Holy Spirit when I operate in the gifts of the Spirit.

I am very comfortable going months without praying in tongues. I have prayed in tongues for 26 years now. In some seasons of my life it was every day for a while and other times I went six months without praying in tongues at all.

I have never forced the issue. When I was baptized in the Holy Spirit , the tongues came automatically. I spoke in tongues every day for a few weeks , at that time. Whenever I speak in tongues to this day , I will feel the unction or moving of the Holy Spirit stirring inside of me and I feel the presence of God very strongly. Then as I yield to the moving of the Holy Spirit , then the gift of tongues comes forth. It works the same way for all of the gifts of the spirit.

Sometimes I have seasons where I operate in the gifts of the Spirit daily and sometimes several times in one day. Other times , I go for months without operating in the gifts of the spirit. this is also true about getting slain in the spirit.

It is a huge mistake to try to force it or become obsessed with the gifts. As we seek to move in The flow of the Holy Spirit , the gifts just happen as He leads and wills them to.

To answer your question about noticing a change. I often do not notice anything resulting from the tongues themselves. but I only operate in tongues when I feel the holy Spirit give em the unction to do so. So I always feel the Holy Spirit when I pray in tongues.

I found the post interesting. 'Bubbling up' does seem to capture the feeling I get when I feel the urge to pray in tongues. Though I can't imagine going months without praying in tongues now.

The more I try to listen to the Lord and stay in communication with the Lord the more I also find I am praying in tongues also.

Also vis versa. When I find myself speaking in tongues, because it usually just comes on me, the more I turn to the Lord. It is written that we should ask for an interpretation. I know some people think asking for an interpretation is just for a public situation, but what sense does that make? If I'm going to be saying things I don't understand, I want to ask the Lord what it is all about.

Also, I'm not sure about it being a mistake not to force it. I don't, but I have seen a couple of churches strongly encourage members to pray in tongue whether they felt like it or not. If it is a gift that is given to us, it might make sense to make use of it without having to be prompted by the Lord?

I don't force it, because I believe hearing from the Lord is the important thing so I put my effort into that, but when at a service in which it was strongly encouraged I found out that I could just kind of start it up, and the bubbling up feeling followed.

Concerning results from praying in tongues: usually I don't see or notice the specific results, but I also have a number of incidents occur that obviously were somehow connected with speaking in tongues.

For example; Once the feeling hit me very hard and instantly I started praying in tongues dramtically while driving down the freeway. Then right as I started praying a car spun out of control and crash back end squarely into the guard rail. The rail held, keeping the car from going for a 20 - 30 foot drop and forcing the driver straight back in his seat instead of out a window. The driver was thus able to get out of the car, apparently uninjured.

Also, prayers (from myself or others) asking God to stir up the gifts seem to do cause the gifts to be stirred up within me. We are told to desire the gifts, so perhaps I (we) should be praying for the gifts to be stirred up with in us more?