“With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints.” Ephesians 6:18
This perfectly placed scripture comes as the conclusion to Paul’s teaching on the Armor of God. The Baptism of the Holy Spirit and specifically “Speaking in Tongues” is the final weapon within our spiritual armor to fight the devil and his army of tormentors.
Everything God does in you starts from within and moves without, every work in you by the Holy Spirit starts from within will manifest outward. As an example, divine physical healing starts from within you not in the physical realm, but it starts within you by FAITH in God, the power of the Holy Spirit which is spiritual-supernatural, and it manifests outwardly as physical healing. The gift of speaking in tongues, an intimate prayer-spirit language with God, begins within your spirit and the Holy Spirit within you. When you were saved you received the Holy Spirit, however there is a release of the Spirit that you must activate with faith and desire. This release is the Baptism of the Holy Spirit.
“As for me, I baptize you with water for repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, and I am not fit to remove His sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.” Matthew 3:11
“I baptized you with water; but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.” Mark 1:8
“John answered and said to them all, “As for me, I baptize you with water; but One is coming who is mightier than I, and I am not fit to untie the thong of His sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.” Luke 3:16
“For John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.” Acts 1:5
“And I remembered the word of the Lord, how He used to say, ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’” Acts 11:16
The gift of speaking in tongues is the overflow of the Baptism of the Holy Spirit at salvation we receive Him, at Baptism we release Him. When that Baptism has reached from the Spirit, to the soul and then the body it is manifests physically as vocalized by the sound that you hear, that’s when the overflow has reached our physical body as speaking in tongues. When we pray in the Spirit the Holy Spirit Himself prays for us.
Let’s look again at God’s Word to gain a better understanding…
I Corinthians 2:9-14 says that there is a fellowship between the spirits and that they communication spirit to spirit. no one knows the Father like the Holy Spirit and no one knows you like your spirit (your mind can be deceived)
1 Corinthians 14:2 tells us that when we speak in tongues we are speaking to God not man.
1 Corinthians 14:4 “One who speaks in tongues “edifies” himself the meaning of this “edifies” is defined as strengthening oneself, building up of faith in a personal and intimate way that only the Holy Spirit can provide. This gift of intimacy with God is for everyone.
Romans 8:26 says “In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.”
1 Corinthians 14 is a dedicated Chapter in God’s Word which broadens our understanding of speaking in tongues and its appropriate use. I encourage you to study the truth found there.
If you have asked God for the Baptism of the Holy Spirit, sought it out in earnest but you have not received the gift of speaking in tongues that doesn’t mean the Holy Spirit has not be released in you. Tapping into the power of the Holy Spirit is a process, not all of us obtain the gift of tongues immediately. For me it was a long process to receive the Baptism of the Holy Spirit. This process for me was centered in believing I was truly a child of God, worthy and loved. Grasping what Jesus accomplished on the cross for me personally. My prayer is that you will not let the devil hold you captive as I was for so many years, that you seek help from other believers and that God Himself would reveal to you that you are sanctified in Jesus Christ. Here are the most common reason believers are stalled in this area of their relationship with God, Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit.
1. Over thinking -You cannot understand, you over think it, the world has taught us that everything must be proven on man’s level. Better yet is man’s belief that we make our own truth. This is almost laughable because most movies coming out in the theater today have a supernatural element because we have a need deep within us for the spiritual truth that only God can satisfy. You need to agree with God that He alone is supernatural, creator, giver of all life and that this will remain a mystery, our ability to have spiritual(supernatural) power is a gift only Him gives…the devil will bring worry, unbelief, chaos and confusion to block this beautiful outward spiritual gift.
2. Pride – Pride keeps people from speaking in tongues for fear of what others will think, or how they might appear. Tongues is the language of surrender, it is the language of emptying yourself of every thought that doesn’t belong to God’s Kingdom, it’s an understanding that there needs to be less of me and more of God, not your will but God’s will, your ego is telling you who you think you are instead of seeking who you are in Him. It’s a LETTING GO!
3. Fear – Letting the “what ifs” take control, what if it is just me, want if this is fake, what if this is a demonic spirit? What if it’s just all emotion? Hype? God’s Word tells us in Matthew 7:9-11, “how much more will your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him!’ If you ask for the Holy Spirit to be activated within you and the gift of your own spirit language to be manifested, you must prayerfully ask God for this gift not based on your discernment. Remember, God is not going to give you something bad, God only gives good.
4. Inaction – Waiting for something to happen, while this is a supernatural gift from God, the Holy Spirit is not going to come down and start moving your tongue. I used this for an excuse for years, I would say “Well that’s fine that Sue or John speak in tongues. God can move a mountain so if He wants me to speak in tongues…He will do it.” Wow, if’s almost as if I was darning God into action. So how will this happen? When you surrender to the Holy Spirit and give Him surrendered sounds, syllables, you allow the Holy Spirit to be the author. When you pray in your own words you are adding your meaning to your own words, sounds and syllables, when you pray in tongues you are removing meaning from your sound, syllables and allowing the Holly Spirit to attach His own intentions and purposes.
Have you ever prayed for something and you just could not put it into towards, the desire for God to know was overwhelming, an almost groaning happens, tears, overwhelming emotional, it is at that point the Holy Spirit wants to move and intercede for you giving your requests and concerns a supernatural heavenly sound. It’s in your control, it’s the language of faith, so what is your part? Our part is to give it sound and God’s part is making it spiritual, remember everything spiritual begins as God’s command then it turns into an act of faith and the result is a miracle. The gift of tongues is a miracle, so how much more can God do? Surrender to this gift today! 1 Corinthians 14:39 says “do not forbid to speak in tongues”.
In closing I would say for you to go to the scriptures, allow God to reveal His truth. I have only touched on one of the ways the Baptism of the Holy Spirit is revealed. There are two more commonly recognized ways in which the Baptism of the Holy Spirit with speaking in tongues is manifested. Having one of them doesn’t necessarily mean you will or have received them all. Briefly, speaking in tongues in a public setting is a form of prophesy and will come with an interpretation from a different person. Both are considered individual in nature and given to some but not all. Praying in the Spirit is for everyone and occurs both in private and when praying with or over someone for a specific need. Sometimes those needs are unknown however, in our faithfulness to God we pray and allow God to hear and respond.
Your Sister in Jesus Christ, Laurie
Instructions For Life According to Jesus Christ 