WHY YOU SHOULD SPEAK IN TONGUES

There are several advantages or benefits to speaking in tongues. Let us discuss some of them;

1 Corinthians 14

When we pray in tongues we are speaking to God.

2 For he who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God, for no one understands him;

We pray to God in tongues which neither we nor other people understand. You see that this is different from the gift of tongues. In the gift of tongues we don’t speak to God. We speak to men in an unknown tongue and then interpret what was said in a known language. But in this case we pray to God.

When we pray in tongues we speak mysteries.

3 however, in the spirit he speaks mysteries.

This word for mystery is the Greek word mustērion. It means something which is hidden, a secret, a hidden purpose or counsel, a secret will, secret counsel etc.
In simple terms a mystery is something that God has hidden from the world for us. He has hidden it from the world. But He has hidden for us. It is not hidden from us.

In 1Corinthians2 Paul discusses this concept of the mystery;

6 However, we speak wisdom among those who are mature, yet not the wisdom of this age, nor of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing.

He says that we who have believed on Jesus have and speak wisdom. However, our wisdom is not the wisdom of this world. The wisdom of this world comes to nothing. It perishes. It is useless in the long run.

7 But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the ages for our glory, 8 which none of the rulers of this age knew; for had they known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.

But for us we have a wisdom which is from God. This wisdom has been hidden from the world. God hid it for us before the ages for our glory. He hid it for us and intended that the discovery of this wisdom would be for our glory. As we discover this hidden wisdom we walk into more and more glory that God has prepared for us. And we speak this wisdom in a mystery.

9 But as it is written: " Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, Nor have entered into the heart of man The things which God has prepared for those who love Him."

There are things that God has prepared for those who love Him. Earlier we saw that those things were prepared for us even before the world was created. They were prepared by the grace of God. These things are the will, plan, blessing, provision and purpose of God. These are the things that Jesus came to bring to us and to restore to us.
These things are the hidden wisdom of God and they are not seen or heard or understood naturally. Natural men have not seen, heard or understood them.

10 But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God.

God has revealed them to us. What no man has seen with natural eyes, or heard with natural ears, or understood with their heart, God has revealed to us through the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit has deposited these truths in out spirit.

11 For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God.

The Holy Spirit knows all the secrets of God. He understands all the purposes, plans and intentions of God. He knows all the mysteries, the hidden wisdom of God which He prepared for us from before the beginning.

12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God.

This is the Holy Spirit whom we have received at salvation. This same Holy Spirit is now in us. And He has come to deposit into us His knowledge of the mysteries of God. He has deposited into us God’s hidden wisdom, God’s mysteries, God’s secrets, His plans and purposes and His will for us. The Holy Spirit is in us to make us know these things.

13 These things we also speak, not in words which man's wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual.

And one of the ways that we know and understand these things is by praying in tongues. As we pray in tongues we speak mysteries. We speak the hidden wisdom of God. We speak the will of God. We speak the purposes and plans of God. And we speak not with words which we understand but with words which the Holy Spirit gives us. We speak them in a spiritual language.

14 But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. 15 But he who is spiritual judges all things, yet he himself is rightly judged by no one. 16 For "who has known the mind of the LORD that he may instruct Him?" But we have the mind of Christ.

We speak these things in a spiritual language and we understand them spiritually. These things are spiritually discerned. As we speak in tongues we utter these mysteries and as we pray for interpretation the Holy Spirit reveals these things to our heart and we are able to know them. we have the mind of Christ in us and therefore can understand spiritual things and think in the same way that Christ thinks and understand in the same way that He understands.

This is why speaking in tongues is such a powerful gift. It gives us understanding and access to God’s wisdom, His plan, His purposes, His intentions and His provision. We can know all the things God has prepared for us as we speak in tongues and interpret.

When we pray in tongues we edify ourselves.

4 He who speaks in a tongue edifies himself

To edify means to build up someone, to embolden someone, to energize, to charge like a battery.

Jude1
20 But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, 21 keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.

This is what happens when we speak in tongues. We build up ourselves. Some people teach that when we pray n tongues we build up our spirit. However, this verse does not say that we edify our spirit man. It says that we edify our self. This means spirit, soul and body. Speaking in tongues builds us up. It empowers us to grow. It energizes us with the power of the Holy Spirit. As we speak in tongues we are charged up with spiritual power. Our soul and body is filled up with the power and anointing of God. It is like putting a phone on a charger.

Jude tells us that as we pray in the spirit (speak in a spiritual language) we build ourselves up in our most holy faith, we keep ourselves in the love of God and receive the mercy of God which releases Zoe life in us.
This is similar to the instruction that Paul gave to Timothy to stir up the gift of God which was in Him;

2Timothy1
6  Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God, which is in thee by the putting on of my hands.

The word for ‘stir up’ means to fan into flames.
Paul was telling Timothy to fan into flames the gift of God which was in Him, which He had received when Paul laid his hands on Him. This means first of all that this gift was in Timothy. But it was like an ember in a dying fire. It was fizzling out. Possibly because of lack of use, lack of boldness, lack of confidence or whatever reason. But now Paul tells him to fan it into a fla,e again. How was Timothy to do this?

I submit to you that speaking in tongues is one of the ways this can be done. He that speaks in tongues edifies himself. He builds himself up. He charges and recharges himself with spiritual power.

Your spirit prays

14 For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my understanding is unfruitful.

When we pray in tongues it is our spirit that prays. It is not our understanding. This is a wonderful thing.
It means that when we pray in tongues we are able to bypass our understanding, our reasoning, our unbelief, our carnality, our ignorance and all the other limitations of our natural mind.

Our spirit is perfect, holy, righteous, wise and yielded to God. Our spirit is the part of us that is perfect. When we pray in tongues we pray from this perfect part of us. This means that we are able to pray effectively, wisely and powerfully.

15 What is the conclusion then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will also pray with the understanding. I will sing with the spirit, and I will also sing with the understanding.

This is the conclusion. Pray with both. Paul isn’t necessarily saying that sometimes pray in tongues and then sometimes pray in a known language. It could be what he is saying but there is another way to look at what he is saying.

First pray with the spirit and then pray with the understanding. In other words, pray in the spirit and receive interpretation as you pray with the understanding.
It is the same thing with worship. Sing in the spirit and then sing with the understanding.

You offer perfect praise

16 Otherwise, if you bless with the spirit, how will he who occupies the place of the uninformed say "Amen" at your giving of thanks, since he does not understand what you say? 17 For you indeed give thanks well, but the other is not edified.


When we pray in tongues we are praising God. But remember that we are doing it from our spirit. And our spirit s perfect and has perfect knowledge and wisdom of God. As we sing in the spirit and worship God we are able to go into deep worship and perfect worship. We offer thanks well and are able to minister to God in the way that He desires the most. Tongues are a love language that is able to take us deep into the love of God as we minister to Him and love on Him. This is a powerful secret.

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