He Prays for Us

How often do we find ourselves reaching out, longing for God's Presence to envelop us? We call out, yearning for that Divine Connection.

But consider this: What if God is already right here with us, steadfast and unchanging?

The real question then becomes: Are we truly present in God’s Everlasting Presence?

How can we fully immerse ourselves and remain attentive in the Presence of God?

One way we can do this is by speaking in tongues. Speaking in tongues is a gift that God has bestowed for meditation and bringing ourselves into the Presence of God.

When we speak in tongues, the Holy Spirit prays for us, for our laments that cannot be articulated in words. The Spirit frees us from our incapabilities or even our hesitance because it is He who prays and empathizes for us, on our behalf, and even in our weakness (Romans 8:26-27).

For instance, suppose I just had an argument with my wife. With a heart still upset, I enter my room and utter a few prayers, asking God to change my wife. But when I speak in tongues, the Holy Spirit prays for me and prays that God changes me. My prayers may not always be right, but the Holy Spirit prays perfectly.

It can start as a deep lament, a glorious thanksgiving, a joyful adoration, or even a relentless petition to God, but ultimately, it will carry oneself beyond superficiality into God's tangible Presence and Glory, which will cause us to fall on our knees and worship God alone. Indeed, for some, the starting point can be a difficult thing. When we start uttering prayer in tongues, we might feel like a fraud.

When we start speaking in a tongue we do not understand, we might wonder, "Are we deceiving ourselves?" or "What is this coming out of our own mouths? Is this just gibberish?"

Yet, this is the point where we need to be reminded of the sacramental nature of glossolalia. Just as when we partake in the sacrament of Communion, where God changes the bread/biscuit and grape juice we consume into something Divine, so too are the utterances in tongues that come from our lips blessed by the Holy Spirit changed into a Divine Language. Through these utterances, the Holy Spirit works beyond what we can pray with our minds. Here, we need to trust that God could and has promised to grace our semantically meaningless utterances and to bring us to God's Divine Prayer (Romans 8:26).

How do we start?

We step out in faith, beginning by asking, believing, and starting to speak. Believing that if we ask, the Father will give what is good, He will give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him (Luke 11:13).

When we want to learn to practice glossolalia, we could first utter praise repetitively. For example, some often suggest that we start by uttering the word "hallelujah" repetitively until we are truly absorbed into a deep prayer. Indeed, this takes a lot of effort for people living in a world of distractions.

Some people feel how God truly touches them or embraces them, and as a result, they weep joyfully. Some feel the Joy of the Lord and, consequently, laugh, dance, or sing. Others may not feel any emotion but know that the Peace of God envelops their hearts and minds. Everyone has a different personality.

The important thing here is God's Presence. When God brings us into His Divine Prayer, we cannot help but feel God's Strong and Divine Presence. Fellowship with the Holy Spirit allows us to surrender completely and express ourselves fully.

Then we will understand why David was free to dance before the Lord (2 Samuel 6:14-23), even as his wife Michal could not understand it.