Walking On WaterНамуна

Speaking in Tongues  

Many head-oriented people struggle with the scriptural gift of “tongues”. A friend had prayed that I might receive the gift, but I was extremely aware that it was me making sounds and had dismissed the experience. At least, until I was praying for someone else and we invited the Holy Spirit to minister to her. The moment I started to speak in tongues, quietly under my breath, so no-one could hear me doing something that felt ridiculous, she fell to the floor and had a significant encounter with God. No-one was more surprised than me, and I had little idea what was occurring. During the prayer time, though, she had gradually begun to relive a painful experience which had affected her relationships, her health and her faith. In that encounter, the Lord graciously delivered her from a deep-seated and life-controlling fear. 

That experience was a great blessing for her, but it was also a great gift to me. What was so powerful for me was seeing how God would use something that I couldn’t understand cognitively, but where I simply had to trust him. That posture is the foundation of being able to move in spiritual gifts. I think, for that reason, the gift of tongues is a “gateway gift” for many people. With most other spiritual gifts, our part in the partnership is more obvious – we are more involved in crafting the form of the prayer, word, act or whatever. With tongues, all we contribute is the decision whether to open our mouths and make sounds, or not! In fact, that’s Paul’s point when he says, “If I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my mind is unfruitful” (1 Corinthians 14:14) – speaking in tongues is helpful (we “edify ourselves”, verse 4) but not intelligible (without interpretation). God therefore wants us to practise what we don’t understand (speaking in tongues), but also to pray “with our understanding” (verse 15), especially when we’re in the presence of others. This is not the place to explore in detail the gift of tongues, save to say that I believe that it is a gift available to all believers. No-one has to speak in tongues to demonstrate their spiritual maturity, but all of us potentially can. Paul knew the power of this gift, even though he couldn’t fully understand it: “I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you” (1 Corinthians 14:18). For those of us who tend to be limited to what we consider rational, speaking in tongues is a great way to express faith!