I Wish You All Could Pray In Tongues

“I will pray in the spirit, and I will also pray in words I understand.” 1 Corinthians 14:5

Praying in tongues has been a subject that has been on my heart a lot lately. If you are a believer gifted with the ability to pray in the Spirit then you may better understand where I am coming from. I feel led to write this because I am hoping to encourage those with the gift to stir it up, use it more frequently, and for those without it to prayerfully consider asking our Lord for this ability. Like the apostle Paul I wish you all could speak in tongues. (1 Corinthians 14:5)

Praying in tongues is a gift that the Holy Spirit gives to believers to help them pray more effectively. When a believer prays in tongues it is their spirit praying by the power of the Holy Spirit. Most times the believer does not know what they are praying, it will all be mysterious. Paul told the Corinthians that he thanked God that he spoke in tongues more than any of them. He also wished that they all could speak in tongues. (1 Corinthians 14:2, 14, 18, 4)

Why did Paul pray in the Spirit often and why did he wish that all the other believers prayed in tongues too? Well..here are my thoughts based on the Word and my personal experience with praying in the Spirit.

1) A person that speaks in tongues is strengthened personally (1 Corinthians 14:4) Praying, singing, and worshipping in tongues is to have direct communion with the Holy Spirit. Your spirit is being led by the Spirit of God on what to pray for, you have divine direction. I have found myself encouraged, comforted, and strengthened after praying in the Spirit.
2) You can pray in the Spirit when you don’t know what God wants you to pray for. There have been times where I just have a check in my spirit and don’t know what it’s about. I don’t know who I am supposed to be praying for. I just know that deep down inside that I am supposed to be praying. That’s when I go some where private and allow the Holy Spirit to pray through me. I’ll start praying in tongues until someone or something comes up on my heart and then I pray in English. I jump back and forth between English and my heavenly language until I feel a release. “And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words.” Romans 8:26
3) When we allow our spirits to pray by the power of the Holy Spirit we are praying in harmony with God’s own will. I feel more confident praying in the Spirit because I have taken my own will out of the way and I know that I am praying for God’s divine will over whatever the situation is. I am even more confident and that since I am praying God’s will be done He most certainly will work all things out for the good. “And the Father who knows all hearts knows what the Spirit is saying, for the Spirit pleads for us believers in harmony with God’s own will. And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. Romans 8:27-28
4) You will be giving thanks very well (1 Corinthians 14:17) When I am singing praise and worship songs to our Lord that is when I find myself feeling full of awe and reverence for God. I am so thankful that He lifted me up out of the miry clay that the words I am singing are just not enough so I begin to thank him in my heavenly language. During times of complete surrender and worshipped I been filled anew to the point where I am overflowing and all I can do is cry and praise the Lord in the Spirit. It is a wonderful honor to praise in this manner.
5) It is a good way to sing praises to God. (1 Corinthians 14:15) I am not a good singer. Lol..Although I have had experiences where I have been in private worship and I begin to sing in the spirit.
6) I believe it part of spiritual warfare. After Paul told the church about putting on the armor of God so they could stand firm against the strategies of the devil, he told them to pray at all times in the Spirit and with all manner of prayer. I mentioned earlier that sometimes I will have a check in my spirit and I feel led to pray in tongues. There are time where I have passed by an individual or walk in the room and my hairs stand up. Sometimes it is a good feeling and other times it is a bad feeling. Immediately I am nudged in my spirit and I instinctively being to pray in tongues. As I am praying I just know that I doing spiritual battle. I have even had dreams OFTEN where I am battling demons and I am speaking in tongues. “Pray at all times (on every occasion, in every season) in the Spirit, with all [manner of] prayer and entreaty. To that end keep alert and watch with strong purpose and perseverance, interceding in behalf of all the saints (God's consecrated people). Ephesians 6:18

Paul prayed in the spirit often for a reason. He was a strong and diligent servant of the Lord who wrote a large portion of the New Testament. We can pattern our lives after him because he patterned his life after Christ. (1 Corinthians 11:1) If you have the ability to pray in tongues don’t waste your gift. Don’t let it lie dormant. I challenge you to pray often in the Spirit and see if you are not strengthened.

If you don’t have the gift but would like it then pray and ask the Lord for it. It is the one and only Spirit who distributes all these gifts. He alone decides which gift each person should have. (1 Corinthians 12:11)

Brothers and sisters be strong in the Lord and filled in the Spirit. Many blessings you all.