You do not receive the gift of speaking in tongues by learning it. There are some circles where people are being taught to speak in tongues. It is important to state that receiving the gift of speaking in tongues is a product of being filled with the Holy Spirit.
Desire it
The first step to receiving the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues is to desire the infilling with the Holy Spirit. God cannot fill you beyond how hungry you are. You must desire the infilling with the Holy Spirit
Ask for it
The proof of desire is pursuit. If you desire to be filled with the Holy Spirit, then you must take a further step by asking the lord to fill you with the Holy Spirit.
When you ask, believe that you have received
You must believe right at the time you prayed that God has answered your prayers. At the same time of requesting, God has granted your request because God wants you to be filled with the Holy Spirit more than you even want to be filled.
Act on your faith
If you truly believe that you have received the Holy Spirit in step three above, then we know that when the Holy Spirit comes, one of the things He brings with Him is the gift of tongues. On the day of Pentecost when the apostles were filled with the spirit, they began to speak with tongues as the spirit gave them utterance.
Faith must have corresponding action. You must act on what you believe. If the Holy Spirit is already in you then you must begin to speak in tongues as He gives you the utterance.
Listen to your heart deep down on the inside you will sense the utterance of tongues coming up from the Holy Ghost. You must speak it out in faith believing that it is proceeding from the Holy Ghost who you have received.
Please note that the Holy Ghost does not speak with tongues. We are the ones who speak as the Holy Ghost gives us utterance. We must receive that utterance by faith and speak it out.
Hindrances to receiving the Holy Spirit and the gift of tongues
Fear: Fear is one reason why many people do not receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. You must get rid of fear from your life by casting every fear out. God has not given you the spirit of fear. The Holy Spirit is a wonderful person to have in your life and you do not need to be afraid.
Lies of the devil: The devil specializes in casting all types of lying thoughts into our hearts just to prevent us from receiving.
He will suggest to you that your tongues does not sound real. He will tell you that you are forging it and that your tongues is not real.
Feeling of unrighteousness: Many people feel they are not qualified to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit especially when they think about what kind of life they are living or what things they have done in the past. They feel they are not righteous enough to receive. You must know that the Holy Spirit is a free gift and receiving Him is necessary for you to be able to live a holy life. Without Him you will struggle to be holy.
Not acting on your faith
Not acting on your faith after you have prayed can stop you from receiving. Some people feel they have not received because they do not feel anything in their body. The just shall live by faith and not by sight. Don’t base your conclusions on what you can feel.
If you believe that you have received the gift of the Holy Spirit after praying then you must begin like the Apostles did to speak in tongues.
Common questions about speaking in tongues
1. When I speak in tongues, my mind tells me that I am forming it.
This is one of the lies of Satan in order to distract you from speaking in tongues. The devil knows how much impact you are making when you speak in tongues and hence would do anything he can to stop you.
2. Can I start speaking in tongues on my own? Yes you can. Paul said in
1Corinthians 14:15…What is it then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will pray with the understanding also: I will sing with the spirit, and I will sing with the understanding also.
When Paul said ‘I will pray with the spirit,’ he connotes a free will action. Also Acts chapter 2 tells us that they began to speak with tongues as the spirit gave them utterance. That implies that you can begin.
3. When I speak in tongues my mind wonders around
This may be a normal occurrence because when you speak in tongues your mind is unfruitful. However it is good practice while speaking in tongues to focus on God’s word and meditate upon it.
4. When I speak in tongues it does not sound sweet like other people’s own
You tongues is unique to you. It doesn’t have to sound like other people’s own or sound sonorous. What matters most is that God understands it.
Benefits of Speaking in Tongues
I Corinthians 14:2&4
• For he that speaketh in an unknown tongue speaketh not unto men, but unto God: for no man understandeth him; howbeit in the spirit he speaketh mysteries.
• He that speaketh in an unknown tongue edifieth himself; but he that prophesieth edifieth the church.
1. When you speak in tongues, you hold a private conversation with God
1Corinthians 14:2a
• If you praise him in the private language of tongues (Message Translation)
Speaking in tongues provides an avenue for you to hold private conversations with God. You can be in the midst of people and be able to be in privacy with God by praying in tongues.
We all need privacy a lot of times when we are talking to our father. We do not want a second party to gain access to our conversation with our father. The gift of tongues provides us with that privacy. You can actually be praying where there are lots of people and still enjoy that privacy. This is true because no man understands what you say when you speak with tongues.
You can speak to God without the distraction that comes by a consciousness that people are hearing what you are saying to your father. It is a direct means of communicating with God.
1Corinthians 14:2a
• For he that speaketh in an unknown tongue speaketh not unto men, but unto God:
When we speak in tongues we are speaking to God directly. This is one way you can pray and be one hundred percent sure that you have spoken to God. He that speaketh in an unknown tongue speaketh not unto men but unto God.
Luke 18:11
• The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican.
The Pharisee stood and prayed with himself. He was not praying or speaking to God he prayed with himself. Many times we pray thinking that we are getting across to God not knowing that we are actually praying with ourselves. But when we pray in tongues we speak directly to God and we are sure we are getting across to Him.
Many times we fall short of words to say to God in the place of prayer because our human minds and native dialects are limited but with the aid of the gift of tongues we can speak directly to God without limitations through words granted by the Holy Spirit.
2. When you speak in tongues you actually are Ministering to God
The gift of speaking in tongues provides an avenue for us to minister to God. In the Old Testament, the people were required to offer gifts and sacrifices. The aroma of these sacrifices, when offered up to God ascends up to heaven as a sweet smelling savor. In the New Testament, we do not offer these physical sacrifices anymore to give God pleasure. Rather we offer spiritual sacrifices.
1Peter 2:5
• Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.
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