How to Authentically Speak in Tongues

[Berserk]

A future post will explain why most initiations into speaking in tongues just produce babble that is of the flesh. But my OP will identify 3 proven principles for genuine glossolalia. Admittedly, the Holy Spirit cannot be limited to a specific operation formula. For example, when I was speaking in tongues at age 16, a visiting Lutheran pastor interrupted me to say he was an interested spectator who didn't believe in modern speaking in tongues. I didn't argue with him, but merely touched him gently on the forehead and he just exploded in other tongues!

(1) Praying in tongues is a form of praying in the Spirit (1 Corinthians 14:14). So to speak in tongues authentically, it is advisable to first learn to "pray in the Spirit" (Ephesians 6:18; Jude 20) in your own language. Paul makes it clear that praying in the Spirit is a key to waging effective spiritual warfare (Ephesians 6:11-18). Praying in the Spirit is spontaneous Spirit-directed prayer as opposed to consciously formulated prayers of intent.

(2) The expression "lost in praise" designates a particular type of praying in the Spirit that is often a launching pad for speaking in tongues. Being lost in praise is a type of intense longing for God in which the eruption of joy triggers spontaneous and uncontrolled praise in one's own language. It is the Lord who guides the praise: "O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise (Psalm 51:15)." This type of praise is superior because it reflects and derives from "the inner being" and "my secret heart" with which I am usually out of touch (51:6). Much of what we pass off as praise is forced and mechanical; so the Spirit's intervention is needed to create a "willing spirit" (51:12)." If our worship is too much of a head trip rather than a heart eruption, we may lose the Holy Spirit as an active force in our lives: "Do not cast me away from your presence and don't take your Holy Spirit from me (51:11)."

(3) To learn to pray in the Spirit, one should first learn how to "walk in the Spirit." Walking in the Spirit is often misunderstood as mere conscious obedience to God's Word, when in fact it is more mystical than that--the believer must master the art of being "led by the Spirit (Galatians 5:25)." Unless the believer has mastered this art, they will not experience all "the fruit of the Spirit (5:22-23)."

In my next planned post, I will share my testimony of how I learned to pray in the Spirit.

 

[Berserk]

At age 16 I was becoming increasingly skeptical about biblical inspiration and the authenticity of the gifts of the Spirit. I asked myself if the conversions were ever genuine in our weekly Sunday evening evangelistic service. So I decided to go all out in my prayerful pursuit of God. After the Sunday morning service, I decided to fast and pray for hours in the church steeple's room. But for the first 45 minutes I was miserable because I ran out of things to pray, was becoming physically uncomfortable on my knees, and began to feel like travailing in prayer was a waste of time. Then something truly magical happened: suddenly I sensed the Spirit's presence and my prayers, petitions, and praise just spontaneously flowed from my mind, effortlessly and joyfully. This delight in the Lord's presence lasted for hours. I found myself praying for sinners to respond to the evening altar call and an unusually large number did. What unspeakable joy! My only regret is that over the decades I have only occasionally had the self-discipline to pay the price in focused consciousness to enter that blissful prayer state.

In retrospect I realize that what the Lord eventually empowered me to do was "pray in the Spirit (Eph. 6:18; Jude 20)." My prayer had become effortless and spontaneous because the Spirit had come upon me to direct my prayers. Such Spirit-directed praying would serve me well when, a few months later, I was baptized in the Holy Spirit with the initial evidence of speaking in tongues on what was by far the most beautiful, transformative, and memorable day of my life! I will describe that experience in my next planned post.

 

[Berserk]

Exactly what is the benefit of authentically speaking in tongues to the blessed seeker? In 1 Corinthians 14 Paul says, "He who speaks in tongues edifies himself" and then adds, "I want you all to speak in tongues (14:4-5)." Yes, he qualifies this with his preference for prophesying because of its communal edification. But lest you imagine this as a trivialization of tongues, he stunningly adds, "I thank God that I speak in tongues more than any of you (14:18)." How speaking in tongues has edified me is best illustrated by my testimony to my Spirit baptism.

By far the most powerful and important turning point in my life was an experience of glossolalia at Manhattan Beach Camp in Manitoba. I was 16 at the time and felt I had lost my faith. I was determined to give it my best shot to find God real, but not to succumb to wishful thinking and emotionalism. That fateful, Tuesday, I went on a 7 mile walk towards Ninette, Manitoba, pleading with God to make Himself real to me. That evening, I did something I'd never done before. I fasted for dinner and put my dinner money in the offering plate. After the service, I stayed at the altar and prayed to be filled with the Spirit as I had previously done in vain. After almost everyone (about 1,000) left the open-air amphitheater, my heart still felt like stone as I tarried in prayer. My desperation helped me chance on an important insight into authentically speaking in tongues. I asked for the gift and then just passionately sought the Giver. My attitude was a paradoxical combination of eager expectation and stanch resistance to surrender to wishful thinking.

Then suddenly I felt a warm breeze, but it wasn't the wind from nearby Pelican Lake; it was the Holy Spirit first warming me and then possessing me. I felt compelled to speak in tongues at the top of my voice. More importantly, wave after wave of liquid love surged through my being with ever increasing intensity until I feared it might kill me. My ego seemed on the verge of collapse into the divine mind. I can only speak poetically and say that I experienced a hundred times more love, power, the sweetness of intimate connection with God than I have ever experienced before or since. I have absolutely no doubt that if any of you experienced what I did that night, you would celebrate this encounter as by far the high point in your life.

A Lutheran pastor observed me, unseen, and quietly came and knelt beside me. He told me he was not Pentecostal and didn't believe in speaking in tongues. He had only come to the camp meeting as an interested observer. He said he could tell God was doing a special work in me and he asked me to pray for him. At that moment, if a blind man had approached me for prayer, I would have had no doubt that he would have been healed. Such was my faith in that moment! I made no effort to explain or defend tongues. Instead, I just gently touched this skeptical pastor's forehead, and the moment I did so, he just exploded into tongues like me. Another lady was sitting in the now darkened amphitheater and just staring at me. Self-conscious, I asked her why? She said, "Don't you know? Your face is glowing in the dark!"

When it was all over, I realized that God had said to me clearly: "Son, you long for answers to burning questions. But answers aren't good for you right now. They will make you live in your head, and i want to live in your heart. I want you to just live your big questions until they lead you to the center of my heart." Instantly my mind was so transformed that I progressed from an ordinary student to the highest GPA in the province, a feat that helped finance a very long period of academic studies from BA to MDiv (Princeton) to Harvard doctorate in New Testament, Judaism, and Greco-Roman Backgrounds. My Spirit baptism is the reason for that long educational pilgrimage. The experience also led to other gifts of the Spirit that at times provided as many questions as answers. I may will later post on my journey into other gifts of the Spirit.

But here is my most sobering takeaway from the impact of that holy night on my life. I was so disillusioned with the Bible and so skeptical about any claims of divine connection that I now realize I would probably no longer even be a Christian, were it not for that night of supreme blessing. Decades later, I still regularly draw comfort and spiritual nourishment from the very memory of that night.

 

[Berserk]

So as a youth, why was I so skeptical about speaking in tongues and other gifts of the Spirit? Our church had Holy Communion after the sermon and a message in tongues or prophetic word was often the norm for this service. As a skeptical boy. I yearned for a word from Christ that addressed my condition directly and some messages in tongues were so eloquent and so hard-hitting that I was almost moved to tears as I listened. But most of the time I froze as if confronted by a cobra as soon as the message began. I now recognize this reaction as spiritual discernment, a gift given to me in response to my hunger and openness to the Spirit. '
Once I asked a church elder which Christ's messages in tongues weren't recorded for further reflection and application. His reply shocked me, "Oh, don't treat these messages like Scripture; they just provide a little inspiration during the Communion service." My youthful reaction was twofold:

(1) Either these messages come from Christ or they're of the flesh. If they come from Christ, they must be revered and recorded for further application. If they don't, they should be banned as spiritual counterfeits.
(2) I also concluded, "My God, even Pentecostal leaders don't really believe their tongues manifestations are real--and their unaware of their unbelief!"

Speaking in tongues is generally counterfeit when the utterance is created in response to pious expectation for a service's needs. I summed up my youthful reaction in this principle, "In a worship circus the Holy Spirit doesn't jump just because we crack our whip."

 

[quietthinker]

How to Authentically Speak in Tongues
Come and get your discounted publication of 'How To' while they last in all good book stores and preachers sermons. Add to your skills with minimal effort and maximum effect. Praise the Lord, hallelujah, pass the ammunition!

 

[JohnPaul]

A future post will explain why most initiations into speaking in tongues just produce babble that is of the flesh. But my OP will identify 3 proven principles for genuine glossolalia. Admittedly, the Holy Spirit cannot be limited to a specific operation formula. For example, when I was speaking in tongues at age 16, a visiting Lutheran pastor interrupted me to say he was an interested spectator who didn't believe in modern speaking in tongues. I didn't argue with him, but merely touched him gently on the forehead and he just exploded in other tongues!

(1) Praying in tongues is a form of praying in the Spirit (1 Corinthians 14:14). So to speak in tongues authentically, it is advisable to first learn to "pray in the Spirit" (Ephesians 6:18; Jude 20) in your own language. Paul makes it clear that praying in the Spirit is a key to waging effective spiritual warfare (Ephesians 6:11-18). Praying in the Spirit is spontaneous Spirit-directed prayer as opposed to consciously formulated prayers of intent.

(2) The expression "lost in praise" designates a particular type of praying in the Spirit that is often a launching pad for speaking in tongues. Being lost in praise is a type of intense longing for God in which the eruption of joy triggers spontaneous and uncontrolled praise in one's own language. It is the Lord who guides the praise: "O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise (Psalm 51:15)." This type of praise is superior because it reflects and derives from "the inner being" and "my secret heart" with which I am usually out of touch (51:6). Much of what we pass off as praise is forced and mechanical; so the Spirit's intervention is needed to create a "willing spirit" (51:12)." If our worship is too much of a head trip rather than a heart eruption, we may lose the Holy Spirit as an active force in our lives: "Do not cast me away from your presence and don't take your Holy Spirit from me (51:11)."

(3) To learn to pray in the Spirit, one should first learn how to "walk in the Spirit." Walking in the Spirit is often misunderstood as mere conscious obedience to God's Word, when in fact it is more mystical than that--the believer must master the art of being "led by the Spirit (Galatians 5:25)." Unless the believer has mastered this art, they will not experience all "the fruit of the Spirit (5:22-23)."

In my next planned post, I will share my testimony of how I learned to pray in the Spirit.

Is it an actual language or something only the gifted can understand?

 

[Christ4Me]

A future post will explain why most initiations into speaking in tongues just produce babble that is of the flesh. But my OP will identify 3 proven principles for genuine glossolalia. Admittedly, the Holy Spirit cannot be limited to a specific operation formula. For example, when I was speaking in tongues at age 16, a visiting Lutheran pastor interrupted me to say he was an interested spectator who didn't believe in modern speaking in tongues. I didn't argue with him, but merely touched him gently on the forehead and he just exploded in other tongues!

That can be done in the occult too. The difference is that the tongue in the occult is not a foreign language of men to speak unto the people for why it is gibberish nonsense.

Isaiah 8:19 And when they shall say unto you, Seek unto them that have familiar spirits, and unto wizards that peep, and that mutter: should not a people seek unto their God? for the living to the dead?

Since that tongue nor yours, came with interpretation, it was never of Him in the first place. You just wanted to believe it was of God.

(1) Praying in tongues is a form of praying in the Spirit (1 Corinthians 14:14). So to speak in tongues authentically, it is advisable to first learn to "pray in the Spirit" (Ephesians 6:18; Jude 20) in your own language. Paul makes it clear that praying in the Spirit is a key to waging effective spiritual warfare (Ephesians 6:11-18). Praying in the Spirit is spontaneous Spirit-directed prayer as opposed to consciously formulated prayers of intent.

Praying in your language is not praying in tongues. Praying IN the Spirit is not praying for the Spirit to come so you can pray.

(2) The expression "lost in praise" designates a particular type of praying in the Spirit that is often a launching pad for speaking in tongues. Being lost in praise is a type of intense longing for God in which the eruption of joy triggers spontaneous and uncontrolled praise in one's own language. It is the Lord who guides the praise: "O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise (Psalm 51:15)." This type of praise is superior because it reflects and derives from "the inner being" and "my secret heart" with which I am usually out of touch (51:6). Much of what we pass off as praise is forced and mechanical; so the Spirit's intervention is needed to create a "willing spirit" (51:12)." If our worship is too much of a head trip rather than a heart eruption, we may lose the Holy Spirit as an active force in our lives: "Do not cast me away from your presence and don't take your Holy Spirit from me (51:11)."

1 Corinthians 6:19 What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? 20 For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.

Ephesians 4:30 And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.

That is the difference between the Old Covenant and the New. The Holy Spirit is not going anywhere, even when we sin for why we are warned not to grieve the Holy Spirit.

It is far better to know that you are actually praising God from only assuming you are by that supernatural tongue for why God is not the author of that confusion at all.

(3) To learn to pray in the Spirit, one should first learn how to "walk in the Spirit." Walking in the Spirit is often misunderstood as mere conscious obedience to God's Word, when in fact it is more mystical than that--the believer must master the art of being "led by the Spirit (Galatians 5:25)." Unless the believer has mastered this art, they will not experience all "the fruit of the Spirit (5:22-23)."

In my next planned post, I will share my testimony of how I learned to pray in the Spirit.

It is because we are still in this corruptible flesh is why we are always Spirit-filled since salvation so that we shall be held accountable to what we sow towards; the works of the flesh or the fruits of the Spirit which are by faith in Jesus Christ to finish His work in us to His glory.

Matthew 9:17 Neither do men put new wine into old bottles: else the bottles break, and the wine runneth out, and the bottles perish: but they put new wine into new bottles, and both are preserved.

Colossians 2:5 For though I be absent in the flesh, yet am I with you in the spirit, joying and beholding your order, and the stedfastness of your faith in Christ. 6 As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him: 7 Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving. 8 Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ. 9 For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. 10 And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power:

Philippians 1:6 Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:... 11 Being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God.

 

[Enoch111]

But my OP will identify 3 proven principles for genuine glossolalia.

You will not find the word "glossolalia" in the Bible. It is glossa or glossais, meaning language or languages -- spoken human languages.

 

[Christ4Me]

At age 16 I was becoming increasingly skeptical about biblical inspiration and the authenticity of the gifts of the Spirit. I asked myself if the conversions were ever genuine in our weekly Sunday evening evangelistic service.

So basically without meaning to, you pursued a false teaching about "unless one speaks in tongues, they do not have the Holy spirit and therefore you are not saved"? Maybe you did not intended to do that but your testimony can be used by those who do teach that. Nots ure how you can prevent it either.

So I decided to go all out in my prayerful pursuit of God. After the Sunday morning service, I decided to fast and pray for hours in the church steeple's room. But for the first 45 minutes I was miserable because I ran out of things to pray, was becoming physically uncomfortable on my knees, and began to feel like travailing in prayer was a waste of time.

What you are describing next is why the apostle John says not to believe every spirit but test them & the tongues they bring in 1 John 4:1-6.

Then something truly magical happened:

This magical can be found in Khundalini, an eastern mysticism, voodooism, the occult, idolatries in the days of the Roman empire, and cults in Christianity, even the ones you consider not His Church for why you should test the spirits and the tongues they bring. If it is gibberish nonsense and not a foreign language of men to speak unto the people, then that is the supernatural tongue that the world has been speaking in before Pentecost.

suddenly I sensed the Spirit's presence and my prayers, petitions, and praise just spontaneously flowed from my mind, effortlessly and joyfully. This delight in the Lord's presence lasted for hours.

The real indwelling Holy Spirit is in us by faith in Jesus Christ. Jesus has said that is how we will know Him from the spirits that the world receives by feeling it.

John 14:16 And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; 17 Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.

The apostle john gives us the standard for how to test the spirits by; that Jesus Christ "is come in the flesh" as meaning He is presently dwelling within us whereas those who confess otherwise in feeling the "Spirit of Christ" outside of us are actually testifying to the spirit of the antichrist.

1 John 4:1 Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world. 2 Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God:

Verse 2 above is the same thing as saying Paul's words below;

2 Corinthians 13:5 Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?

We can know this to be true by how John continues that message by pointing out where the spirit of the antichrist is, outside of us in the world.

3 And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world. 4 Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.

So that is how you test the spirits, knowing He is in you so that if you feel a presence of a spirit outside of you or coming over you to bring that supernatural tongue that is gibberish nonsense which is found in the world for why that is the spirit of the antichrist.

5 They are of the world: therefore speak they of the world, and the world heareth them. 6 We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error.

Not sure how you can avoid this standard raised by the apostle John about testing the spirits by what you have shared here, brother.

I found myself praying for sinners to respond to the evening altar call and an unusually large number did. What unspeakable joy! My only regret is that over the decades I have only occasionally had the self-discipline to pay the price in focused consciousness to enter that blissful prayer state.

In retrospect I realize that what the Lord eventually empowered me to do was "pray in the Spirit (Eph. 6:18; Jude 20)." My prayer had become effortless and spontaneous because the Spirit had come upon me to direct my prayers. Such Spirit-directed praying would serve me well when, a few months later, I was baptized in the Holy Spirit with the initial evidence of speaking in tongues on what was by far the most beautiful, transformative, and memorable day of my life! I will describe that experience in my next planned post.

It is better to know what you had prayed for normally so you can know you got an answer to prayer to give the father thanks in Jesus's name for answers to prayers than only assume what that tongue is doing; be it self edification, praising God in worship, or the Holy Spirit is praying which I have to say because you are assuming it is for private use, it cannot be of Him at all because you do not know what that tongue is doing.

God is not the author of confusion but tongues for private use is the author of confusion as gained by an extra notable phenomenon long after you had been saved when you had first believed in Him at the calling of the gospel.

Some would call your experience as the second blessing but the irony is that as much as they & you would hype it, the extra phenomenon does not stop there but continue in other ways in having wat is assumed to be the Holy spirit in receiving after other signs like "slain in the spirit" & "holy laughter movement" as there are more authors of confusions which is not of God either.

I remind you of what you did to that Lutheran believer in tapping him lightly on the head and he broke out in tongues and so I point you to this guy as he seems to be having that kind of influence in giving that phenomenon of holy laughter to those around him.

 

[Christ4Me]

Exactly what is the benefit of authentically speaking in tongues to the blessed seeker? In 1 Corinthians 14 Paul says, "He who speaks in tongues edifies himself"

Yet Paul exhorted the seeker to seek the gift of prophesy instead because tongues is not a stand alone gift. That is his point.

1 Corinthians 14:1 Follow after charity, and desire spiritual gifts, but rather that ye may prophesy. 2 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. 3 But he that prophesieth speaketh unto men to edification, and exhortation, and comfort.

and then adds, "I want you all to speak in tongues (14:4-5)."

BUT Paul prefers we seek the gift of prophesy instead.

4 He that speaketh in an unknown tongue edifieth himself; but he that prophesieth edifieth the church. 5 I would that ye all spake with tongues but rather that ye prophesied: for greater is he that prophesieth than he that speaketh with tongues, except he interpret, that the church may receive edifying.

The irony of verse 4 is that Paul had gone on to explain that unless that tongue was interpreted, it would be unfruitful to himself because he does not understand it so there is no real self edification going on there in verse 4 but a contrast in showing why tongues is not a stand alone gift.

Yes, he qualifies this with his preference for prophesying because of its communal edification. But lest you imagine this as a trivialization of tongues, he stunningly adds, "I thank God that I speak in tongues more than any of you (14:18)."

19 Yet in the church I had rather speak five words with my understanding, that by my voice I might teach others also, than ten thousand words in an unknown tongue.

Now Paul is giving the bottom line on what tongues are for and it is not for private use.

20 Brethren, be not children in understanding: howbeit in malice be ye children, but in understanding be men. 21 In the law it is written, With men of other tongues and other lips will I speak unto this people; and yet for all that will they not hear me, saith the Lord.

How speaking in tongues has edified me is best illustrated by my testimony to my Spirit baptism.

So this is you saying when you got tongues was when you got saved? If you are not saying that, you surely are giving those who teach that to use your testimony as proof to that end.

Not sure you can say you were edified if you did not know what that tongue was doing without interpretation, brother.

 

[Christ4Me]

By far the most powerful and important turning point in my life was an experience of glossolalia at Manhattan Beach Camp in Manitoba. I was 16 at the time and felt I had lost my faith. I was determined to give it my best shot to find God real, but not to succumb to wishful thinking and emotionalism. That fateful, Tuesday, I went on a 7 mile walk towards Ninette, Manitoba, pleading with God to make Himself real to me. That evening, I did something I'd never done before. I fasted for dinner and put my dinner money in the offering plate. After the service, I stayed at the altar and prayed to be filled with the Spirit as I had previously done in vain.

Then you did not believe the Holy Spirit was already in you since you had believed in Jesus Christ at the calling of the gospel. This is why God permitted that strong delusion to occur because you believed the lie that you can receive the Holy Spirit by a notable phenomenon rather than by faith in Jesus Christ as promised for all those that come to & believe in Him at the calling of the gospel which is the tradition taught of us.

2 Thessalonians 2:1 Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him, 2 That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand. 3 Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first,........

7 For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way.

9 Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, 10 And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. 11 And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: 12 That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

13 But we are bound to give thanks alway to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth: 14 Whereunto he called you by our gospel, to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. 15 Therefore, brethren, stand fast, and hold the traditions which ye have been taught, whether by word, or our epistle.

So the restraining part of the Holy Ghost will let till that be taken out of the way even though He is still in you and will never leave, Ephesians 4:30 but that is how God permit that strong delusion to occur for believing that lie that you can receive Him by a sign when you had already received him at the calling of the gospel when you had first believed.

 

[Christ4Me]

After almost everyone (about 1,000) left the open-air amphitheater, my heart still felt like stone as I tarried in prayer. My desperation helped me chance on an important insight into authentically speaking in tongues. I asked for the gift and then just passionately sought the Giver. My attitude was a paradoxical combination of eager expectation and stanch resistance to surrender to wishful thinking.

Then suddenly I felt a warm breeze, but it wasn't the wind from nearby Pelican Lake; it was the Holy Spirit first warming me and then possessing me. I felt compelled to speak in tongues at the top of my voice. More importantly, wave after wave of liquid love surged through my being with ever increasing intensity until I feared it might kill me. My ego seemed on the verge of collapse into the divine mind. I can only speak poetically and say that I experienced a hundred times more love, power, the sweetness of intimate connection with God than I have ever experienced before or since. I have absolutely no doubt that if any of you experienced what I did that night, you would celebrate this encounter as by far the high point in your life.

A Lutheran pastor observed me, unseen, and quietly came and knelt beside me. He told me he was not Pentecostal and didn't believe in speaking in tongues. He had only come to the camp meeting as an interested observer. He said he could tell God was doing a special work in me and he asked me to pray for him. At that moment, if a blind man had approached me for prayer, I would have had no doubt that he would have been healed. Such was my faith in that moment! I made no effort to explain or defend tongues. Instead, I just gently touched this skeptical pastor's forehead, and the moment I did so, he just exploded into tongues like me. Another lady was sitting in the now darkened amphitheater and just staring at me. Self-conscious, I asked her why? She said, "Don't you know? Your face is glowing in the dark!"

When it was all over, I realized that God had said to me clearly: "Son, you long for answers to burning questions. But answers aren't good for you right now. They will make you live in your head, and i want to live in your heart. I want you to just live your big questions until they lead you to the center of my heart." Instantly my mind was so transformed that I progressed from an ordinary student to the highest GPA in the province, a feat that helped finance a very long period of academic studies from BA to MDiv (Princeton) to Harvard doctorate in New Testament, Judaism, and Greco-Roman Backgrounds. My Spirit baptism is the reason for that long educational pilgrimage. The experience also led to other gifts of the Spirit that at times provided as many questions as answers. I may will later post on my journey into other gifts of the Spirit.

But here is my most sobering takeaway from the impact of that holy night on my life. I was so disillusioned with the Bible and so skeptical about any claims of divine connection that I now realize I would probably no longer even be a Christian, were it not for that night of supreme blessing. Decades later, I still regularly draw comfort and spiritual nourishment from the very memory of that night.

When you had believed in the Lord Jesus Christ & that God has raised Him from the dead, you were saved then.

When you had sought to receive the holy Spirit by a sign, doubting conversions at the altar and thus your own, is why & what you had prayed for that God permitted because you want a sign that you are saved; that you had received the Holy Ghost except that it is continuous for why it cannot be of Him.

Matthew 12:39 But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas:

Hebrews 11:1Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. 2 For by it the elders obtained a good report.

Galatians 3:14 That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.... 26 For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. 27 For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.

I point out that taking "holy communion" in that same way of receiving His Presence in the bread & wine is the same thing for why in principle in according to His words, they are the spirits of the antichrist also.

I also point out that others experience the same thing you have and in spite of the powerful manifestation of what you & they believe of the Holy Spirit, where you all speak & pray in tongues, this "holy Spirit" does not seem to find it necessary to reprove those who do not believe the way you do about holy communion. So what does that tell you for all that self edification? Epic fail.

All that phenomenon did was come in between you & Jesus Christ as in instead of Christ which is what the antichrist does whereas the real indwelling holy Spirit would always keep your focus on the Son in worship, not the spirit, nor the bread & the wine when doing it only in remembrance of Him.

 

[atpollard]

Remind me to never come here for edification.
But I will return if I ever need my joy crushed by naysayers.
(It is not the advice that scares me, it is the utter lack of GENTLENESS with which it is given.)

 

[Christ4Me]

Remind me to never come here for edification.
But I will return if I ever need my joy crushed by naysayers.
(It is not the advice that scares me, it is the utter lack of GENTLENESS with which it is given.)

I do not believe the truth can be conveyed any gentler.

Was he not conveying that he was born again of the Spirit and thus saved when he felt the presence of the Holy Spirit & spoke in tongues long after he had been a believer in Jesus Christ? He was even doubting the conversions of those who came forward at the altar.

So how many believers are being robbed of the joy of their salvation just because they do not speak nor pray in tongues, doubting they have the Holy Spirit and thus doubting they are saved at all?

Your joy should not be consisting of speaking nor praying in tongues as proof that you have the Holy Ghost and thus are saved. Your joy is knowing that ever since you had believed in Him at the calling of the gospel is how you have been saved.

 

[Berserk]

How to Authentically Speak in Tongues
Come and get your discounted publication of 'How To' while they last in all good book stores and preachers sermons. Add to your skills with minimal effort and maximum effect. Praise the Lord, hallelujah, pass the ammunition!

You are oblivious to the fact that the Bible teaches spiritual methodology, including several principles of an effective prayer life and several principles for exercising effective faith that makes the decisive difference. You also overlook Paul's command to "strive for spiritual gifts" (1 Cor. 14:1), a command that implies methodology of striving, of which you are obviously oblivious.

 

[Berserk]

Is it an actual language or something only the gifted can understand?

Paul distinguishes private prayer tongues from messages in tongues that need to be interpreted. The tongues themselves can be actual languages. For example, in a Pentecostal church in Saskatchewan (I'm Canadian), there was a message in Swahili, assuring a mother that her missionary daughter had successfully made it out of a region where Swahili was spoken and would soon be coming home. An African who spoke Swahili was present to confirm that the message in tongues was in Swahili and that the interpretation by the believe who know no Swahili was accurate.

NY Times reporter, David Aikman wrote a fantastic book about the history of Christianity in China called "Jesus in Beijing." In it he recounts how Dennis Balcomb was visiting a Pentecostal church in Almonte, CA when the preacher's wife gave a message in tongues that someone else interpreted. the message addressed Dennis directly and in it Jesus told him he was called to be a missionary to China. A visiting Israeli Jew confirmed that the message was in perfect Hebrew, a language the preacher's wife didn't know. The result? Balcomb's often secretive ministry in China helped spark a revival that produced 80 million members of Chinese house churches.
How frequently believers speak in unknown earthly languages is unknown because most American Pentecostal congregations are composed entirely of English speakers.

This gift can also express "tongues of angels" (1 Cor. 13:1), which don't express human languages. Critics on this thread don't known Greek and therefore don't realize that "glossai" need not mean "human languages." In 1 Cor. 14:12 Paul refers to the Corinthians tongues speakers as "zealots of spirits" (=angels), thereby implying that their authentic tongues can express angelic language. In any case, if you receive the gift of tongues the way I did, you would be inacapable of doubting its authenticity because it would be BY FAR the highlight of your life.

 

[Christ4Me]

This gift can also express "tongues of angels" (1 Cor. 13:1), which don't express human languages. Critics on this thread don't known Greek and therefore don't realize that "glossai" need not mean "human languages."

That reference is Paul giving an exaggerated sense to show how important love is or rather not having love in spite of tongues of angels.

1 Corinthians 13:1Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.

Another example of an exaggerated sense to show the importance of having love rather than having and being able to do all those things.

2 And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing.

Last exaggerated example is where one gives all to charity ad even gives his body up to be burned but have not love, it profits the believers nothing.

3 And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.

So no one is really speaking in tongues of angels to be speaking to angels or to God for that matter by the Holy Ghost. Whatever is happening that does not come with interpretation and thus assumed for private use, should discern with Him that it is not of Him at all.

 

[Christ4Me]

@Berserk @atpollard

1 Corinthians 12:29 Are all apostles? are all prophets? are all teachers? are all workers of miracles? 30 Have all the gifts of healing? do all speak with tongues? do all interpret?

That should give you pause about seeking tongues as a sign that you have the Holy Spirit to know that you are saved since not all believers speaks in tongues.

1 Corinthians 14:19 Yet in the church I had rather speak five words with my understanding, that by my voice I might teach others also, than ten thousand words in an unknown tongue. 20 Brethren, be not children in understanding: howbeit in malice be ye children, but in understanding be men. 21 In the law it is written, With men of other tongues and other lips will I speak unto this people; and yet for all that will they not hear me, saith the Lord. 22 Wherefore tongues are for a sign, not to them that believe, but to them that believe not: but prophesying serveth not for them that believe not, but for them which believe.

Paul would rather speak in his language knowing what he is saying rather than not speak in tongues when he needs an interpretation to understand it.

Paul is getting ready to give the bottom line on what God's gift of tongues is for in verse 20 and said so in verse 21 that it was of other men's lips to speak unto the people.

Paul also pointed out that tongues were never to serve as a sign TO the believer about anything; not a sign or proof that they are saved; not as a sign or proof that God is calling them into the ministry; nothing at all TO the believer about proof or sign of anything.

Tongues as spoken to unbelievers in their native foreign tongue is a sign to them hearing the wonderful works of God in Jesus Christ so that they may believe and be saved which of course, some may not believe anyway.

 

[JohnPaul]

Paul distinguishes private prayer tongues from messages in tongues that need to be interpreted. The tongues themselves can be actual languages. For example, in a Pentecostal church in Saskatchewan (I'm Canadian), there was a message in Swahili, assuring a mother that her missionary daughter had successfully made it out of a region where Swahili was spoken and would soon be coming home. An African who spoke Swahili was present to confirm that the message in tongues was in Swahili and that the interpretation by the believe who know no Swahili was accurate.

NY Times reporter, David Aikman wrote a fantastic book about the history of Christianity in China called "Jesus in Beijing." In it he recounts how Dennis Balcomb was visiting a Pentecostal church in Almonte, CA when the preacher's wife gave a message in tongues that someone else interpreted. the message addressed Dennis directly and in it Jesus told him he was called to be a missionary to China. A visiting Israeli Jew confirmed that the message was in perfect Hebrew, a language the preacher's wife didn't know. The result? Balcomb's often secretive ministry in China helped spark a revival that produced 80 million members of Chinese house churches.
How frequently believers speak in unknown earthly languages is unknown because most American Pentecostal congregations are composed entirely of English speakers.

This gift can also express "tongues of angels" (1 Cor. 13:1), which don't express human languages. Critics on this thread don't known Greek and therefore don't realize that "glossai" need not mean "human languages." In 1 Cor. 14:12 Paul refers to the Corinthians tongues speakers as "zealots of spirits" (=angels), thereby implying that their authentic tongues can express angelic language. In any case, if you receive the gift of tongues the way I did, you would be inacapable of doubting its authenticity because it would be BY FAR the highlight of your life.

Thank you for answering Berserk.

 

[atpollard]

@Berserk @atpollard

1 Corinthians 12:29 Are all apostles? are all prophets? are all teachers? are all workers of miracles? 30 Have all the gifts of healing? do all speak with tongues? do all interpret?

That should give you pause about seeking tongues as a sign that you have the Holy Spirit to know that you are saved since not all believers speaks in tongues.

Sorry chief, but I have bowed out of this conversation.

I do not have the gift of tongues, nor do I seek it, so I got no dog in your fight.
I am just anti-cessationist since "abrogation" is a concept taught in the Qu'ran but not in the Holy Bible, and I am always disappointed when Christians needlessly "bite and devour one another".

In necessariis unitas, in dubiis libertas, in omnibus caritas.