Speaking in tongues is real because it is one of the signs that Christ Jesus promised those who would believe in His name and be baptized in the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit (Mark 16:17–18).
According to the Bible, the gift of speaking in tongues is one of the gifts that the Holy Spirit bestows upon believers for the edification of both themselves and the church.
In the Bible, our first encounter with the mention of this gift is in Mark 16:17–18, when Jesus was giving his disciples the great commission. This is what it says:
“And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved, but he who does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will follow those who believe: in My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.””
Structure of the article
- My personal encounter with the gift of tongues
- Is speaking in tongues for everyone?
- How to receive the gift of speaking in tongues
- Speaking in tongues in public
- Conclusion
Is speaking in tongues real? My personal encounter with the gift of tongues
Yes. Speaking in tongues is REAL!
And when I say that, I’m talking from personal experience. I must confess that I used to be among those Christians who never believed in this gift until it happened to me! Yes, it did! And everything has changed since then. I used to think that believers who used to speak in tongues were just muttering senseless words that came to mind. I was very, very wrong!
You see, I got saved in the year 1991, and during my first years of salvation, I really admired believers who spoke in tongues during prayer meetings. I prayed to God that I would also do the same, but it never happened according to ‘my timetable’. After a very long wait, I became impatient and gave up. Then I began to believe a lie. The lie was, ‘If I could not speak in tongues, then those who were doing it were faking it!’ This belief became deeply entrenched in me, so much so that I didn’t hesitate to dismiss those who used to pray in tongues as ‘pretenders’ and ‘noise makers’ during prayer meetings! Meanwhile, God was preparing to prove me wrong.
One early morning in October 2014, I was doing my usual morning devotion in the church before I could join my colleagues at work (I used to teach in a church school). As usual, I’d ‘planned it to be a very brief moment, as I was almost late. I can recall that there were a couple of brethren present in the church doing their devotions as well.
As was my custom, I knelt down with my elbows on the benches to support my head, closed my eyes, and began to pray. As always, I began by saying, ‘Our Father who art in heaven… but the next few words to come out of my mouth were quite astonishing, as I couldn’t just figure out what I had exactly said. I again opened my mouth to pray, and out of it came some more unintelligible words. I became extremely shocked. I opened my eyes and looked around me, somehow afraid, and then I thought to myself, Maybe I’m daydreaming. I closed my eyes again and repeated the words, ‘Our Father, who… Again, before I knew it, I felt as if ‘something ‘ had taken over my tongue, and again I heard myself uttering words that I couldn’t comprehend. I felt as if something powerful was trying to forcefully take over my faculties, and then I heard my mind telling me, It’s time to get out of here’.
I quickly opened my eyes, stood up, and made for the exit, but, before I could get out of the sanctuary, a strong force descended upon me, and there and then floodgates of utterances rushed out of my mouth uncontrollably. I started sweating profusely, with tears rolling down my cheeks with ease. My body began to shake uncontrollably, and at that point, with trembling hands, I tried covering my mouth to no avail. It was like my mouth had become filled with words and could no longer remain closed.
Floodgates of unintelligible utterances continued to pour out of my mouth from my belly. It was as though my belly was filled to the brim with words beyond measure, and my mouth was like the only exit point. This continued for almost an hour, and I could feel that I was becoming weaker and weaker. The intensity of utterances began to decline slowly, and then everything went silent. I stayed there for an hour, composed myself, and then left the sanctuary kind of confused.
Throughout that day, I avoided opening my mouth to speak because I was afraid that I could utter unintelligible words and embarrass myself. I was very glad when evening came, and so I rushed home, believing that it was just another ‘bad’ day. By now, I had not shared my experience with anyone. So when we had finished eating supper and put our kids to bed, I told my wife that there was something important I wanted to share with her. And so I began to talk. Surprisingly, as I was struggling to find the right words to tell her my experience, I burst into tongues, to her surprise and disbelief. Why was she surprised and shocked at the same time, you ask? It is because she knew that I was among those who never believed in the gift of speaking in tongues. Therefore, according to her, I was the last person that she expected to speak in tongues! So, there I was! Since that day, my prayer life has never been the same.
In light of this, I find it very disheartening, if not disturbing, to hear fellow Christians dismiss those with the gift of speaking in new tongues as being possessed by demons. Claims have been made to the effect that those with this gift speak gibberish and should therefore not be entertained in the church. There are some churches that have even closed their doors to those with this gift in order to prevent these ‘demons’ from spreading to the rest of the congregation. Some individuals have also dismissed those with the gift as having some kind of mental illness. What a mistake!
If you are among those opposed to the gift of speaking in tongues, I would kindly encourage you to keep that to yourself and STOP inciting others against those with the gift. After doing that, pray to God most high for direction regarding this issue. If He is willing, you might be the next candidate God has earmarked for this gift. But, by all means, please stop opposing the manifestation of the gift of speaking in tongues. Please!
As we have already seen, Christ Jesus himself said that one of the signs that would follow believers was that ‘they will speak with new tongues’. So, I ask myself, Who are you, oh mortal man, to object to that which Christ promised his followers? This is a promise that Christ made to his disciples just before he ascended into heaven and sat on the right hand of God.
The promise was fulfilled on the day of Pentecost, as recorded in Acts 2. This gift has since been operational for the edification of both the believer and the entire Church. There are those who claim that the manifestations of the gifts of the Holy Spirit stopped with the last Apostle. That should be John the Revelator.
The problem with this standpoint is that it has NO SCRIPTURAL BACKING. Nowhere in the Bible has it been explicitly recorded that the gifts ceased to function with the death of the last prophet. If you have found such a scripture, please email me so that I can know that I am in the wrong. Since my encounter with the gift of tongues, I have looked for scriptures to disapprove of it, but, till now, I have found none.
So then, what shall we say about these things? I’ll tell you: speaking in tongues is real! Don’t be fooled. Just be patient, willing, and obedient. If you desire this gift, pray to God, who gives liberally, and He will one day grant your request according to the measure of your faith.
Is speaking in tongues for everyone?
Speaking in tongues is not for everyone, according to 1 Corinthians 12:4–11, which says:
“There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are differences in ministries, but the same Lord. And there are diversities of activities, but it is the same God who works in all. But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the benefit of all: for to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit; to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the same Spirit, to another the working of miracles; to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another different kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues. But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing them to each one individually as He wills.”
From this passage, it is clear that the Holy Spirit gives each person a gift according to His will. So, a person may have only one gift or more, depending on what the Holy Spirit deems fit. It is important to note that the gifts are given so that they can benefit all the brethren in the assembly. No single gift is to be ‘used’ for ‘private benefit’. In fact, the Holy Spirit gives the gift in order to address a particular need in the assembly.
So an individual operating in the gift of healing may not speak in tongues, another operating in the gift of faith may not work miracles; another operating in the gift of discerning spirits may not have the gift of prophecy; and so on.
The Apostle Paul drives this point home with the words found in 1 Corinthians 12:27–31, and this is what we read:
“Now you are the body of Christ, and Members individually. And God has appointed these in the church: first apostles, second prophets, third teachers; after that, miracles; the gifts of healing; helps; administrations; varieties of tongues. Are all apostles? Are all prophets, all teachers, all workers of miracles? Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in Tongues? Do all interpret? But earnestly desire the best gifts. And yet I show you a more excellent way.”
So here again, we learn that gifts are distributed according to the task the Spirit feels needs to be accomplished. The biggest challenge among brethren today is envy. When one brother has a particular gift that another brother does not have, the latter will dismiss the one with the gift as a ‘fake’. This is the current state the church finds itself in.
How to receive the gift of speaking in tongues
In order to receive the gift of speaking in tongues, the first requirement is that you must desire the gift, as recorded in 1 Corinthians 14:1-2, which says:
“Pursue love, and desire spiritual gifts”, but especially that you may prophesy. For he who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God, for no one understands him; however, in the spirit he speaks mysteries. But he who prophesies speaks edification, exhortation, and comfort to men.”
Without desire for the gift, there is no way you can get it.
Secondly, in order to receive the gift of speaking in tongues, you must believe that God is and that He rewards all those who diligently seek Him in truth and in Spirit according to Hebrews 11:6. You must understand that speaking in tongues is a ‘gift’ that the Holy Spirit endows upon an individual. That means you cannot ‘EARN’ it. You don’t work for it. You don’t go about asking for gifts from people; do you? I think and believe that gifts are normally given at the discretion of the giver. The same is true of the gifts of the Holy Spirit.
I have been to some meetings where I heard the preacher telling people to ‘just say anything’ or ‘to just mutter any words that come to mind’ in an effort to get them ‘speak in tongues’. I think this is not right. You don’t initiate the process, the Holy Spirit is the one who starts everything. I’m telling you that because I have gone through those motions that left me not only drained but quite disappointed at the end. After trying to imitate what I was hearing others mumble for a few minutes, I would get tired and then stop because I wasn’t getting anywhere.
In John 14:15–18, Jesus promised his disciples that he would PRAY to the Father so that He could send the HELPER to comfort them. This is what the scripture says:
“If you love Me, keep My commandments. And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever—the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be IN you. ”
This passage teaches that it is actually God who gives the Helper (the Holy Spirit) at Jesus’ request. The condition is that you must demonstrate your love for Jesus by keeping his commandments.
Thirdly, to receive the gift of speaking in tongues from God, you must never doubt Him, according to James 1:6–8, which says:
“But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.”
Speaking in tongues in public
Speaking in tongues in public is discouraged because it does not build the church but only edifies the individual. However, if there is someone who can interpret the tongues in the meeting, it is okay to pray in tongues. This is according to 1 Corinthians 14:27–28, which says:
“If anyone speaks in a tongue, let there be two or at the most three, each in turn, and let one interpret. But if there is no interpreter, let him keep silent in church, and let him speak to himself and to God.”
Conclusion
In this article, we have established that speaking in tongues is a real phenomenon despite many contrary opinions on the issue. We have also learnt that the gift of speaking in tongues is not for everyone because only the Holy Spirit decides on who should get it. Thus, not all can speak in tongues just like not all work miracles. In addition, scriptures have shown us how to receive the gift of speaking in tongues. First of all you must be one who desires spiritual gifts. Secondly, you must be a believer who keeps God’s commandments and walks accordingly. Thirdly, you must believe with all your heart that indeed God can give you the gift. Any seed of doubt leads to automatic disqualification. Finally, we have also learnt from scriptures that it is out of order to speak in tongues in public unless an interpreter is present. After all is said and done, I kindly urge you to continue searching the scriptures on this subject in order to learn more on own.
I hope the information was helpful. Thank you.
Related Post: What does speaking in tongues really mean
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Prayer to become a born-again Christian
“Lord Jesus, I confess that I am a sinner and hereby ask for your forgiveness;
I believe in my heart and confess with my mouth that you are the only begotten Son of the living God;
I believe that you were sent of your Father to the earth to save sinners like me;
I now accept you as my personal Lord and Savior.
Come into my heart and baptize me with The Holy Spirit.
Thank you for saving me.
In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit,
Amen!”
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Benediction
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The Lord make His face shine upon you,
And be gracious to you;
The LORD lift up His countenance upon you,
And give you peace.”
(Numbers 6:24-26)
Shalom.
Source: https://www.biblegateway.com/
My name is Nicodemus. I'm a Kenyan by birth. I got saved about 30 years ago while in high school. I love studying scriptures in order to enhance my comprehension of God and His plan for mankind. I have a BSc in botany, zoology, and chemistry from the University of Nairobi and an MBA in strategic management from Egerton University. I’m married to a lovely lady called Leah. God has gifted us with three sons: Wayne, Salem, and Michael.
