Week 66: Praying in the Spirit

Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Thank you, my Lord, my Savior. The bible says in John 13 Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come from God and was going to God,Lord, girded Himself and began to wash His disciples' feet. I am humbled; I am thankful. And whenever I am reminded of that scene, my heart soften. Any frustration or anger dwelling in me has to melt away. And that is the power of His love. Amen! Thank you, Jesus.

Last week, we discussed about walking by His Spirit. We have a good understanding of what it means to walk in His Spirit. The contrast between "spirit" and "flesh" is clear. As a believer, we want to be led by the Spirit and walk in the Spirit. Only then we are walking in the will of God. Amen!

We finish off our discussion with this question "How do we align ourselves in the Spirit especially when we are under the influence of the flesh?" When we have a bad day or involved in a heated argument,  we probably knew the negative emotions operating in us at that instant, but how do we overcome those fleshly manifestation and align ourselves back to  the Spirit? 

After Jesus has resurrected and met up with His disciples, this is what He said to them"you have heard from Me; for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.....But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

And on the Day of Pentecost, the disciples gathered at the upper room and the Bible says in Acts 2:

"suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance."




Notice here that when the disciples were filled with the Holy Spirit, they spoke in tongues. In other words, speaking in tongues is the evident that one is filled with the Holy Spirit. Now we have the clue to be led by the Spirit and walk in the Spirit. And that has to do with speaking in tongue.

In 1 Corinthians 14:14, Paul said this "For if I pray in an [unknown] tongue, my spirit [by the [d]Holy Spirit within me] prays..."

Here, Paul clearly indicated that by praying in tongue, it refer to praying in the Spirit. In fact, if we look further into this chapter, we realized Paul actually speak a lot in tongue!Paul prayed a lot in the Spirit!

1 Corinthians 14:18

 "I thank God that I speak in [strange] tongues (languages) more than any of you or all of you put together;"

But this he did only when he was alone. He continued saying that when in a public worship, he rather say five words with his understanding and intelligently in order to instruct others, than ten thousand words in a [strange] tongue (language).

So, it is clear Paul rather speak in tongue when he was on his own than to the public. Why? Because speaking in tongue is for self-edification. This is mentioned in 1 Corinthians 14:4 "He who speaks in a [strange] tongue edifies and improves himself..."

There is a study that has been done by Dr. Carl Peterson, M.D. (the husband of author and evangelist Vickie Jamison Peterson). This Study revealed that there is an available healing power that can be released from our own bodies for our own benefit. Dr. Carl Peterson, M.D. worked on this study at ORU in Tulsa, Oklahoma a few years ago. Being a brain specialist he was doing research on what the relationship was between the brain and praying or speaking in tongues. Some amazing things were discovered.

Through research and testing he found out that as we pray in the Spirit, or worship in the Spirit, (our heavenly language) there is activity that begins to take place in our brain. As we engage in our heavenly language the brain releases 2 chemical secretions that are directed into our immune systems giving a 35 to 40 percent boost to the immune system. This promotes healing within our bodies. Amazingly this secretion is triggered from a part of the brain that has no other apparent activity in humans and is only activated by our Spirit led prayer and worship.Hallelujah!

Isn't God great? After Jesus ascended to heaven, He did not left us behind and continue to be under the curse of this world. Instead, He grant us His Spirit and in His Spirit, we speak in new tongue!. This is not another language, this is no ordinary gift. This is a language which align ourselves in His Spirit! This is a gift that can boost our immune system by 35 to 40 percent which cannot be activated in any other way! This is a gift specifically given for the children of God. Amen!

Let reason for a moment.. Here, we have a God who love us so much that He sent His Beloved Son to die for our sins. Now that Jesus has ascended to heaven, He dispatched His Spirit to us. This is the very first gift from God after Jesus has completed His work on earth and ascended to heaven. How would this gift from God be something meaningless? How would it be something useless? Or would it be something not important? Isn't it? But, as you can see, long before scientists can proof the benefits of speaking in tongue, He has already blessed us with this wonderful and powerful gift! God is truly amazing. Never belittle His gift. Amen!

A church member was on medication for nine long years for a host of problems: severe depression, suicidal thoughts, insomnia, chronic sinusitis, gastritis and panic attacks. Every day, he had to take up to 30 tablets to keep these conditions under control.He suffered from such bad sinusitis that he had to visit the hospital regularly to drain the mucus. He could not sleep much — at most three hours — even with sleeping pills. And because of his panic attacks, he could not go to work and seldom left his house. His wife had to look after him and their three kids. The side effects of the long-term medication also caused his physique to balloon.

One day, he felt God prompting him to pray in tongues as often as he could. He obeyed. The moment he started to pray in tongues, even though it was just a few syllables, he felt a rest, a peace. This encouraged him to pray in tongues more. And the more he prayed in tongues, the more rest and peace he felt. His sinuses began to clear up and he was healed of gastritis. Slowly, the fears and panic attacks left him too. He also started to have quality sleep without the sleeping pills! The Lord even taught him how he was to eat — two meals a day, but to eat whatever he wanted. Today, he is back to his normal weight! Hallelujah!

Notice when he speak in tongue, he felt a rest, a peace. this rest and refreshing of the Spirit is mentioned in

Isaiah 28:11–12

11 For with stammering lips and another tongue He will speak to this people, 12 to whom He said, “This is the rest with which you may cause the weary to rest,” and, “This is the refreshing”...

Today, many people who are stressed, will resort to tobacco, alcohol or tranquilizers. These things, besides having harmful side effects, are costly and often lead to addictions. God has something better for us. It is powerful, costs us nothing and has no harmful side effects. He calls it “the rest” and “the refreshing”. Speaking in tongues — “For with stammering lips and another tongue…”

God has made provision for you and I to be whole, to be well and to have access to His healing process. And this provision is given to us after Jesus was ascended back to heaven. Jesus has not left us alone! He still love us! And because He love us, He give us this gift to us by praying in tongues regularly, we are able to enter the rest and the refreshing which God has promised us. Hallelujah!

Kathryn Kuhlman, one of the most well known healing ministers in the world, traveled extensively around the United States and in many other countries holding "healing crusades" between the 1940s and 1970s. This is what she said about speaking in tongue:

KATHRYN KUHLMAN: “There is a place where you die so completely, and you surrender so completely to Him- sometimes I could go fifteen minutes and not remember one single thing that I said. Oh, beloved, there’s more, there’s more. There is a place of surrender to Him…when He takes your whole tongue, and you become so detached from the whole things its as though…your being thrilled at what you are hearing (your own voice speak). But it is not your mind. It is not your tongue…There is a place where He’ll take your tongue, and He’ll use that tongue for the edification of the Church. He’ll take that tongue, and you’ll speak with that tongue in a language that can be heard, a tongue that will bring the lost to the Lord Jesus Christ. He’ll take your mind. Do you know what it’s like for Him to take your mind? I stand there only as a vessel…and He used my mind. I feel myself saying, “It isn’t Kathryn Kuhlman,” and nobody knows any better than I do. How does one know the women over there in the such-and-such dress is being healed? I do not know. If my life depends on it, I could not tell you. I do not know, but the Holy Spirit knows.”

Since I know this truth, speaking in tongue is something I would do frequently. Be it whether I am at work or in the train. As long as I am alone and prompted by the Spirit, I will speak in tongue. Very much like we jog to keep ourselves fit, speaking in tongue edifies our body. When I need to minister to someone, I will speak in tongue before the meeting. Because I know by speaking in tongue , I am aligning my spirit with the Spirit of God. So as I speak to that person, I know I am speaking the will of God for that person for that particular situation; there is edification in the conversation, there is resurrection in that situation! Amen! Hallelujah!

Above all, I will speak in tongue especially when I am aware of the negative emotions at work in my flesh. This is the rest and refreshing  that will help me to untie the "knots" of frustrations, stress and all sorts of negative attacks operating in my body. This is important because when such attacks are not dealt with properly, they may lead to some major illnesses! Therefore, let's align ourselves in the Spirit everyday, let's continue to edify ourselves and build up a healthy body that will glorify God and magnify His Name! Amen! Hallelujah! Thank you God for such a precious and wonderful gift!

Grace and peace be with you.