Do you think that speaking mysteries to God and edifying yourself sounds like a godly thing,
or a bad thing? Well, I think it sounds like a godly thing,
just like you probably do. So what keeps us from praying in the Spirit more often?
Now I want to talk about this gift called the gift of tongues, and there's been a lot of
confusion about this gift. It's been the enemy's strategy to divide the body of Christ over this
gift that is supposed to strengthen and unify the Church. So let's talk about it. In 1 Corinthians
chapter 14, I'm going to read verses 14 through 17, and this is Paul speaking. He says,
if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays. So that's all that praying in tongues is, is your spirit,
this inner person where the Holy Spirit lives. It says your spirit is praying. Let's keep reading,
but my understanding is unfruitful. What is the conclusion then? I will pray with the Spirit,
and I will also pray with the understanding. I will sing with the Spirit, and I will also
sing with the understanding. Otherwise, if you bless with the Spirit, how will he who occupies
the place of the uninformed say amen at your giving of thanks, since he doesn't understand
what you say? For you indeed give thanks well, but the other is not edified. So here we see Paul
saying there's a necessity for us to pray and sing in tongues, as much as there is a necessity
for us to pray and sing with our native language and our understanding. When we pray in our
understanding, we are fruitful in our minds. You know, that's how we're transformed as believers,
is through the renewing of our minds. The more that we expose lies and learn the truth,
Jesus says when you know the truth, it'll set you free. So as we're transformed in our minds,
and it helps us to walk out our life, we're also transformed in the inner person by praying in
tongues, by singing in tongues. So Paul's saying, I'm going to do both. Even in this passage, he says,
I pray in tongues more than all of you. I'm like, okay, weird flex, Paul, but he's really excited
about the gift of tongues. He's like, you guys think you're excited about tongues? I pray in
tongues more than all of you, and I want you to pray in tongues. But let's look at this next
passage in 14. Let's look at the first four verses. He says, 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.
Guys, that is so exciting to me. When I'm praying in tongues, I'm speaking mysteries. We know from
Proverbs that it's the glory of God to conceal a matter, but it's a glory of kings to search it out.
So these mysteries are not hidden from you, they're hidden for you. This is like a treasure
hunt, where the Lord, using the gift of tongues, starts to uncover the hidden gems in the Word of
God. I love to pray in tongues while I'm reading Scripture. I love to pray in tongues when I don't
know how else to pray. Let's keep reading. Verse 3, but he who prophesies speaks edification and
exhortation and comfort to men. So prophecy is hearing the Word of the Lord and speaking it out
in your native language. And he's saying this is important because it edifies and exhorts and
comforts other people. And then verse 4, he who speaks in a tongue edifies himself, but he who
prophesies edifies the church. So have you ever received a really powerful prophetic word? Have
you ever had someone speak to you from Scripture and it completely changed your life and built you
up? Did you know that that same thing can happen alone in your prayer closet just by you praying
in tongues? You can be there speaking mysteries to God, and suddenly the Lord begins to speak
these truths to you that you didn't understand before. This is truly a powerful gift that we
want to be using. And a lot of people call this the prayer language. People will say a prayer
language is praying in tongues, and that is one way that we pray in tongues. It's a part of how
the gift of tongues works. It's the same gift, but depending on the context, it can function in
different ways. Do you think that speaking mysteries to God and edifying yourself sounds
like a godly thing or a bad thing? Well, I think it sounds like a godly thing, just like you probably
do. So what keeps us from praying in the Spirit more often? Have you been taught anything contrary
to Scripture about praying in tongues? What do you think would keep you from receiving the gift
of tongues? Those are all questions that you should really ask the Holy Spirit. Lord, if I'm
not praying in tongues, what's preventing me? What are some things that I've been taught that
are making me hesitant to receive this good gift from you that's edifying me?
This other passage in Romans 8, it says in verse 26,
Likewise, the Spirit also helps us in our weakness.
For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought,
but the Spirit himself makes intercession for us
with groanings which cannot be uttered.
Now he who searches the hearts knows what the mind
of the Spirit is because he makes intercession
for the saints according to the will of God.
How would you like to make intercession
according to the will of God?
This is saying that when the Spirit prays,
that is what he does automatically.
When you pray in tongues,
the Holy Spirit actually helps you.
Guys, I've experienced this so many times.
Somebody comes up to me and they've got this need
in their life and I feel so overwhelmed
and I've got fear and doubt and unbelief rising up
and I'm trying to conceal it well
because I want to speak from faith.
So I just start praying in tongues for them.
I just start praying in the Spirit.
And as I'm praying in the Spirit,
I can feel faith rising up in me,
my Spirit being edified,
and the Holy Spirit will usually give me a strategy
on how to pray into this situation that's specific to them.
This is really important, you guys,
because I don't know how to pray all the time.
Like a lot of times, I'm really confused.
Like, Lord, I don't even know what to do about this.
And that's why we have this gift
because he goes, well, I know how to pray.
Let me help you with these groanings
that are beyond your natural utterance.
When you pray in tongues,
the Spirit can help you to know what to pray
and how to pray effectively.
Look at the armor of God, Ephesians 6.
We have this armor of God that we often talk about,
but we stop at verse 17.
Look at verses 17 and 18.
Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit,
which is the Word of God,
praying always with all prayer and supplication
in the Spirit.
Being watchful to this end with all perseverance
and supplication for all the saints.
So remember in the Corinthians passage
where Paul says, I will pray in the Spirit
and I will pray with my understanding also.
So when Paul says praying in the Spirit,
he's specifically talking about praying in tongues.
He's talking about this gift as an offensive weapon.
See, we don't just have one offensive weapon
in the armor of God, we have two.
We have the Word of God.
Remember when Jesus was battling Satan in temptation,
he kept saying, it is written, it is written, it is written.
That's one of our weapons of warfare in the armor of God
is the Word of God that begins to cut apart
and dissect lies and remove the power of the enemy
from speaking to us.
But we also have praying in the Spirit.
And Paul says praying always
with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit.
Now I understand why he said to the Corinthians,
I pray in tongues more than all of you.
Because he was trying to get people,
I want you to be praying in the Spirit always.
Continually be praying in the Spirit.
When you're not doing something, start praying in tongues.
When you're washing the dishes, start praying in tongues
and focus on that indwelling, like burning bush,
Holy Spirit that lives inside of you.
When you're driving to work, start praying in tongues.
And you'll find yourself praying in tongues
when you build this muscle even automatically.
Sometimes I wake up at night praying in tongues.
I didn't intend to do that.
Sometimes I'm just walking around the house doing stuff
and I notice that I'm praying in tongues
because it's a muscle that I've built
and it's a habit that I've cultivated.
And it can help me as an offensive weapon
all throughout my day, just like memorizing scripture can.
So if you put on the armor of God every day,
I wanna encourage you, you should also take some time,
I'd say 10, 15, 20 minutes a day
where you can focus on Jesus
and focus or focus on the Holy Spirit
that's living inside of you
and start bringing your mind into focus
and start praying in the Holy Spirit,
praying in your gift of tongues and your prayer language.
Look at Luke chapter 11.
This is one of my favorite verses in the Bible.
Luke 11, 11, so it's easy to remember.
And Jesus says,
"'If a son asks for bread from any father among you,
will he give him a stone?
Or if he asks for a fish,
will he give him a serpent instead of a fish?
Or if he asks for an egg, will he offer him a scorpion?'
We're like, well, duh, Jesus,
like no one's gonna give a scorpion to their little kid.
So he goes, "'So why?'
Verse 13, "'If you then being evil,'
he means in comparison to God,
he's that good of a father,
you're an evil father in comparison.
You know how to give good gifts to your children.
Watch this, "'How much more will your heavenly father
give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him?''
See, God wants to give you the gift of the Holy Spirit.
God wants to give you this gift of tongues.
God wants to give you the gift of prophecy.
God wants to give you the gift of healing.
He wants you to operate in all of these.
gifts, especially that you may prophesy and pray in the Spirit, because those two gifts
are going to edify you and edify others.
He has good gifts for you that He wants you to receive from Him.
So if you don't have a prayer language, don't get offended, don't get upset, just keep asking
for one.
Keep asking the Lord.
Lord, I know that I received the baptism in the Holy Spirit when I prayed and when this
disciple laid hands on me.
I want all the good gifts you have for me.
Did you know that the same people in the book of Acts were baptized in the Holy Spirit more
than once?
That they actually received fresh infillings, fresh empowerings.
And we should be asking the Lord for more every day.
And one of the ways that we can experience the more of God is praying in the Spirit.
I'll look at this last scripture with you.
This is Jude, verse 20.
It's just a one-chapter book at the end of the Bible.
He says,
You, beloved, build yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit.
When I read this the first time, and I was learning about the gift of tongues, it was
like a ton of bricks hit me.
I went, you're kidding me.
I can build up my faith by praying in the Holy Spirit?
So when I feel like, man, I just don't know if I have the faith for that.
Well, go in your prayer closet, start praying in tongues, warring in the Spirit, and you're
going to come out of that prayer closet with more faith.
You're going to be built up in the inner man.
You know how it says the man who speaks in tongues edifies himself?
That word edify is an architectural term.
It's like when someone's building a cathedral, and they start to put up these supports, and
they start to put up these flying buttresses, and they're putting up these columns, and
they're doing all this ornate work.
It's like the interior design of your inner man, the strengthening of your inner man.
When you're praying in tongues, you're doing an inner remodel for where the Holy Spirit
lives.
You're giving him more space.
You're strengthening yourself.
You're letting him into those other areas that maybe aren't submitted to him.
You're letting him into those areas of doubt, those areas of unbelief, those areas of fear,
and you're being strengthened on the inside.
So I'm going to tell you, here's what's going to happen.
You're going to start trying to pray in tongues, and you'll notice that you get distracted
really easily.
You'll make it like 90 seconds, and then you'll be thinking about something else, and then
you'll go, oh shoot, I was praying.
And it's going to be like that for a while, but I want to encourage you, don't get mad
at yourself.
Don't beat yourself up for losing your focus.
Just keep praying in tongues, and bring your attention back to what the Lord's doing.
Bring your attention back to the Holy Spirit living inside of you.
And you'll start to build some endurance in this gift.
And for me, around the 12-15 minute mark of praying in tongues, I start to experience
these mysteries, these breakthroughs, these revelations.
The Lord will bring somebody to mind, and I know that I'm praying for them according
to His will.
You'll start to receive faith for areas that you didn't have faith before.
So I want to encourage you.
If you've got your daily prayer time you're spending with the Lord, begin to add increasing
amounts of times of praying in the Holy Spirit, praying in tongues.
I would say try to get to 15 minutes.
But if you get to two minutes and you're like, man, this is exhausting.
Well, Paul said, I'll pray in the Spirit, but I'll also sing in the Spirit.
So you can switch into singing in tongues to help yourself continue to focus in.
But I want to encourage you and challenge you.
Start praying in tongues for 15-20 minutes a day and pray that God would give this wonderful
gift to you so that you can continue to be strengthened and built up in your most holy
faith.