Speaking in Tongues!

Check this out this is the question i decided to answer for bible school!

What is the point of speaking in tongues as a prayer language and why do you think there is so much opposition to it?

The gift of tongues is the God-given ability to speak a divinely anointed utterance. It is a language that one hasn’t studied; it is a gift from the Holy Spirit. It is received when you are baptized in the Holy Spirit. Tongues are an integral part of self edification in the Christian way of life; they’re beginning (tongues) coincided with the churches greatest or should I say fastest period of growth. Therefore it is safe to say that without prayer in tongues the early church might not have been effective or efficient as it was. The prayer language of tongues is probably one of the most controversial topics among believers; one side saying it was for the early church and the other maintaining that tongues are just as relevant know as they were in the early church.

As said above the chief purpose of the gift of speaking in tongues is for personal edification. They can however be used to edify/exhort the church provided an interpretation for them is also provided. 1 Corinthians 14 v.2-14 says

“For one who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God; for no one understands, but in his spirit he speaks mysteries…………”

The first part shows how important this private prayer language is because no one can understand what u are praying, only the Lord does. The devil has no absolutely no clue what is going on when a Christian is praying in tongues.

“…One who speaks in tongues edifies himself; but one who prophesies edifies the church. Now I wish that you all spoke in tongues, but even more that you would prophesy; and greater is one who prophesies than one who speaks in tongues, unless he interprets, so that the church may receive edifying.”

The one who prays using tongues, “the private prayer language” gets a lot out of it, but this is not where it should end.

“Therefore let one who speaks in a tongue pray that he may interpret. For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my mind is unfruitful. What is the outcome then? I will pray with the spirit and I will pray with the mind also; I will sing with the spirit and I will sing with the mind also. Otherwise if you bless in the spirit only, how will the one who fills the place of the ungifted say the “Amen” at you’re giving of thanks, since he does not know what you are saying? For you are giving thanks well enough, but the other person is not edified…… however, in the church I desire to speak five words with my mind so that I may instruct others also, rather than ten thousand words in a tongue.”

As is seen in this scripture the praying in tongue experience should be shared. Therefore it is important to pray for insight and bring others into the intimacy.

“I’m grateful to God for the gift of praying in tongues that he gives us for praising him, which leads to wonderful intimacies we enjoy with him. I enter into this as much or more than any of you. But when I’m in a church assembled for worship rather say five words that everyone can understand and learn from than say ten thousand that sound to others like gibberish” –The Apostle Paul,

1^st letter to the Corinthians (The Message).

The passages Quoted above make it very clear why there would be opposition to such a phenomenon. The devil is out to make sure that Christians stay as far from God as possible and praying in tongues is one of if not the only way our spirit can communicate with the Lord without the devil getting his pointy ears in. For this reason he will deceive and mislead in order to make sure that tongues really become a thing of the past. When we pray in tongues we pray far beyond our human ability.

Believe.

TheReason RTJ