Who is God? Creator of the Prayer "Easy Button"

Since creation, many blessed souls have received profound words of wisdom from Holy Spirit. King Solomon sat at his writing desk and scribed the final stanza of a poem: “…a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace.” The great Apostle Paul encouraged the church of Corinth with these elegant words: “But thanks be to God, who always leads us as captives in Christ’s triumphal procession and uses us to spread the aroma of the knowledge of Him everywhere. For we are to God the pleasing aroma of Christ…” I can envision how the glory of the Lord surrounded Corrie Ten Boom as she wrote this now-famous line: “Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrows; it empties today of its strength.” Amongst all the eloquent words The Lord has inspired, I present my experience with a possible hearing from God’s Holy Spirit concerning His thoughts on praying in tongues: How much easier could I have made it? It’s as simple as heating up a burrito in the microwave by pressing the 30-second button.  I realize I may not win a Pulitzer with this one, but if I heard correctly, what was God trying to teach me about who He is and His desire for me to pray in tongues?

Speaking in Tongues vs. Gobble-de-Gook

I grew up in a Southern Baptist church, and the only “tongue” I knew about was my own and the fantastic food I savored at many a picnic potluck. My sweet grandmother always, and I mean always, provided homemade peach ice cream. Not chocolate. Not vanilla. Not chocolate chip. Not strawberry. Not caramel swirl. No other flavor ever graced the sides of her cedar barrel electric churner. I even dare say (although I’ve yet to find it) somewhere hidden in Scripture is this verse: Thus sayeth the Lord, ‘And Miss Edith, while she walks the earth, shall make no ice-cream flavor other than peach.’ Tongues, for me and my fellow Southern Baptists, were for eating garden-fresh green beans, cornbread, fried okra, and crock-pot chicken. In my teenage years, I’d occasionally stumble across a TV channel broadcasting a “crazy” church service where the pastor prayed, as my dad referred to it, in “gobble-de-gook.”

The New Testament references “tongues” more than I realized. As I studied each verse, I categorized them into two types: speaking in tongues and praying in tongues. I found “speaking in tongues” noted many times, while “praying in tongues” mentioned once. To understand “praying in tongues,” I had to first study “speaking in tongues.” Here is what I learned:

·        It is led totally by Holy Spirit. (Acts 2:4)

·        It takes place before an audience; therefore, Paul stated that, without interpretation, it is unhelpful. (1 Corinthians 14:5-6, 9, 13, 18-19, 23, 27)

·        It sounds like actual words. These words, as Holy Spirit leads, might be “earth-known” languages. The miracle of it is the person speaking in tongues will not know the foreign language they are communicating in! (Acts 2:4-12)

·        Does “speaking in tongues” consistently manifest as an “earth-known” language? While it still sounds like actual words, they may fall into the “heavenly language” (not matching any known languages of earth) category. I cannot point to a specific Bible verse that states this, so I rely on two observations: I’ve witnessed Godly people speak in tongues and it doesn’t sound like any earthly language, and, Paul wrote about “varieties” of tongues, so this could include a “heavenly language.”

·        As noted above, Paul cited “different kinds” or “varieties of tongues.” (1 Corinthians 12:10 and 28). Paul does not go into detail, so I believe this could mean the “varieties” include:  tongues that praise (Acts 10:46), prophecy (Acts 19:6), preach in different languages (which is what we see in Acts 2:11), and encourage (1 Corinthians 14:5).

·        Speaking in tongues is “a sign, not to those who believe, but to unbelievers…”

(1 Corinthians 14:22). This is probably in reference to the event documented in Acts 2:11.

·        It is a sign for believers: “These miraculous signs will accompany those who believe: They will cast out demons in my name, and they will speak in new languages.” (Mark 16:17, NLT)

·        If you never “speak in tongues,” it does NOT mean you’re unsaved/lost. (1 Corinthians 12:29-30)

Supplication Support

While Paul gave specific details concerning “speaking in tongues,” he combined “praying” and “tongues” only once in his first letter to the church of Corinth. Astonishingly, he did not expound any further than these two sentences: “For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my understanding is unfruitful. What is the conclusion then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will also pray with the understanding.” (1 Corinthians 14:14-15). Paul did not say don’t pray in tongues; he simply stated “praying with understanding” (using words I understand) is also important.  

Using precise, faith filled words in prayer is powerful, but what if I don’t know what to pray concerning a specific person or situation? Unlike the people of Paul’s days, our smartphones ding with news alerts about all sorts of trouble happening worldwide. Through social media, our hearts may stir to uplift a stranger’s child in the hospital or a foreign country hit by natural disaster. With today’s technology, opportunities abound 24/7 to intercede for people or situations we aren’t privy to specifics, and God, in His wisdom, knew we would need His help. Romans 8:26-27: “…the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words…” Praise God in our most difficult, too weak for words moments, spiritual groans or sighs reach our Heavenly Father’s ears, and heart!

Ask, Observe, Practice

I don’t know about you, but many times, I’m too overwhelmed with emotion and exhaustion to pray, or I’m interceding for a situation without specific details. What if I, entirely led by Holy Spirit, could pray using unknown-to-me words or even groans and sighs, and those sounds came before God as real, powerful, “change-the-outcome” intercession? Yes, please! Now, for those of you who grew up in a Pentecostal church, praying in tongues is as natural to you as peach ice cream to Miss Edith. For the rest of us, we must have faith and trust God’s ways, even when they appear odd. If you have never prayed in tongues and desire to learn how, try the following:

·        Ask God to give you the ability to pray in tongues and believe He will do so. First and most important, you MUST be led by Holy Spirit. If not, all anyone will hear (God included) is 100% meaningless “gobble-de-gook”. Do not speak or pray in tongues in front of others to exalt yourself or impress an audience with your “holiness.” God desires humility in His children.

·        Seek genuine and humble fellow Christians who pray in tongues and listen to them as they intercede. Learn what it sounds like.

·        Finally, go for it! Determine what circumstance you want to bring before the Lord and ask Holy Spirit to take over your words. Make the sounds and trust Him.

Although it may seem awkward, God, in His amazing grace, created this unique prayer method, ensuring (if His Spirit guides us) we can ask Him for precisely what is needed, even during the most confusing of times.  As James taught us (James 5:16, The Message version), “The prayer of a person living right with God is something powerful to be reckoned with.” The more you feel comfortable in God’s presence and filled with His Spirit as you pray in tongues, the easier it gets. How easy? Well, it’s like that 30-second button on the microwave…

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