I remember a time when one of my friends had a son who was very sick. The doctors could not figure out what was wrong with the boy, and my friend did not know what to do. Finally, he went into his office and prayed in the Spirit for five hours. He walked out of his office, drove home, and went straight to his son’s bedroom. With great authority, he told his son to get out of bed. The boy was completely healed from that moment on. What had happened? Those hours of praying in the Spirit had increased my friend’s capacity to intercede for and minister to his son. Everything we receive from God, we receive by faith. There simply is no other way. Time with the Spirit actually increases our ability to receive the promises and manifest presence of God because it edifies our inner man.

Deeper Worship

Praying in our heavenly language gives us the ability to worship and praise God on a deeper level. Paul said:

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 does not understand what you say? For you indeed give thanks well. (1 Corinthians 14:16-17)

Paul is addressing corporate expressions of praise and pointing out that when we “bless with the Spirit” (praise God in tongues), we do our fellow man no benefit. Because praising in tongues is a private expression, it brings personal edification but not group edification. Paul is not devaluing the act of praising God in tongues. He is simply saying that there is a time and a place for it.

Notice how Paul concludes his point: “For you indeed give thanks well”! When we praise God in tongues, we allow the Spirit to beautifully extol the wonders and mysteries of God through us. There is a deeper level of worship that occurs when we praise God in a heavenly tongue. This is why Paul sang both in the Spirit and in the understanding (see 1 Corinthians 14:15).

Anyone Can Be Filled with the Spirit

It grieves my heart when Christians look down upon other believers because they do not speak or pray in tongues. These brothers and sisters in Christ simply have not experienced this amazing gift of the Spirit. They are not to be shamed or belittled, for we are all one in Christ.

As we discussed in the last chapter, the gift of speaking in tongues is available to every believer; those who do not yet speak in tongues have not been excluded from this promise. Jesus said, “These signs will follow those who believe…they will speak with new tongues” (Mark 16:17). Paul said, “I wish you all spoke with tongues” (1 Corinthians 14:5). God’s heart is for all of His children to enjoy the amazing benefits of our heavenly language.

How Does One Receive the Holy Spirit?