Transcription
If you act on the truths you learn right now, you will be praying in tongues. Now, these truths build upon one another, untangling mindsets that ultimately block your prayer language, and then we're going to pray for you that the gift of tongues would be released. Let's begin by defining the gift of tongues.
In 1 Corinthians 6:17, we read, "But the person who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with him." All we want to learn there is that we are one with the Holy Spirit. Romans 8:26 and 27. And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don't know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words. And the Father who knows all hearts knows what the Spirit is saying. For the Spirit pleads for us believers in harmony with God's own will. Those groanings are not the gift of tongues. So all we want to glean from this portion of scripture is that the Holy Spirit prays for you.
In 1 Corinthians chapter 14, we read more specifically about the gift of tongues. For if you have the ability to speak in tongues, you will be talking only to God since people won't be able to understand you. You will be speaking by the power of the spirit, but it will all be mysterious. Verse four, a person who speaks in tongues is strengthened personally, but the one who speaks a word of prophecy strengthens the entire church. What we want to learn here is that the gift of tongues, at least this specific expression of the gift of tongues, strengthens you spiritually, personally.
And finally, we read 1 Corinthians 14:14 where Paul writes, "For if I pray in tongues, my spirit is praying, but I don't understand what I'm saying." So let's tie these threads together. 1 Corinthians 6:17 tells us that we are one with the Holy Spirit. Your spirit one with the Holy Spirit. Romans 8:26 and 27. That makes it clear that the Holy Spirit prays for you. 1 Corinthians 14 2-4 that makes it clear that when you pray in tongues, you're being personally spiritually strengthened. And finally, 1 Corinthians 14:14 tells us that when we pray in tongues, our spirit is praying.
So look at it like this. You are one with the Holy Spirit in your spirit. The Holy Spirit prays for you. When you pray in tongues, your spirit is praying. Therefore, when you pray in tongues, the Holy Spirit is praying for you through you. Well, think about it. The Holy Spirit prays for you with groanings that cannot be expressed in words. He prays with passion. He prays with perfected prayers. And when you pray in tongues, you're praying from your spirit, which is one with the Holy Spirit. So when you pray in tongues and you pray from the spirit, you are praying those perfected prayers. And this is why when we pray in tongues, we are strengthened personally.
So there are benefits to the gift of speaking in tongues. Again referencing 1 Corinthians 14:4 where we see that we are strengthened personally spiritually when we pray in tongues. We can then deduce that when my spirit is strengthened, whatever is affected by my spirit is strengthened. So then praying in tongues intensifies the influence of the Holy Spirit in your life. This is why there are great benefits to using your prayer language because as you begin to use this prayer language, that which is in your spirit begins to influence everything in you and around you.
So when you pray in tongues and you make a practice of this, in fact, you start praying in tongues daily, just a few more minutes than you're used to. And you're going to notice that there's this greater resistance against temptation. You're going to notice that there's a holiness that begins to increase in your life. You'll also begin to observe a Holy Spirit inspired boldness coming upon you. It doesn't matter if your personality type is shy. It doesn't matter if you have a lack of confidence. It doesn't matter if you're prone to shame. When you make a practice of praying in tongues, you'll notice this divine boldness come upon you.
You'll also notice an intensification of the spiritual gifts. For the spiritual gifts are expressions of the spirit. Gifts of prophecy sharpened, gifts of healing sharpened, gifts of discernment sharpened. The supernatural becomes active and alive around you. You begin to hear the voice of the Holy Spirit with greater measures of confidence and clarity. If there's a pin that drops in the spirit, if you're praying in tongues, you can hear that pin drop. You can hear the whispers of the Holy Spirit to your heart. Because as you pray in tongues, that's cultivating an awareness of and a responsiveness to the voice of the precious Holy Spirit.
Revelation as you read the word of God begins to flow. Maybe you feel stuck when reading the word. But if you make a practice of praying in tongues which increases the influence of the spirit in your life, then as you begin to go over the scripture, revelation will pour out like a river and you'll begin to see the truths and how you need to apply them to your everyday life. Dreams and visions will intensify. The supernatural will intensify. Miracles will intensify. You'll begin to walk in the supernatural on a daily basis just by practicing this simple spiritual gift. There's a greater spiritual awareness that begins to develop.
This is why it's important that we undo those misconceptions so that you can get right to using your prayer language. But first, if you're enjoying this message and you think other believers need to hear this message about the beautiful prayer language that God has given to each believer, then make sure you leave a like on this video and don't forget to subscribe so that you don't miss any of my content on the Holy Spirit.
Now, it's important we lay some foundational work here because this foundational work is going to help you untangle some of those mindsets that are ultimately holding you back from releasing this beautiful gift. So, I'll put it simply, the scripture reveals three distinct expressions to the gift of speaking in tongues.
Number one, there's the personal tongue. We see this in 1 Corinthians 14 1-4. This is your prayer language. This is what edifies you personally. Notice that there's no interpretation needed for the personal tongue to bring edification.
Number two, we see the proof tongue. We actually see an example of this in Acts chapter 2 4-6 where those listening to those who were speaking in tongues heard them in their own language. There was a supernatural interpretation that took place and they were able to hear them speaking in languages that they did not know. That's the proof tongue.
And then there is finally number three, the prophetic tongue. We see an example of this in 1 Corinthians 14:26-28. Now, the prophetic tongue is used in conjunction with the gift of interpretation. Meaning that this is this comes as a pair tongues and tongues interpretation. And what this looks like, for example, is in a church setting, someone would stand up, speak in tongues, they would be seated, someone else would stand up and interpret what the Holy Spirit was speaking through that tongue that was given. And that is the prophetic tongue. And that's the one that's used in the context of church gathering.
Now, I cover a lot more of these distinctions and in fact a lot more of the gift of tongues in my book, Holy Spirit, Guide You available at encounterthespirit.com. But let's jump now right to the misconceptions.
First misconception is that people think that the gift of tongues is supposed to be hidden in some back room. Don't pray in tongues in front of people. Well, ask yourself this. Why would the Holy Spirit pour out in public that which was meant to be used in private? Acts 2:4 very plainly tells us, "And everyone present was filled with the Holy Spirit and began speaking in other languages as the Holy Spirit gave them this ability." So no, the gift of tongues is not just meant for private use. In fact, Paul writes that the gift of tongues would be a sign to the unbeliever. How can it be a sign to the unbeliever if it's always used privately? And that misconception shames you into thinking that it's something you have to hide. That if you if you express it that God's going to get angry with you.
The other misconception is that the gift of tongues is only an earthly language. Now that is one expression of the gift of tongues such as we just saw in Acts 2:4-6. But we can't forget 1 Corinthians 14:2 and 4. There's no getting around this. There's also a heavenly aspect to this and that is the personal prayer language that edifies you personally. No one understands that. So no, it's not just an earthly language. So you don't need to be afraid of what others would criticize and call gibberish. It is a beautiful expression of the heavenly realm. Though it is strange and yes, you may look a little strange using it. That doesn't mean we outright dismiss it. Often what people call biblical balance is actually just their personal preference. And so we have to go completely with what the Bible says, not just what feels right or what makes us comfortable. So it is a heavenly language.
Now here's the primary misconception and perhaps you've heard this that the gift of tongues is not for every believer. And this portion of scripture is the one that's often misinterpreted to bring forth that conclusion. 1 Corinthians 12:29-31 Paul writes to the Corinthians. Are we all apostles? Are we all prophets? Are we all teachers? Do we all have the power to do miracles? Do we all have the gift of healing? Do we all have the ability to speak in unknown languages? Do we all have the ability to interpret unknown languages? Of course not. So you should earnestly desire the most helpful gifts. But now let me show you a way of life that is best of all.
Now remember there are different expressions of the gift of tongues. So the expression that Paul is regulating here is the expression that's used in the context again of church gathering. He's not talking about the personal prayer language. He's not talking about the proof tongue. Neither of those require interpreters to be of any use. Again, one helps to strengthen you personally and the other strengthens others or is a sign to others and they didn't need an interpreter.
Now, ask yourself this. Why do we treat the gift of tongues differently than we do the other gifts listed here? Well, think about it. He writes, "Are we all apostles? Well, what do apostles do? They establish ministry works." Does this mean Christians can't establish ministry works? No. It means some are called to the apostolic in that that's their area of grace and calling whereas others are just called to help establish those works but they still have a part in it. Are we all prophets? No. Not everyone has the office of the prophet or the gift of prophecy but every believer can hear from God. Are we all teachers? Not all of us are called to be teachers in that we have that specific area of ministry expression and office. But all of us should be ready to give a reason for the hope that is within us. And then we see, do we all have the power to do miracles? Well, of course not. But we don't treat the gift of miracles the way we do the gift of tongues. We don't say to believers, well, you can't believe for your miracle. You can't believe God for the breakthrough. You can't pray for the sick because you don't have the gift of miracles. You don't have the gift of healing. No, we recognize that these are public expressions of ministry. These are areas of grace and giftedness given by the Holy Spirit to certain believers. But the function of these still applies in the general body of Christ. So the same would be true of the gift of tongues. He's addressing a very specific type of gift of tongues.
There in 1 Corinthians 12:7 we read, "A spiritual gift is given to each of us so we can help each other." So that's the context setter for what Paul is writing here. He's talking about the expression of the gift of tongues that's used to help others, not the one we see in 1 Corinthians 14:2 and 4, which edifies us. So again, unless you're misapplying the teachings of Paul, unless you're neglecting the context, you can't conclude that the gift of tongues is only for some believers. It is for every believer.
Why would Paul the Apostle wish for something that was contrary to the will of God? Watch this. 1 Corinthians chapter 14:4 and 5. A person who speaks in tongues is strengthened personally, but one who speaks a word of prophecy strengthens the entire church. Watch this. I wish you could all speak in tongues. But even more, I wish you could all prophesy for prophecy is greater than speaking in tongues unless someone interprets what you are saying so that the whole church will be strengthened. Now, why would Paul the Apostle wish for something that was contrary to the will of God? And why would the Holy Spirit allow for that desire to be recorded in the Holy Scripture if it were indeed contrary to God's will?
Not all have the gift of tongues and tongues interpretation, but every believer can pray in a personal tongue to God. The Bible doesn't say some were filled. The Bible says all were filled. Acts 2:4, all of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began speaking in other tongues as the spirit enabled them. Now in Acts 2:39, we see that Peter stands up and declares, "This promise is to you, to your children, and to those far away, all who have been called by the Lord our God." Have you been called by the Lord our God? Is there a believer in the body of Christ that we don't know about? Some mystery believer that hasn't been called by the Lord our God. Okay, so then this applies to every Christian.
Now watch this. What's he talking about? We see in Acts chapter 2:33, "And the Father, as he had promised, gave him the Holy Spirit to pour out upon us, just as you see and hear today." What did they see? They saw the power of the Holy Spirit falling. What did they hear? They heard the believers speaking in tongues. And that is for what has been given to all who have been called. So, it's time to receive it. In fact, I'd rather rephrase it and say this. It's time to release it.
When I talk about activating the gift of tongues, I'm not talking about learning a spiritual gift. I'm not talking about forcing God to give you something that's outside of his will. We're coming from the premise that every believer has this personal prayer language and that it's just a matter of releasing it. So, here's ultimately what's blocking it. After you get rid of some of these misconceptions, it comes down to one word. And at first it may be offensive, but I want you to hear me out here. There's one reason why you haven't been able to release the gift of tongues, that personal prayer language, and that's ego. And when I'm talking about ego, I'm not just talking about pride. Pride can be a part of it. I'm talking about self. We get in our own way. And here are the three ways that we get in our own way.
Number one, fear. We're afraid of looking foolish. We're afraid of people of the world criticizing us. Well, so be it. We're afraid of religious Christians criticizing us. Well, so be it. Let me alleviate this problem within us right now. Let me just alleviate this fear. If you're worried that you're going to look strange, let me just tell you plainly, you're going to look strange. But that's okay. We're different. We stand out. We believe in the power of the Holy Spirit. Those who walk with the spirit are quite unique and we're not supposed to look like everyone else. We're afraid of angering God as if he's going to get mad at us for trying to exercise what he's given to us. Or worse, we're afraid of catching a demon. Well, look at Luke 11-13. Jesus said, "You fathers, if your children ask for a fish, do you give them a snake instead? Or if they ask for an egg, do you give them a scorpion?" Of course not. So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him, you're not going to get a demon asking for a gift in the name of Jesus from the Holy Spirit. I trust not in my ability to receive that which is divine. I trust in his ability, his goodness to give me only what is truly of his spirit when I make this request.
The second way that we get in our way is we doubt. We say, "Oh, this is just me." Or maybe that's not really the gift of tongues. That doubt needs to go. You need to be released from that and instead come from the place of faith. Yes, it will partially be just you. One of the biggest misconceptions that Christians have is that the Holy Spirit is going to come upon them. He's going to grab hold of their mouth and force them to use the gift of tongues. That's just not the way it works. Any spiritual gift. In fact, any spiritual act requires faith. It requires your participation. It requires your your action, your trust in God to say, "Okay, I may not understand all of the dynamics of how this works, but that doesn't mean I'm just going to sit by and wait for him to do everything. I'm going to involve myself by submitting myself and choosing to act in faith."
Finally, the way that we get in our own way is through overthinking. This is just me or this is just emotion. I can tell you hundreds of times I've prayed with people wanting to release their prayer language and as I'm praying for them, they're just going, "Amen, amen, amen, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus." And they're overthinking it. So, they're just kind of putting out filler and they don't know what to do with themselves. Well, this is where I want to encourage you, and this isn't going to necessarily sound spiritual. Just relax. And that is faith in action. In fact, I believe that sometimes Christians have trouble releasing this gift because they're so tense and wrapped up in themselves.
So, let go of the fear. The fear of looking foolish, the fear of angering God, the fear of catching a demon like it's a pathogen or something. Let go of the doubt, the telling yourself that this is just you or that this is not real. Let go of the overthinking which leads to inaction and come to the place of perfect faith. And so now I challenge you to begin to release those syllables and sounds by faith, trusting that the Holy Spirit will fill them. It is the language of surrender. It is the language of faith. Leave it to God to hide such immense power behind such a humble childlike act.
So Father, I lift that one to you now. And I pray first of all, Lord, that you would calm their mind, their fears, and help them to set themselves aside. Precious Holy Spirit, I pray that they would sense, I can sense his presence and power. Now I'm telling you, Holy Spirit, help them to sense your nearness. Envelop them in your glory. I pray now. People of God, I want you to do this. If you can lift your hands, if you can close your eyes, if you can't, just pray and focus on the Lord Jesus. I want you now to begin to release those syllables and sounds and trust the Holy Spirit to fill them. It's like starting a car. You have to turn the key, but once you turn the key, that engine takes over and you'll feel the moment that it becomes a flow. Precious Lord, strengthen them. Help them to focus on you right now. Go ahead, be bold. Don't be afraid. Don't be ashamed. Release those heavenly syllables and sounds. Thank you, Jesus. Thank you, Jesus. Amen.
Now, if you just prayed in tongues, I want you to tell me in the comment section by saying, "I just prayed in tongues." My dear friend, the future of this ministry is bright, and so is your future. And so, I believe that we are on the verge of one of the greatest moves of the Holy Spirit that this world has ever seen. Listen, it's time to introduce this generation to the person, presence, and power of the Holy Spirit. And I want you to help me to do it. Timing is right. I'm telling you, the timing is perfect. This ministry is growing rapidly.
So, if you've been blessed by this ministry in any way, and you believe in our mission to win souls, to see the sick healed, the bound delivered, and to see people empowered by the Holy Spirit's presence and power, then get involved today. Go right now, davidhernandezministries.com/partner. Those monthly financial supporters help us to plan for the future. Your key in helping to bring stability to this growth. So go right now, davidhernandezministries.com/partner, open the web page, and just ask the Holy Spirit, "What should I do monthly?" You can also give, if you're already a partner, a single gift by going to davidhernandezministries.com/donate. Either way, single or monthly, large or small, everything counts because every soul matters. But do that right now. Don't put that off until tomorrow. Don't put that off till after the next video. Go to the website and do that right now. Do your part. Get involved. Pay it forward. Let's make a difference and win this world to Jesus.
Now, if you enjoyed this teaching, make sure you check out seven major things that happen when the Holy Spirit enters you.