SPEAKING IN TONGUES
By spirit and life guys
“For
he that speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God. For no one
understands him; however, in the spirit he speaks mysteries”
PERSONAL AND PUBLIC BENEFITS OF TONGUES (Acts 2:1-24 
)
)
Blessings
to you all! Let me begin by saying, how awesomely amazing the gift of
speaking in other tongues is. How wonderful it is that God has made
available to us this powerful gift ~ not only to construct our lives,
but also to keep us from destructing it with wrong words.
James
writes in Chapter Four of the Book of James addressing the power that
the tongue can have ~ either for constructive purposes, or destructive.
He reminds us of the power of such a little member as that of the
tongue. James said that it can be likened to the rudder of a ship,
although small in comparison to the great ship or, in our case, the rest
of our body, the rudder (like the tongue) can ultimately steer the
direction of our whole life.
Praise
God that He has made an amazing provision in giving us a ‘new language’
that can keep us on direction and can direct our lives. When you see
the purpose of God in giving this gift, you will begin to use it in ways
that you have not done so before, and with a greater intensity. When
you begin to value such, you will find your thinking changing and your
direction in life taking on a new meaning.
WHY DID GOD GIVE US THIS GIFT?
Basically because there is a spiritual dynamic that takes place when you speak in tongues.
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Tongues Allow Us to Have a Spirit-to-Spirit Communication.
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Your Spirit Is Communicating With God’s.
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It is You Intimately Speaking to God.
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Tongues are The Over-flow, or Out-flow of Your Spirit.
I
want to challenge you for a moment to imagine the dynamics that are
taking place as your spirit connects with God in tongues. It is beyond what is possible with just the skill of human faculties. It is the faculty of our spirits speaking mysteries to God. Wow,
that is amazing!! When you think that some religions have their vain
lifeless repetitious mantras’, we actually have the language of heaven.
Speaking in other tongues can keep you from talking to God with vain
repetition and just simply praying out of your own head.
As
I have been challenged of the Lord to study again the whole dynamics of
speaking in tongues ~ and the personal and public benefits of such ~ I
find myself challenged by some of the discoveries or re-discoveries I
have made. I am sure that I am like a lot of us, at times a little lazy
in regard to the use of, and the releasing of, the language of the Holy
Spirit. I find that it is possible to become very familiar with
something in our walk with God.
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We are very apt to under-estimate the value of the tools that enhance our relationship with the Lord and that empower us as people of God. The more we can become people of the Spirit, the more powerful and useful we are.
It
may be more appropriate to describe the state that we can fall back
into this way; an under-utilizing, or an over-looking of this amazing
personal gift. Today I want to esteem its power and potential.
Although
I speak in tongues daily, I recently found myself asking for the Lord’s
forgiveness for the lack of the use of such a wonderful gift. I am sure
that at times I have under-valued this personal gift from Holy Spirit.
It is in the context of re-discovering and re-valuing the gift of
tongues that I write this article. It is well known that we will never
seek something with all our heart until we value it with all our heart.
If we can get along alright with our natural abilities, then why would
we want to use supernatural abilities?
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The Devil Hates Us To Get Supernaturally Empowered!
If
the receiving of other tongues becomes just an historical event in our
life and not a current priority, or a highly valued gift, we will
under-value it and certainly never use it to our full advantage.
What
I say here, I say not in a critical way, but in an observational way. I
think that most Christians today really do under-estimate the power and
value of speaking in tongues. I want to bring to our attention 3 key
things here.
FIRSTLY: There
is a discipline in exercising the language of the Spirit in our lives.
Tongues can dry-up and not flow like they are intended by Holy Spirit.
No wonder our prayer times can revert to short, shallow “shots” at God.
SECONDLY: There
is a development that must take place to form what can be truly termed,
an edifying experience and the establishment of a unique “hot-line”
with God.
THIRDLY: A
direct line to heaven. My daughter used to work for a company called
‘Hotline.’ ‘Hotline’ prided itself on one thing. The one thing the
company sought to fulfill above all else was the goal to be able to
personally answer every telephone call to their company. When you rang
them to get a quote for insurance for your car, they wanted you to be
able to get straight through to an operator. They did not want people
getting some impersonal answer phone, or have you being put in a queue
waiting for an operator. That is why their company was called ‘Hotline’.
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Speaking in Other Tongues Is Our ‘Hotline’ to Heaven!
We
do not have to put up with ‘call waiting’ or an answer phone that says,
‘I will phone you back’ ~ it is a direct line to God. God knew
something when He let heaven break out in the upper room on that mighty
day of Pentecost (Acts 2:1-24 ).
People had a ‘hotline’ to God. Because speaking in other tongues is
such a dynamic and powerful gift in our lives, I think that we need to
be constantly reminded that this gift will be a highly contested issue
by the devil. I think that he would want to interfere with this gift as
much as he can, simply because of the powerful dynamics that it carries
in connecting us to God.
).
People had a ‘hotline’ to God. Because speaking in other tongues is
such a dynamic and powerful gift in our lives, I think that we need to
be constantly reminded that this gift will be a highly contested issue
by the devil. I think that he would want to interfere with this gift as
much as he can, simply because of the powerful dynamics that it carries
in connecting us to God.-
Praise God That This Gift By-passes the Devil!
The
devil has always made an issue of tongues. If the devil can silence the
personal gift of tongues, and the public gift and operation of such,
and make us feel that it is just empty words, he is happy.
The
other thing that I see in so many believers today is the way that this
gift is so under-valued. It seems like a lot of Christians do not see
this gift as being relevant today. What a subtlety to think like that!
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When Did Any Of God’s Power Tools In Our Lives Become Irrelevant?
Getting down to the simplest explanation that I can find to explain this amazing personal gift, I put it this way:
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For me, it is simply the language of heaven.
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It is a ‘Hotline’ to God where there are no answer phones, or recorded messages.
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It is a believer empowered by the Holy Spirit connecting his spirit with heaven.
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It allows a believer to connect with the throne of God and God Himself.
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It is where heaven begins to invade earth and invade our hearts and our world with an expression of the Spirit and heaven itself.
If
this is what happens (and it does), then imagine how much the devil
must hate hearing a believer or a large group of people talking to their
God and praising Him in tongues. Simply putting it, the devil cannot
understand what is going on. He is at a loss to be able to stop what is
going on unless he can simply shut a person up from doing it.
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The Scriptures are clear: (1 Corinthians 14:39
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To deny this gift is to say that we are smarter than God and don’t value what He values.
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I could not imagine for one moment that the devil would want the Holy Spirit exploding out of our lives and communicating with God, and in-turn invading this world with Spirit life as He did in that upper room in Jerusalem. (Acts 2:1-4
SCRIPTURE BRINGS SUCH A SIMPLE FOCUS AS TO HOW HOLY SPIRIT EXPRESSES HIMSELF IN OUR LIVES TODAY
“And
I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He
may abide with you forever ~ the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot
receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him,
for He dwells with you and will be in you” (John 14:16-17 ).
).
“Another Helper” said Jesus. Is there anybody reading this that needs heaven’s help????
“And
He said to them, ‘Go into all the world and preach the Gospel to every
creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does
not believe will be condemned. And these signs will follow those who
believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new
tongues; they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly,
it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they
will recover" (Mark 16:15-18 ).
).
“These signs” which Jesus spoke about are also confirmed by Paul in 1 Corinthians 14:22 ~ Paul said to the Corinthians that speaking in tongues was a sign to the unbelievers.
~ Paul said to the Corinthians that speaking in tongues was a sign to the unbelievers.
DID
YOU NOTICE HERE THAT JESUS HIMSELF SEEMS TO PUT TONGUES INTO THE SAME
CATEGORY OF THE WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION GIVEN TO EACH BELIEVER IN
THEIR ARSENAL FOR KINGDOM ADVANCEMENT?
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Jesus speaks of signs!
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Taking up serpents!
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Casting out demons!
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Laying hands on the sick!
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And speaking with new tongues!
TO ME, SPEAKING WITH NEW TONGUES IS CERTAINLY PRESENTED HERE, NOT AS AN OPTIONAL THING, BUT AS AN ESSENTIAL THING.
IT IS THE ‘ADVANTAGE FACTOR’ FOR EVERY BELIEVER in Kingdom things.
I
THINK THAT SPEAKING IN TONGUES IS THE KINGDOM OF GOD LANGUAGE!! FROM
THE DAY OF PENTECOST, GETTING THE BELIEVERS FILLED WITH THE HOLY GHOST
AND SPEAKING IN TONGUES WAS A PRIORITY!
It
is like the Apostles knew that this experience and this gift were
absolutely essential to get the new believers empowered with Holy Ghost
anointing. Speaking in tongues was a way to get the believers on a ‘hot
line’ to heaven.
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Why is it Not That Way Today?
We
seem to want to go the ‘seeker sensitive’ or ‘let’s not offend anybody’
way. Let us not forget that tongues are a sign, not to the believers,
but to the unbelievers.
LOOK AT THESE EXAMPLES:
“And
it happened, while Apollos was at Corinth, that Paul, having passed
through the upper regions, came to Ephesus. And finding some disciples
he said to them, ‘Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?’ So
they said to him, ‘We have not so much as heard whether there is a Holy
Spirit.’ And he said to them, ‘Into what then were you baptized?’ So
they said, ‘Into John's baptism.’ Then Paul
said, ‘John indeed baptized with a baptism of repentance, saying to the
people that they should believe on Him who would come after him, that
is, on Christ Jesus.’ When they heard this, they were baptized in the
name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul had laid hands on them, the Holy
Spirit came upon them, and they spoke with tongues and prophesied” (Acts 19:1-6 ).
).
“And
while Peter spoke these words, the Holy Ghost fell on all them which
heard the word. And they of the circumcision which believed were
astonished, as many as came with Peter, because that on the Gentiles
also was poured out the gift of the Holy Ghost. For they heard them
speak with tongues, and magnify God” (Acts 10:44-46 , KJV).
, KJV).
The
writing of this article is intended to impact you and bring you, along
with myself, back to what is important. This walk on earth is always
about the work of the Spirit of God.
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Tongues Are A Work Of The Holy Spirit!
I
think that we have pushed aside, or neglected, a great gift in that of
tongues (personal and private). This is such a wonderful tool given to
us by the Holy Spirit, not only for personal empowerment, but also for
the expanding of the Kingdom of God. I can imagine people coming into
contact with the early church Spirit-filled Christians and, upon hearing
them speaking in tongues and praising God, then questioning them how
all this was possible. The Bible says that tongues are a sign, not to
the believers, but to the non-believers.
Can
you get the picture? ‘How do these people do this?’ would have been the
questions of the unsaved. I think that such signs in their midst would
have opened the door to many to have explained to them the Gospel and
the reality of the true and living God empowering ordinary people.
I
have been to many so-called Pentecostal churches and found no evidence
of people singing in tongues. Today we sing about God. The reason that
we do this is because many Christians do not have a personal empowerment
of tongues at home, so therefore they are no different in a public
place. You cannot tell people to worship. You can shout all you like
about God and get no real atmosphere of His presence.
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God’s Presence Is His Holy Spirit!
You
cannot truly worship God when you are singing about Him. So many songs
today are about Him. I do not want to just sing about Him ~ I want to
worship Him. Shouting and saying a few ‘Hallelujahs’ is not worship.
That is praise. Praise is a soul expression.
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Worship Comes Out of The Spirit!
You have to have a flow coming out of your spirit to worship God, who is Spirit.
Jesus said in John’s Gospel Chapter 4:24 ~ “God is Spirit, and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth.” No wonder we are lacking the power of heaven today. We have stopped using the language of heaven.
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Miracles Happen in the Atmosphere of Worship Where Believers Know How to Get Heaven on Earth.
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There is no Short-cut to This Dimension.
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Miracles are in the Realms of the Spirit.
Praise God, however, there is one gift that can release heaven on earth powerfully, that is through the gifts of tongues.
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Why Do We Think That We Know Better Than The Lord?
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Maybe We Think That it is Not Fashionable Today to Speak in Tongues? Perhaps we have become embarrassed by what God has given to us and now we have relegated such a wonderful gift to our modernistic thinking, and to our convenience and the back room?
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No Wonder So Many Christians Are Not Edified Today! They don’t know what to do.
We have failed them and made Pentecost and speaking in other tongues a thing in history, yet it was the event that
made history in that upper room. Many of today’s Christians would have
found themselves embarrassed by what was happening in that upper room on
that great day of Pentecost. Note that it was an ‘upper room,’ not a
back room.
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Pentecost Was No ‘Back Room’ Experience!
Some
years ago we had a man who would attend our church on a Sunday night.
He loved to be where the Spirit of God was, but was not at that time
baptized in the Holy Ghost with tongues. After one of the services he
came to me and asked if we could go out to the back room and he be
prayed for so that he could receive tongues. I felt strongly challenged
by the Lord to say no, explaining that we do not practice back-room
tongues in this church. I turned to him and said that if he wanted to
speak in tongues he would have to turn around and face the people that
were still in the building, and as I prayed, he would speak in tongues
out loud with all his might. Well, he thought about that for a moment
and must have seen that I meant business. At that he turned around, and
as I prayed, the Spirit of the living God came upon him so mightily that
he burst out in tongues so loud that everybody turned around to see
what was going on. This man attributes this bold release to so many
things that began to change in his life. From that time on he was healed
of timidity and began to be boldly used in other gifts. My point is
that it must be an ‘upper-room’ experience in difference to a
‘back-room’ experience with no release.
At
Pentecost, that upper room was certainly not a ‘seeker sensitive’ place
to be. They were seekers alright, but not on their terms. When they got
what they were seeking it was radical. It certainly could not be
compared with what we think we are seeking today and perhaps keeping out
of our midst.
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Holy Ghost Came With Such Liberating Power!
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It Was The Power of Heaven!
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It Spread Abroad and Caused Those on the Outside to Question What Was Going On.
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It Attracted the world.
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Holy Ghost Had Just Released Ordinary People With Heaven’s Power.
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They All Had What We Could Call A Heavenly Encounter.
What
a great opening brought on by the Holy Ghost. As Peter sees such and
gets up under the power of the Holy Ghost, he begins to explain the
whole dynamic of that encounter. He captures the moment and begins to
explain to a captive, bewildered audience what will happen in the days
ahead by the Holy Ghost. We read that thousands came into the Kingdom of
God.
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Maybe We Are Doing Things All The Wrong Way Around Today??!!
Instead
of trying to get people to have a go at what we call worship and having
worship seminars that are more like concerts, we would do better to
have Holy Ghost days where we get the believers filled with the Holy
Ghost and released in the power of tongues. I believe that amazing
worship would follow. My challenge is, let’s get it the right way round.
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God Sent The Holy Ghost to Create an Atmosphere for The Salvation of Many.
Today
we want to keep Him at hand and do it all our way with programs. Well,
as long as we want it our way, God will allow us to have the same old
results.
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It Has To Be The Holy Ghost Way!
THERE IS EVEN MEDICAL EVIDENCE OF THE BENEFITS OF SPEAKING IN TONGUES.
I quote
this article that I read on a Christian Website which is powerful in
regard to speaking on tongues: “Even medical science is beginning to
take notice of the power and benefits of speaking in tongues. A
fascinating study done by Dr. Carl Peterson, a brain specialist at Oral
Roberts University in Tulsa, (Oklahoma, USA) discovered this in his
research. Dr. Peterson discovered that as people pray and worship God in
tongues, the brain releases two chemical secretions which give our
immune systems a 35-40% boost, and promotes healing in our bodies! As
amazing as this seems, the secretion comes from a part of the brain
which has no other apparent activity in humans. The only way to activate
this part of the brain is by praying with tongues in the Spirit! What’s
amazing is that this secretion is triggered from a part of the brain
that is only activated by our spirit-led prayer and worship.”
WE COULD CONCLUDE FROM THIS THAT SPEAKING IN TONGUES CAN MAKE YOU HEALTHY.
We
all know that there are those who say that speaking in tongues is of
the devil. Well, my response to that is this: they will have to admit
the following:
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That Jesus Christ tells lies and is misleading on the basis of this Scripture: Mark 16:15-20
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And, that Paul was demon-possessed. He boasted that he spoke in tongues more than all of us: 1 Corinthians 14:18
NOW LET’S LOOK AT THE VALUE AND BENEFITS OF SPEAKING IN TONGUES:
I have
not put them in any order of priority, but place emphasis upon the
first one mentioned here, simply because of the impact that it has on
me. When I speak in tongues I am reminded of this powerful reality.
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Tongues Remind me of The Spirit’s Indwelling Presence in My Life: 1 John 4:13,14
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Tongues Are The Initial Sign or Evidence That We Are Filled With The Spirit of God:Acts 2:4
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Tongues Are Given For Spiritual Edification: 1 Corinthians 14:4
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Speaking in Tongues is The Wonder of Speaking Mysteries to God and Where the Hidden Things of God Get Revealed: In 1 Corinthians 14:1-4
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Praying in Tongues Will Keep Our Prayers in Line With God’s Will: Speaking in tongues keeps us from praying in unbelief and vain repetition. Too often our heads are in the way, and our minds are screaming out in unbelief and doubt. Tongues silence that (Romans 8:26-27
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Praying in The Spirit Stimulates Your Faith: (Jude 20
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Tongues Help Us To Pray For The Unknown: With “intercession and groanings that cannot be uttered” (Romans 8:26
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Tongues Gives Us Spiritual Refreshing and Release: (John 7:37
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Tongues is a Way to Give Thanks and Praise to God: (1 Corinthians 14:15-17
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Tongues Transform Lives and Places: (Acts 2:1-47
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Speaking in Tongues is Tapping Into A Higher Power: Unlimited power. A language that bridges between heaven and earth.
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Tongues Are The Universal Language Of All Believers, Regardless of Race: (It is THAT OF THE SPIRIT; Beyond that of culture and race).
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Speaking in Tongues Releases The Power to Renew Our Minds: “Lean not on your own understanding” (Proverbs 3:5
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Speaking in Tongues Is The Spirit of God Manifesting and Invading Our Space: (Acts 2:1-4
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Speaking in Tongues is a Direct Line to Heaven: (1 Corinthians 14:2
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Speaking in Tongues Does Not Come Out of Our Head, But Out of Our Belly: Force it out. See it communicating with God. See spirit-life happening!
FINALLY:
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There Are Private or Personal Tongues.
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There Are Public Tongues.
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Tongues Can be Used by a Couple. (Oral Roberts has said he and his wife used this gift on a regular basis).
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Tongues Are For Breakthrough in The Spirit Realm of Darkness. (Writer has had personal testimony of this happening).
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Tongues That Are A Notable Sound For Breakthrough.
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Tongues to Give Miracles. (Again writer has had experience with this): Many years ago I met with a man once a week to go door-to-door witnessing. Without fail God would give me a tongues message that the other man would interpret prophetically or in a vision. Mostly he saw the exact house where God was going to give us favour.
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Tongues of Intercession. (Writer’s own experience): I would go to the silage pit to meet with God and seek to intercede for the world. God would give me many different spirit languages and I would see in the spirit myself praying for peoples, countries and places.
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Reading The Word Whilst Speaking in Tongues. You may say, “Why would you want to do this?” Good question. My answer is simple, “Because I can.” I can do what is not naturally possible. To me it shows how amazing it is that you can actually operate two different faculties at once. That is a miracle.
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Praying For The Nations in Tongues. You can get a map of the world and start praying in tongues. You do not need to know with your mind what is the best way to pray because Holy Spirit can interpret and intercede to God for those places through you.
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Prevailing in The Heavenlies in Tongues. It is the heavenlies that need the breakthrough. Remember, tongues go straight to God and heavenly power is released to change atmospheres.
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Releasing Angels Through Tongues. The Bible says that we can speak in the tongues of men and angels (1 Corinthians 13:1
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