3 Steps to Speaking in Tongues
Covet Earnestly the Best Gifts
Importance of Speaking in Tongues
I received the gift of speaking in tongues without anyone laying hands on me.
I was baptised in a traditional church where no one speaks in tongues. I never heard people speaking in tongues at that time, and neither did I think it was possible. However, a friend of mine who was a new convert found a book about "Speaking in Tongues" and showed it to me. Immediately, I jumped to the "how to" section.
3 Steps to Speaking in Tongues
I do not remember all the details, but I remember the author gave 3 steps:
Become a Christian
Pray to receive the Holy Spirit
Open your mouth and speak
Since I was already a Christian, I jumped to Step 2 to pray for the Holy Spirit. Suddenly, I heard a small voice coming from my belly which said, "You already have the Holy Spirit"! Then I thought, if I already have the Holy Spirit, I should be able to speak in tongues! So I opened my mouth. But since I did not know what to speak, I just started to pray the Lord's prayer. After a few moments, my words suddenly changed into strange syllables which sounded something like the Vietnamese language. So, that was how I started to speak in tongues!
I Tested it
As I was still not sure whether I was actually speaking in tongues, or was it just my own imagination, I repeated the same procedures again the next day. The same sounds came out of my mouth so I became more convinced.
But then I thought to myself, even if I was actually speaking in tongues, how do I know what these words mean? So I prayed again for the "interpretation of tongues", which is another gift from the Holy Spirit.
Since that time, I sometimes get an idea on what I was praying about. Even though I could not interpret word for word, but I have an idea on whether I was praying for my work, for my family, for the government, or any other issues.
I find praying in tongues especially helpful when I feel so stressed that I do not even know what to pray. Usually after praying for a while, my heart feels very peaceful, and I know that the Lord has heard my prayers.
Covet Earnestly the Best Gifts
When I told my Christian friends about my experience, everyone has different response. However, what surprised me the most was, NO ONE ever asked me how to receive this gift! Didn't Apostle Paul tell us to "covet earnestly the best gift (of the Holy Spirit ? How come no one was even interested?
But covet earnestly the best gifts. 1 Corinthians 12:31
Importance of Speaking in Tongues
I hope believers do not downplay the importance of Speaking in Tongues! As Apostle Paul said in the Book of Ephesians,
For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Ephesians 6:12
Our warfare is now fought in the spiritual realm and not the physical. I hope all true believers will equip themselves with this supernatural gift and weapon from the Holy Spirit, so we can fight and win every battle against our enemy. After all, it is the expectation of our Lord Jesus Christ that we can all do what He does, and even more!
Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believes on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father. John 14:12