Today we’re going to talk about the other aspect of tongues often called a prayer language. Again this is a very emotionally charged topic for many people and a very controversial one. For the purposes of this study we’re going to look at what God’s Word actually says about it and what it doesn’t say, so that we can draw our conclusions based on His Word and not on what we think the answer is or what we feel it should be etc.
Ephesians 6:18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.
It is the Holy Spirit within us that both prays for us (which we discussed yesterday) and also enables us to pray, and at times prays through us (tongues). When I say He enables us to pray, I don’t necessarily mean He causes us to pray in tongues. What I mean is that He guides us and leads us in how we should pray or what we should pray etc. if we listen to Him.
Galatians 4:6 Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba, Father.”
Romans 8:26-27 In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express.And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God’s will.
We can see from the other verses that being told to “pray in the spirit” is another one of those verses that are often trotted out to “prove” that people should pray in tongues, and yet it really isn’t saying that at all. At the very most we could say that it doesn’t exclude praying in tongues. Mainly what it is saying is that it is the Holy Spirit that will guide us and help us pray in God’s Will.
Another verse that is also taken out of context for this purpose is this one:
1 Corinthians 13:1 If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.
This is the beginning of Paul’s famous speech about love. Some people want to take his line about the tongues of men and angels and turn it into another description of the gift of tongues. Yet this doesn’t make sense. Why would we take that particular portion and say he meant it literally and yet he wasn’t speaking literally in the other portions of this? He is quite obviously using metaphors (language that directly compares seemingly unrelated subjects.) to get his point across that love is of more importance then any of the “gifts”. Let me quote it in context so you can see what I mean:
1 Corinthians 13:1-3 If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.
So once again people are jumping to conclusions they shouldn’t be and putting words in God’s mouth. Don’t despair though, God actually does have quite a bit to say about this subject and we’ll discuss that tomorrow. I just wanted to get these verses out of the way first so we could then concentrate on what He DOES say about it.
Ephesians 6:18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.
It is the Holy Spirit within us that both prays for us (which we discussed yesterday) and also enables us to pray, and at times prays through us (tongues). When I say He enables us to pray, I don’t necessarily mean He causes us to pray in tongues. What I mean is that He guides us and leads us in how we should pray or what we should pray etc. if we listen to Him.
Galatians 4:6 Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba, Father.”
Romans 8:26-27 In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express.And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God’s will.
We can see from the other verses that being told to “pray in the spirit” is another one of those verses that are often trotted out to “prove” that people should pray in tongues, and yet it really isn’t saying that at all. At the very most we could say that it doesn’t exclude praying in tongues. Mainly what it is saying is that it is the Holy Spirit that will guide us and help us pray in God’s Will.
Another verse that is also taken out of context for this purpose is this one:
1 Corinthians 13:1 If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.
This is the beginning of Paul’s famous speech about love. Some people want to take his line about the tongues of men and angels and turn it into another description of the gift of tongues. Yet this doesn’t make sense. Why would we take that particular portion and say he meant it literally and yet he wasn’t speaking literally in the other portions of this? He is quite obviously using metaphors (language that directly compares seemingly unrelated subjects.) to get his point across that love is of more importance then any of the “gifts”. Let me quote it in context so you can see what I mean:
1 Corinthians 13:1-3 If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.
So once again people are jumping to conclusions they shouldn’t be and putting words in God’s mouth. Don’t despair though, God actually does have quite a bit to say about this subject and we’ll discuss that tomorrow. I just wanted to get these verses out of the way first so we could then concentrate on what He DOES say about it.
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