A word from heaven.

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How tangible can an invisible God really be? -Part 3

In the previous 2 parts, we established the fact that physical separation does not equate to non existence of God as well as the fact that God has made it possible for us to experience a very tangible Him through many other alternatives other than to see Him face to face.

One of the most tangible forms of experiencing Him is through Holy Spirit baptism and through that receive the means to pray in the Spirit.

What is praying in tongues all about?

Christians, let me give you a multiple choice reality check:

1) Praying in tongues is some sound or signal from the worship/prayer leader to start praying

2) Praying in tongues is babbling something when you don't know what to say to God.

3) Praying in tongues helps us to settle our hearts down and focus on God.

4) Praying in tongues is to fill in the silence during free worship, so that atmosphere will not dip.

5) Praying in tongues is uncontrolled babbling because we are possessed by the Holy Spirit.

6) Praying in tongues is following with our emotions and we don't have to look too much into it.

The 6 points above are some of the misunderstanding about praying in tongues. You see, the reason why i pointed them out is because tongues is one of the most misused language in the world today, (Maybe after Hokkien for its vulgarities). Many Christians who have received the gift of praying in tongues lose the essence of it, no wonder they feel that God is not tangible. One moment they can be praying in tongues, the next moment they can say God is not real, how can that be???

You have to ensure that everytime, yes EVERYTIME, you pray in the heavenly language, you have the correct perspective of it or else you will just be babbling away like a mad person. It may even be detrimental to your prayer life. It may be better for you to pray in English 1st as you try to make sense of what is praying in tongues all about again.

So what exactly is praying in tongues?

Praying in tongues is a resultant or a buy-product of your spirit interacting with the Holy Spirit in the Spiritual realm. In another words, as your spirit (only for Christians since they are alive in the spirit through the blood of Christ) and the Holy Spirit come together as one, to seek God's will, to intercede, to enjoy one another, the tongues are given as a physical sign and physical empowerment of this interaction.

All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.
~ Acts 2:4 ~

It is the heavenly language that is bestowed upon you. When a congregation of tongues come together to pray in unison in the heavenly language as a result of the corporate interaction of the Holy Spirit, powerful things happen.

As you pray in the Spirit, allow your mind, your entire being to be enveloped by the cause of God, the love of God, the promises of God. Allow the Holy Spirit to lead your mind, to place convictions in your heart, to speak to you directly. That is why the Holy Spirit is also known as the counsellor.

But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.
~ John 14:26 ~

Sometimes your mind will wonder off to think about other things when you are praying in the Spirit. I would advise you to stop speaking in the language for a while as you try to bring your focus back to God. It will help you to be careful that every word that comes out from you is from the Holy Spirit and not your own non nonsensical babbling. The moment you fall into this habitually, you lose the very essence of praying in the Spirit and you just won't go away from the session with anything! Obviously right? cause you were just babbling away.

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.
~ 1 Corinthians 1:13 ~

Your mind should be concentrating entirely on God and sensing his leading which he is giving. It may be a specific word from Him (This is where prophecy comes from). It may be an area of your life he wants to help your grow. It may be a certain strategy or direction he wants you to embark on. The list goes on. As long as it is relevant to you, there is no one area that is out of bounds. So is that not tangible enough?

Many times, it is this tangibility of God through the interaction with the Holy Spirit that allow me to experience God's tangibility. It is a word from Him. An encouragement from Him.

This topic is huge and we can have a church camp just about the Holy Spirit. If you are interested and you're from Hope, i do recommend that you read up "A spirit filled church" or a "Powerful praying church" from the LC series.

Praying in the Spirit is so powerful. Not just for ministry sake but for your own experience of God.

Regards,

jie hui

Labels: Apologetics

The kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing, and forceful men lay hold of it.

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Thursday, October 02, 2008