How to Authentically Speak in Tongues

[Paul James]

On 5/10/2021 at 12:30 PM, Daniel Marsh said:

If someone is trying to teach you to speak in the spirit via priming the pump.   RUN

I think your comment about priming the pump is sort of directed at me, because I was the one who used the expression.

I want to make it quite clear that Jesus is the baptizer with the Holy Spirit and the giver of tongues.  No one can speak or pray in tongues unless they are filled with the Spirit and have been endowed with the ability by the Holy Spirit.  No one can "teach" a person to speak in tongues.

But there is nothing wrong with taking a person through the steps of faith in order to allow the Spirit to flow out of them:

1.  They must be absolutely certain it is God's will for them.  If they are unsure, then they will not receive the gift, because it is received according to their faith, and if they are unsure or as James says, double-minded, they will not receive anything from the Lord.  Therefore, getting a candidate and surrounding him and trying the push tongues into him by laying hands on him will not achieve the result.   This is Scriptural and is in line with the Scripture: "Be not unwise, but understanding what the will of God is."

2.  He needs to ask God for the gift.  The Scripture says that if we ask for anything according to the will of God, we will receive it.  The key is knowing the will of God.  This links with point 1.

3.  Asking is one thing, and receiving it by faith is another.  If we know God's will, and we ask according to His will, then we know that God hands the gift out to us and al we have to do is take it from Him.  It involves the simple prayer of: "I receive your gift right now."

If I am assisting someone to receive the gift of tongues, I tell them that they are now baptised with the Spirit and has the ability to speak in tongues.  All they need to do is to activate their faith and start speaking in a language they have never learned.  Many people that I have assisted have launched out and spoken a clear, articulate language.  None of this "ba ba sha ba ra ma" type babbling.

But I have encountered some who have had a mental block and have needed a further encouragement to use their faith.  This is where I have "primed the pump".  I have got them to copy my tongues language.   I have been very careful to tell them they they are not speaking in their own tongue but are copying mine.  This is just to give them the idea of what speaking in tongues is like.  Once they get used to speaking a few words in my language, I tell them to launch out in faith starting with my words, but not to stop speaking.  What has happened is that they have started to speak in a totally different language than mind as they Holy Spirit expression has flowed out of them as their faith has strengthened.

I had one event with a guy where this did not work and no matter how hard I tried, he couldn't get the flow going.  In the end I said to the Lord, "You are the baptizer with the Holy Spirit and so I give him up to You."  Immediately he said, "Oh!" and then launched right out in a beautiful language that had no relation to mine.  The Lord showed me that it wasn't the method that achieved the results, it was the Holy Spirit honouring the person's faith.

So this is not "teaching" a person to speak in tongues, but increasing the person's faith to release the flow of the Holy Spirit through them.

Of course the Holy Spirit can give someone the gift of tongues without anyone assisting them, just the same as He can save a sinner without the involvement of anyone else to show him the way.  But it is an added blessing for someone leading a sinner to the Lord and seeing him get saved.  It is no different to leading someone to develop the faith to be baptized with the Spirit and receive a spiritual gift.

I know that there are those who try and get people to speak in tongues by copying some words, but in my opinion, it won't work unless the first three steps of faith that I have outlined are made first;  and it is best done is a cool, calm environment, away from the hype of a rowdy meeting where the person can think clearly without being forced or hyped up by the emotional atmosphere of people yelling at them like Commanche Indians, half of them yelling, "Hold on", and the other half yelling, "Let go!"

Edited May 14, 2021 by Paul James

[Daniel Marsh]

On 5/13/2021 at 11:19 PM, Paul James said:

I think your comment about priming the pump is sort of directed at me, because I was the one who used the expression.

I want to make it quite clear that Jesus is the baptizer with the Holy Spirit and the giver of tongues.  No one can speak or pray in tongues unless they are filled with the Spirit and have been endowed with the ability by the Holy Spirit.  No one can "teach" a person to speak in tongues.

But there is nothing wrong with taking a person through the steps of faith in order to allow the Spirit to flow out of them:

1.  They must be absolutely certain it is God's will for them.  If they are unsure, then they will not receive the gift, because it is received according to their faith, and if they are unsure or as James says, double-minded, they will not receive anything from the Lord.  Therefore, getting a candidate and surrounding him and trying the push tongues into him by laying hands on him will not achieve the result.   This is Scriptural and is in line with the Scripture: "Be not unwise, but understanding what the will of God is."

2.  He needs to ask God for the gift.  The Scripture says that if we ask for anything according to the will of God, we will receive it.  The key is knowing the will of God.  This links with point 1.

3.  Asking is one thing, and receiving it by faith is another.  If we know God's will, and we ask according to His will, then we know that God hands the gift out to us and al we have to do is take it from Him.  It involves the simple prayer of: "I receive your gift right now."

If I am assisting someone to receive the gift of tongues, I tell them that they are now baptised with the Spirit and has the ability to speak in tongues.  All they need to do is to activate their faith and start speaking in a language they have never learned.  Many people that I have assisted have launched out and spoken a clear, articulate language.  None of this "ba ba sha ba ra ma" type babbling.

But I have encountered some who have had a mental block and have needed a further encouragement to use their faith.  This is where I have "primed the pump".  I have got them to copy my tongues language.   I have been very careful to tell them they they are not speaking in their own tongue but are copying mine.  This is just to give them the idea of what speaking in tongues is like.  Once they get used to speaking a few words in my language, I tell them to launch out in faith starting with my words, but not to stop speaking.  What has happened is that they have started to speak in a totally different language than mind as they Holy Spirit expression has flowed out of them as their faith has strengthened.

I had one event with a guy where this did not work and no matter how hard I tried, he couldn't get the flow going.  In the end I said to the Lord, "You are the baptizer with the Holy Spirit and so I give him up to You."  Immediately he said, "Oh!" and then launched right out in a beautiful language that had no relation to mine.  The Lord showed me that it wasn't the method that achieved the results, it was the Holy Spirit honouring the person's faith.

So this is not "teaching" a person to speak in tongues, but increasing the person's faith to release the flow of the Holy Spirit through them.

Of course the Holy Spirit can give someone the gift of tongues without anyone assisting them, just the same as He can save a sinner without the involvement of anyone else to show him the way.  But it is an added blessing for someone leading a sinner to the Lord and seeing him get saved.  It is no different to leading someone to develop the faith to be baptized with the Spirit and receive a spiritual gift.

I know that there are those who try and get people to speak in tongues by copying some words, but in my opinion, it won't work unless the first three steps of faith that I have outlined are made first;  and it is best done is a cool, calm environment, away from the hype of a rowdy meeting where the person can think clearly without being forced or hyped up by the emotional atmosphere of people yelling at them like Commanche Indians, half of them yelling, "Hold on", and the other half yelling, "Let go!"

I remember Paul telling them to seek the higher gifts because they serve the full body of Christ.   That is God's will.

1 Corinthians 13:2

And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing.

 

[Paul James]

2 hours ago, Daniel Marsh said:

I remember Paul telling them to seek the higher gifts because they serve the full body of Christ.   That is God's will.

1 Corinthians 13:2

And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing.

 

Seeing that you are all for context, I can remind you that in this context Paul is writing about the importance of love and not whether people should have the gift of prophecy or not.

And nothing is said about tongues in your quote, so I don't have to go there.

The trouble is that most evangelical churches don't seek any of the gifts at all.  They are content with the three hymns and a sermon.  Since 1978, I have fellowshipped with non-Charismatic evangelical churches - Anglican, Baptist, and Presbyterian.  I have seen none of the gifts practiced or even desired.  The existence of the gifts was taught once by a minister in my last Presbyterian church, and the conclusion was that they were optional and we didn't really need them.

So, in spite of Paul teaching to pursue love, and desire spiritual gifts, the majority of non-Charismatic churches ignore that teaching completely and do nothing to desire spiritual gifts.   Yet, they will quote the importance of prophecy over tongues to Charismatics, but they never practice the gift of prophecy themselves.  Sounds like a bit of hypocrisy to me, wouldn't it?

[Vincent Haryanto]

I just want to give a personal testimony about speaking in tongues. It provide many benefits to me such as more brave, more healthy , clearer mind. From a suggestion from my mentor,  we can speak in tongue and at the same time Reading the Bible. The reason is that our spirit man pray while we are speaking in tongue and our mind is focus on to God by reading the Bible scriptures.

Thank you.

[Prycejosh1987]

To put emphasis on tongues is a problem because the devil can take advantage of that. I believe fruits are needed to be seen. There is no measure of The Spirit given to us. I believe this means that everyone can get The Holy Spirit, but potentiality of the Gifts stems from exercising authority and developing the spiritual man. There is potential to only have one gift, and there is potential to have them all. 

[Deadworm]

On 1/26/2021 at 11:18 PM, Waggles said:

Waggles: "You are confused and muddled on this issue ... also most unscriptural. "

Your judgmental spirit entices you to pontificate from ignorance without even providing reasons.  

Waggles: "If you were genuinely baptized in the Holy Spirit you would understand what it is to pray in the Spirit - that is praying in   tongues, which all genuine Pentecostal Christians do."

 Have you bothered to read my testimony to my Spirit baptism?  As a teen ager, I even prayed someone through to Spirit baptism with the initial evidence of speaking in tongues.  I wrote my 452 page Harvard doctoral thesis on the gift of prophecy.  Kindly season your penchant for bluster with a modicum of intellectual rigor and let's get into the Word on this issue.  I await your response.

Waggles: "Repent and believe the full gospel of salvation; water baptism by full immersion in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit."

Why do you judgmentally presume I have not been baptized.  In fact, I received a glorious vision of Jesus after emerging from the water during my baptism.

 

 

[Waggles]

On 12/29/2020 at 7:08 AM, Deadworm said:

(1) Praying in tongues is a form of praying in the Spirit (1 Corinthians 14:14).  So to speak in tongues authentically, it is advisable to first learn to "pray in the Spirit" (Ephesians 6:18; Jude 20) in your own language.

 

On 12/29/2020 at 7:08 AM, Deadworm said:

Being lost in praise is a type of intense longing for God in which the eruption of joy triggers spontaneous and uncontrolled praise in one's own language.

 

On 12/29/2020 at 7:08 AM, Deadworm said:

In my next planned post, I will share my testimony of how I learned to pray in the Spirit.

Praying in the Spirit is not praying in one's own language - it is praying in tongues.

A disciple does not learn how to pray in tongues for this spiritual language is given of God when a person is baptized in the Holy Spirit - it is in effect the gospel evidence of such.

1Cor 14:2  For one who speaks in a tongue speaks not to men but to God; for no one understands him, but he utters mysteries in the Spirit.

Mark 16:17  And these signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues;

John 3:7  Marvel not that I said to thee, Ye must be born from above. 8  The Spirit breathes where he wills, and thou hear his voice, but know not whence he comes, and whither he goes: so is every one born of the Spirit. 

[Deadworm]

On 9/26/2022 at 3:09 PM, Waggles said:

 

 

Waggles: "Praying in the Spirit is not praying in one's own language - it is praying in tongues."

You pontificate without grounding your claim in God's Word.  There is no reference  to praying in tongues in either of the 2 NT references to "pray in the Spirit" (see Eph. 6:18; Jude 20)."  So we can't infer that speaking in tongues is the only form of praying in the Spirit. Indeed, I have learned through fasting and prolonged prayer that one's prayers can be directed by the Spirit in English without out my conscious direction.

Waggles: "A disciple does not learn how to pray in tongues for this spiritual language is given of God when a person is baptized in the Holy Spirit - it is in effect the gospel evidence of such."

You overlook the need to "strive for spiritual gifts" (12:31; 14:1), including tongues and prophecy.  But the pursuit of tongues can unwittingly encourage the flesh and counterfeit tongues.  To prevent this, the seeker should first ask God for the gift of tonuges and then forget about tongues and instead seek the Giver, not the gift.  God will then impart the gift of tongues in His own good time.

1

Waggles: "Mark 16:17  And these signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues;"

First. this text is part of the forged ending of Mark 16:9-20. which is therefore put in the margins of modern Bible translations.One ancient Greek manscript even identifies the forger as "Aristo of Pella."

Second. this text doesn't specify what the seeker has to do to experience these signs.  So you can't assume that the text implies that tongues are imparted with no effort on the part of the seeker.

 

[Waggles]

On 1/27/2021 at 5:48 PM, Waggles said:

You are confused and muddled on this issue ... also most unscriptural. 

If you were genuinely baptized in the Holy Spirit you would understand what it is to pray in the Spirit - that is praying in   tongues, which all genuine Pentecostal Christians do. 

I simply reiterate my opening critique of your posted thread concerning your thread on how to "authentically" speak in tongues.

[Deadworm]

On 3/1/2022 at 1:57 PM, Prycejosh1987 said:

There is no measure of The Spirit given to us.

There is a measure of the Spirit in the sense that there are different measures of faith given to us:

"Think with sober judgment, each ACCORDING TO THE MEASURE OF FAITH that God has given to us (Romans 12:3)."

Some believers with the Spirit are not actually "filled with the Spirit."