“I would like every one of you to speak in tongues…” (1 Cor 14:5 NIV).
Have you ever just had problem after problem mount in your life? You sit down to look at everything going on around you and it gets to be absolutely overwhelming?
What do people do when there is so much that needs help or fixing but don’t know what to do or where to begin to work things out?
I think scores and scores of people feel like that every day. Days like this would have put me in the grave if I hadn’t come to know Jesus as my personal Lord and Savior. The comfort of His Word and promises have again and again lifted me out of the toughest times of discouragement.
I have learned over the years that one Word from Heaven can pop those feelings of discouragement like a balloon. Because of that, I have always purposed to take hold of a Fresh Word from God in my heart every day.
I have seen that one Word as the most powerful help and gift I could ever give anyone in the same position.
A Word and a promise from Heaven can lift you to a more encouraging place, but that doesn’t necessarily rid your life of the problems that created those feelings in the first place. That means there is a good chance those feelings will try to again return because there are still problems to be dealt with.
It’s for this reason that after the gift of salvation through Jesus Christ, I have no other gift I have ever received that I value more than the gift of tongues.
Your Heavenly Prayer Language
There are simply too many things—whether we are talking about my situations or those of other people in my life—that are beyond my scope of knowing or understanding how to deal with them.
I’m not smart enough to know what to do with far too many things that face me. I wasn’t smart enough to know how to be a good husband. I didn’t know how to be a good father. I didn’t know how to be a good Pastor. I didn’t know how to be a good friend.
I could go on and on. However, the only thing that gave me comfort was knowing that God had given us His Holy Spirit. It was only the promise from Jesus that His Holy Spirit would help me that gave me confidence to know He would show me the way.
I have taken the Words of Romans 8:26-27 from the original Greek and tried to put them down by their translation so you could more easily understand what they are saying. As you read these words, know they are talking about the Holy Spirit praying for us through tongues for those things we don’t know how to pray for ourselves:
In the same way, Christ’s Holy Spirit also helps us to take hold of the things that are making us feel feeble, sick, weak or diseased. For we do not know all that is necessary or all that we should pray for, but the Holy Spirit personally makes intercession with sighs and words that cannot be understood. And He that investigates the thoughts and feeling of our heart, and God who searches the heart, knows what the mind of the Holy Spirit is because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God’s will.
(Rom. 8:26-27)
I am so thankful to be able to pray in tongues! He knew that we needed His supernatural direction and help. He offered the gift of tongues.
When we pray in a language we don’t know, we are lending our mouth to the Holy Spirit in order to be used to pray for those things we don’t know how to pray for. (We’ve lent our mouth to the devil enough times without reservation—for bad confessions, cussing, negative words, etc.—why not lend it to the Holy Spirit?)
Although we don’t know what is being said, we can have confidence that the Holy Spirit is interceding for us and helping us. There is no greater help I’d rather have. I seem to be always praying in tongues. Consequently I always see God’s hand, His help, and His direction come!
Take a look at what it says in Luke, chapter 11:
Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him.
(Luke 11:11-13)
When we give our lives to the Lord, we receive the Holy Spirit instantly. There are the gifts of the Spirit offered to us when we ask, and one of them is the gift of tongues. In our featured verse, the Apostle Paul said, “I would like every one of you to speak in tongues….”
That wouldn’t have been correct for him to say if it wasn’t possible for us all.
Just pray, ask, and receive it by faith. Jesus already told you His heart saying He’d give it to you. Then speak out in faith—but not in a language known to you. It might sound like sounds, syllables, and words you don’t understand, and you can count on the fact that it will unnerve you a little and that the devil will say it’s nonsense. But don’t let any of that distract or keep you from initiating this powerful prayer.
He is simply afraid of this powerful force of prayer. He lies to you about everything. Just believe. Your life will change as the Holy Spirit searches your heart and prays for those things you don’t know how to pray for. If you become determined to get it, you will. You yourself will be the only obstacle you face!
“He who speaks in a tongue helps construct, build up, confirm, embolden and edifies himself” (1 Cor. 14:4).
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Timothy Burt is a pastor, author, and writer. He is best known as the author of Fresh Manna, a daily devotional and online Bible study.
Pastor Tim became a part of the leadership team at Living Word Christian Center in 1984 and was an Associate Pastor from 1989 until May 31st, 2017. He and His wife Renee, also a Pastor at Living Word, resigned after being a part of Living Word for 33 years on May 31, 2017. They felt impressed by God to pursue the tremendous growth of their ministry "Fresh Manna," as well as teaching conferences and seminars and increasing their involvement in the mission field through Tim and Renee Burt Ministries. Tim has a Bachelor of Theology degree and is a Christian blogger who has been writing a daily inspirational and teaching devotion three days a week called "Fresh Manna" for the past 22 years. It has been read in over 227 countries (official countries and territories). Tim was named one of the top 55 blogging Pastors. He is one of the top Social Media influencers in Minnesota with a strong presence on Twitter at https://twitter.com/TimBurt with over 187,000 followers. Between Tim's Fresh Manna Devotional and Twitter influence, he virally averages reaching over 4 million people daily with the gospel of Jesus Christ and the love of God.
Prior to working at LWCC, he worked at Northwest Airlines for 13 years. In 1985 he founded and was President of American Infant Care Products which marketed his patented invention, the first fold-down commercial infant changing table now used worldwide in public restrooms.
In their tenure at Living Word, Timothy Burt and his wife Renee created a Small Group Ministry when the church was about 800 people in size. Under the leadership of Sr. Pastors Mac and Lynne Hammond, the church grew to over 10,000 people. Pastor Tim and Renee led a diverse Small Group Ministry of over 200 groups. Tim also led weekly men's groups and a monthly Men's Breakfast of 250 plus men called Manhood for 27 years. Tim's responsibilities also included oversight over the Visitor and Member Relations Department, Leadership and Volunteer Development, and the Pastoral Care Department. Pastor Tim was also the Minnesota State Director of Christians United for Israel from 2006 thru 2017.
Tim and Renee are the parents of four children and have seven grandchildren. Tim loves to write, golf, run, and walk, and is a master gardener. He is a five-time marathon finisher. He is also a three-time award-winning gardener winning the Grand Prize in his city for his beautiful home garden and is a Master Gardener for the University of Minnesota's Master Gardener Extension Program.