Three Pentecostal Pastors Reflect on the ministry of praying in tongues

In terms of the universality of tongues, Alistair Matheson says:

The gift of tongues has been made available without discrimination to all Christians regardless of nationality, age, gender academic privilege, or historical context. If tongues are from God, then we should desire to see them exercised privately and in the church.

Tongues as Personal Edification

Regarding the purpose and benefits of praying in tongues, Paul says: “Anyone who speaks in a tongue edifies themselves.” (1 Cor. 14:4 NIV)

In the original Greek, this word literally means: to build as in “constructing houses or temples.” This is significant, individually, and collectively, believers are the building and the temple of God. When we pray in tongues, we are building ourselves up. We are building up the temple of the Holy Spirit. The temple is the place where God’s presence dwells. As we pray in the Spirit, we will become more conscious and more yielded to the presence of God who dwells within us. We will also see greater manifestations of the presence of God through us. Ezekiel writes: “and there was water, flowing from under the threshold of the temple toward the east.” (Ezek. 47:1 NKJ) When we pray in tongues, we make room for the Holy Spirit to flow through us and out of us like a river. This river will bring refreshing to those whom we come into contact with.

Figuratively, the word means to “make more able”, or to “strengthen”. This is also significant. Praying in tongues strengthens us and makes us more able to be used by God.

Hugh Black writes the following instructions for speaking in tongues:

Those of you who have the gift should ‘stir up the gift’ that is in you. In your prayer times speak much to the Lord in tongues. Go through in that realm of the Spirit until you are able to pour your burdens out in unknown languages. Sometimes when you are called to pray for a person, you will not know how to pray as you ought. You can then open your being to the moving of the Spirit, and may know the flooding of tongues coming through you effectively and gloriously. Never become light about tongues – never regard them cheaply, but come under the full control of the Holy Spirit and use them under his power. … Give yourself to your ministry, deepen your gift, let the power of the Holy Spirit flow through you until the glory of God comes with your utterances.

It is important to note that the late Hugh Black was mightily used in evangelism, healing, deliverance and leading people to receive the baptism in the Holy Spirit. I had the privilege of hearing him preach on a few occasions. When the man spoke, there was a deep sense of God’s presence that seemed to accompany his words. God seemed to fill the room. Mr. Black is not giving us some abstract theory, this is a reality that he lived in and ministered in. It’s also important to note Mr. Black’s comments about not treating tongues cheaply or lightly and his call for us to deepen the gift. I have to confess that I have not always held the tongues with the reverence that the gifts of God should be held with. When we move into the realm of the gifts of the Spirit, we are moving into holy ground. Further, Mr. Black reminds us we can deepen our gift, and by doing so, deepen our experience of the gift. Perhaps one of the reasons why so many of us have shelved tongues is because we have not learned to use it to push through into the depths of God. The more we pray in tongues, the more our language will develop and deepen. If we only churn out a couple of words in tongues in church once a week for a couple of minutes, it is no wonder we are not mining the riches of this gift. The riches that come from praying in tongues can ultimately only be discovered by experience. Study alone will not yield its fruits. W.A.C. Rowe says:

One must experience the effective blessing and joyous glory of speaking in tongues to really understand and appreciate the gift. The anointed expression of it is very satisfying to the spirit of the one exercising the gift. Really, no one can fully understand or effectively discuss speaking in tongues who has not entered into the experience.

Extract from ‘Restoring Tongues of Fire’