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In my last post, I shared my personal story with the gift of tongues as well as three basic forms of tongues we see in Scripture. In this post, I’m highlighting a few key nuggets on tongues from 1 Corinthians 14.

Paul’s Teaching on Tongues

1 Corinthians 14 is a gold mine of Paul’s teaching on tongues. Let’s look at this chapter and dig out some of the nuggets that can strengthen your prayer life as you engage in the gift of tongues. (In this section I’m going to focus mostly on private tongues, although these certainly apply to public tongues as well.)

1. Tongues is speaking mysteries in the Spirit.

“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… For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays but my mind is unfruitful.”
(1 Corinthians 14:2, 14)

Tongues is an intimate and precious way to cut through the mental traffic and connect directly with God. It’s speaking past our minds, directly from our spirits, which is filled with the Holy Spirit. Our mind/flesh/soul is still in the messy sanctification process, but our spirits have been fully justified and made holy and righteous before God. Tongues is a pure overflow of that deep and sacred place inside you where the fullness of the Holy Spirit lives.

One of the questions I want to ask God someday is, “What on earth was I saying all those times?” I really hope He has it written in a book somewhere. Paul says I am uttering “mysteries in the Spirit,” probably even things that with my conscious understanding I would never know or think to say.

2. Tongues builds up the speaker.

“The one who speaks in a tongue builds up himself…”
(1 Corinthians 14:4)

The spiritual gifts are for the building up of the church. Guess what–you’re part of the church! When you pray in tongues, you’re encouraging and strengthening your own heart. I don’t know how often I’ve been in a funk and started praying in tongues, and within a few minutes, I’m feeling much better. It’s like activating a spiritual muscle that stirs up my spirit to take precedence over my mind and emotions. Whatever “mysteries” I’m declaring in the Spirit, they’re pulling me right out of my funk as I declare truth and come into alignment with God.

To say it another way, tongues is sometimes like a lubricant on my heart. It’s like my heart is a rusty gear mechanism, and tongues is the oil that gets worked into the joints and helps it work smoothly. After a while, I feel much more tender and connected and ready to pray for whatever’s next.

Corey Russell likes to get a room praying in tongues together and always says, “Press in! Just a few more minutes!” and is famous for his “few more minutes” meaning anything from two to twenty minutes. He likes to say, “The breakthrough comes at twenty minutes!” I don’t know if I want to be so scientific about it, but I know the Spirit usually touches my heart far more after twenty minutes of tongues than after two!

3. Tongues is a gift to be grateful for.

Tongues is not any kind of elitist benchmark to prove your spirituality. The fruit of the Spirit is far more important than the gifts of the Spirit. (Why do you think 1 Corinthians 13, the love chapter, is right smack dab in between 1 Corinthians 12 and 14, the spiritual gifts chapters?)

But it is indeed a gift, and God only gives good gifts. It’s okay to want His gifts. It’s good and right to desire the gift of tongues, and to be grateful for its activity in the Body.

“Now I want you all to speak in tongues, but even more to prophesy… I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you.”
(1 Corinthians 14:5, 18)

This is remarkable! Tongues isn’t just a side curiosity within the Body. Even as he’s emphasizing the gift of prophecy as superior to tongues (because prophecy strengthens many, while private tongues strengthens only the individual), Paul is not shy about saying that he wants everyone to speak in tongues. Even more radically, he claims to speak in tongues more than anyone, and he’s glad of it!

Don’t miss this: this is Paul, the humble apostle, who was determined to boast in nothing except the cross of Christ (Gal. 6:14), borderline boasting about how much he speaks in tongues. Wow! He must have really thought it was something powerful.

4. Tongues can be sung as praise.

“What am I to do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will pray with my mind also; I will sing praise with my spirit, but I will sing with my mind also.”
(1 Corinthians 14:15)

Paul says that he sometimes sings praise with his spirit, which is contrasted with singing with his mind and is a direct reference to singing in tongues. I often include singing in tongues as part of my own private worship expression, interspersed with singing words I understand.

I love that God invites us to worship Him through the mysterious gift of tongues. Some of my most precious and intimate times of fellowship with the Holy Spirit come when I sing in tongues.

5. Tongues must not be forbidden.

“So, my brothers, earnestly desire to prophesy, and do not forbid speaking in tongues. But all things should be done decently and in order.”
(1 Corinthians 14:39-40)

Paul summarizes his teaching on tongues by reminding the church that prophecy and tongues are both incredibly valuable, and so is order. He knows that some people will want to react to the weirdness of tongues by banning the whole thing. Rather than going to that extreme, he encourages the church to establish healthy culture and boundaries that allow all of the gifts to flourish in a way that brings strengthening and encouragement to all.

I hope you have a spiritual community that makes room for the gift of tongues! If you don’t, it’s okay; choose humility and honor for your leaders and practice praying in tongues on your own or with like-minded friends. Remember, “the greatest of these is love.” (1 Cor. 13:13)

If You Don’t Pray in Tongues

Paul, who said “I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you,” (1 Cor. 14:18), also said that he would only boast in the things that show his weakness (2 Cor. 11:30). Tongues really is the simplest and weakest of the gifts. It’s something that you either have or you don’t, and you can’t work up in any way. It doesn’t really take any maturity or wisdom, just an initial spark to get you going and then a little bit of faith to believe that this gibberish is actually of God.

So if you don’t pray in tongues, don’t look down on yourself and don’t look up to those who do. God gives gifts according to His sovereignty, although He encourages us to ask Him for His good gifts. By all means, ask Him for this gift, ask others to pray for you, and put yourself in places where it’s flowing freely.

Remember, God is probably not going to force your jaw open and yank the words out of your mouth. You don’t become a puppet when you start speaking in tongues. It does take active partnership; at some point, you gotta open your mouth and let it out! As I shared before, in my first experience, I was praying gentle words of love to God in English, not really thinking about what I was saying, and the tongue just came.

That’s my primary practical tip if you’re pursuing the gift of tongues: relax, set your gaze on Him, and open up your heart by praising Him with whatever language you have. If He releases the gift of tongues, great! If not, you’re not any less spiritual. Focus on loving Him with whatever gifts He’s given you, and continue to ask Him for more of Himself in any and every way.

Book: The Glory Within

Personally, no one has impacted me more on the subject of tongues than Corey Russell, whose ministry I had the privilege to be in close proximity to for four years in Kansas City. His book The Glory Within is all about the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit and the deep things that are accessible to us through the gift of tongues.

The Glory Within resources:
First three chapters free
Amazon
CoreyRussell.org (also find study guide, video series, and other related resources)
Short teaching videos from Corey on Youtube