Bert Farias wrote another stellar article on speaking in tongues for Charisma. In the first half he explains about a season the Lord led him to pray more in tongues. It happened to be during the early months of 2002, when he was teaching at FIRE School of Ministry.
I was in my second semester, and I had not had Brother Bert as a teacher until my second year. But that semester I had a class with Brian Parkman called Principles of Faith and Prayer. For that class our required reading was the book The Walk of the Spirit, The Walk of Power by Dave Roberson.
A lot of us got turned on to praying in the Spirit from reading that book around that time.
I never knew this was also a season of intensity in this practice for Bert, who I would go on to form a better friendship in my years after graduating from FIRE (I was kinda scared of him while was there — we laugh about that now).
Bert’s endorsement of my book, Nine Lies People Believe About Speaking in Tongues is on the cover of the book, and Brian co-wrote a chapter in the book, and the appendix on how to lead someone in the baptism in the Holy Spirit is actually an updated and modified version of a hand out he gave us in that particular class.
Anyway, here’s a portion of the article. Go straight here and read the whole thing:
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One meaning of “edify” is to build, organize and order. When I began to pray in other tongues at length I was building, organizing and ordering my life in the Spirit while edifying myself. I was accessing certain mysteries of my life and calling, and God put me on the fast track because of the time spent praying forth those mysteries. My understanding, however, was unfruitful until the interpretation of it came in these documents. Wise ministers and saints will build their lives and ministries this way.
There is an organization and an order in the Spirit that come as a result of the leading and direction of the Lord that you receive through prayer especially praying in other tongues. The apostle Paul also penned these words: “I thank my God I speak in tongues more than you all. Yet in the church…” (1 Cor. 14:18-19a).
As the principal writer of the New Testament, Paul’s private use of speaking in tongues was his key to revelation knowledge and to his understanding of the mysteries of God. The same applies today. Time spent praying in other tongues will give you the needed wisdom, knowledge and understanding of God’s more perfect plan for your life.
Praying in tongues is both a purifying fire and a devouring fire. As you pray in other tongues, the fire of God will devour your works of wood, hay and stubble while at the same time purifying your works of gold, silver and precious stones. This will save your works at the judgment seat of Christ and cause you to enter into a sure reward.
How does this happen? It happens through the interpretation processes of revelation and precise instruction from the Holy Spirit. The Bible says we should pray to interpret our heavenly language of tongues (1 Cor. 14:13). The key is to locate the channel by which the Holy Spirit speaks.
Most Christians have a difficult time distinguishing their spirit from their intellect. Your conscience is the voice of your spirit. The Holy Spirit is more closely associated with your conscience than your intellect. As you pray in tongues, you are praying from the channel of your conscience through which the Holy Spirit speaks.
Our problem is that we are more accustomed to looking for God’s voice in our intellect. Our intellect is generally an unsafe guide because it is usually clouded with a mixture of the world’s thinking, where much of our decision-making is based on our best interests. Most Christians have a difficult time hearing from God, because their soul which comprises much of their intellect, is clouded with self, mingled with the world and yet has some Word in it.
Praying in other tongues will broaden the channel by which God speaks. In my case, I prayed so much in other tongues that eventually those tongues seemed to turn to English at times, and the Lord began to give me revelation and instruction concerning my life and ministry.
Praying in tongues also aligns your heart with the motives of Jesus Christ, especially as you spend time meditating on the life and words of Jesus in the gospels. This will strengthen your conscience. The conscience will then translate those motives into thoughts and order your soul in it through the revelation and instruction you are receiving from the Holy Spirit. The Spirit’s purpose is to re-align your soul with the motives of Christ so He can begin to make a real bond-slave out of you. That is real character transformation which is what the Lord is after.
It is time to double up and triple up praying in other tongues and to get the order and organization of your life and ministry from the Spirit of God. Let Him speak to you and give you clarity.
One of the main themes that has been woven into my preaching and writing over the years has been the great desire of the Spirit to save ministers and saints from dead works and laboring in vain. There are certain admonitions in Scripture that have very strong application toward ministers (Mat 7:21-23, 1 Cor 13:1-3, 2 Cor 3:12-15, James 3:1-2). We must pay very close attention to these. To whom much is given much is required.
It is my earnest prayer that the Holy Spirit will use this testimony and the book below to enlighten you and save your works from being burned so that you will receive the Lord’s reward for your labor on that day.
Read the rest of the article here: Why Every Preacher Should Embrace Praying in Tongues.
