Speaking in Tongues and Receiving the Holy Spirit

Speaking in tongues is important, because it’s the only evidence of receiving the Holy Spirit. Out of 4 occasions when the believers received the Holy Spirit in the Acts of the Apostles, thrice they spoke in tongues (Acts 2:4; 10:44-46; 19:6).

Receiving the Holy Spirit is important. As such, we must pray diligently for Him. But if our focus is just to tick a checkbox to say we speak in tongues, then not only are we neglecting the importance of the Holy Spirit, we may be looking down on this precious spiritual experience meant to benefit you. 

How Speaking in Tongues Helps You

First, God gives us the ability to speak in tongues so that we can speak directly to God (1 Cor 14:2). It may be gibberish to us. But the Bible tells us clearly that tongue speaking is our intimate connection to God that no human being can understand.

Next, the Holy Spirit helps us express our heart’s deep struggles. You may not have the right words, yet when you kneel down to pray in tongues, the Holy Spirit makes it easier for you to tell God what you mean. Or maybe you learn even more about yourself in that prayer.

That’s the Spirit Himself praying for you, expressing to God your groanings too deep for words. After all, He searches us and knows us really well (Rom 8:26-27). 

Beyond this, as we speak in tongues, the Holy Spirit prays for us according to the will of God. I imagine this spiritual battle: In our stubbornness, we pray for God to lead us into temptation… but the Holy Spirit pleads in tongues for God to protect our souls. 

That is why speaking in tongues edifies ourselves (1 Cor 14:4). As the Spirit of truth and our Helper, the Holy Spirit reminds us all things that Jesus has said to us (John 14:26). I’ve experienced how as I pray in tongues, suddenly a verse that answers my predicament comes to mind. 

It’s God’s wonderful mystery: we don’t understand, literally, what the tongues mean, yet we feel spiritually nourished.

More fundamentally, when I was younger and struggled to believe that God is real, I used to walk around my school and pray to God quietly in tongues. I knew I wasn’t faking my tongue movement. It was a tangible experience that edified me greatly in my doubts.

Finally, tongues help us preach. Tongue speaking is a sign for unbelievers that God is real. Or at least, it helps them realise that a spiritual world exists (1 Cor 14:22). If you struggle to preach to your friends, invite them to church so they can witness this sign—or even receive the Holy Spirit if God wills! 

What is your attitude to praying in tongues, and how will you appreciate it more today?

Note: Tongue speaking is also meant to benefit the church as it is a spiritual gift, though this refers to preaching in tongues. It by no means contradicts tongue speaking as being the evidence of receiving the Holy Spirit.