For he that speaketh in an unknown tonguespeaketh not unto men, but unto God: for noman understandeth him; howbeit in the spirithe speaketh mysteries.1 Corinthians 14:2First off, YES, I do believe in the miraculous Gift of Tongues. YES, I do believe it can be present TODAY, in the modern world, and that it is a Gift of the Holy Spirit -- chosen by the Holy Spirit -- intended to aid in spreading the Gospel message. That it, tongues, is a miraculous gift that is meant to wake up non-believers, a way for God to reach out and shock their eyes open. Yes, I believe it can happen today. And YES, I myself would like to be a part of it. If God wants to speak through me, even if it is in a language I have never learned, I'm all for it. I've prayed for the gift and I am completely receptive to it...
...that being said, let me add on: BUT ONLY IF IT IS FROM GOD. No, I do not want a gift of gibberish that supposedly makes me stronger, if I myself am the one manufacturing it. Even less do I want a gift brought on through delusion. Or one a special gift from evil spirits.And no, I can tell you right now, there is absolutely no Biblical evidence for a "prayer language." I say Biblical evidence. There is plenty of other evidence, however, that DOES suggest a "prayer language," but "however" again, it does not come from God, and neither you nor I should "covet" this kind of gift.The whole idea of a "Prayer Language" is based on this one verse in the entire Bible, 1 Corinthians 14:2. But before we begin to address such things as context, and view the entire scope of the Biblical view of spiritual gifts, the first thing we ought to do is define exactly what in the world is a "prayer language," anyway? (Or, at least, how do practitioners of "prayer language" define it?)About the only Christians who believe in this idea are Charismatics (Word-Faith Movement) and Pentacostals (and generally only the most far-gone, many Pentacostals do attempt to follow what the Bible teaches, as opposed to the "anything goes" attitude of Word-Faith Charismatics). Lately, what with the "infection conspiracy" from such places as Toronto, the whole outrageous fiasco of "slain in the spirit" and "speaking in tongues" and "holy laughter" is infecting mainstream churches all over the world, including Catholic, Baptist, Methodist, and even in one extreme church in New York, Seventh-day Adventist. The virus is offensive, and no, I do not think it is a "righteous invasion of truth;" actually, I think it is the blatant opposite.In a nutshell, "prayer language" is defined as a gift from the Holy Spirit that is available to all Christians who have been "baptized by the Holy Ghost," and it is a language that no one can understand, least of all you, yourself, and supposedly not even the devil can understand it (despite the fact that he was originally an inhabitant of heaven, and we'd think he could communicate with the other beings in heaven), and that's the point, because you can pray in this secret gibberish, and the devil is foiled, and the Holy Ghost edifies you, and you become a stronger Christian. And Christians who do not have this ability?Well it's simple, they don't have the Holy Ghost -- or maybe they do have the infilling, but not the fire, not the baptism. In reality, they are not up-to-snuff Christians (and, maybe, most likely, they are not Christians at all!). Generally, Christians who do not have a "prayer language" are "second-class Christians." If you haven't quite understood my definition as delienated here, a popular Word-Faith teacher describes "prayer language" as this:"It's a way for God to talk to Himself."This definition might sound as if I'm making "prayer language" sound stupid, kind of building a physically/mentally challenged strawman, so that I can later in this study rip it apart, but the fact is, this is exactly how people who believe in this phenomenon describe it. People like Benny Hinn and Jesse Duplantis. Even Hank Hanegraaff employs the Bible verse above to accept tongues as an "in-house debate" (but one we shouldn't separate over, Hank is always quick to enjoin -- debate it, and debate it vigorously, but please, keep sending him money!). Hank calls "tongues" a "vertical line of communication, between God and man," from this one verse, taking the intent of the verse completely out of context. Hanegraaff denies that tongues is a miraculous gift given distinctly for the purpose of spreading the Good News. He claims it is a way for a believer to "equip himself."When read in context, the whole chapter of 1 Corinthians 14, it becomes more than readily apparent that Paul is not switching between different kinds of tongues; he is speaking about the same kind throughout the chapter, and is adamant that spiritual gifts are for building up the church (edifying it) and NOT for edifying the solitary person. It is evident that Christians in Corinth were misusing their spiritual gifts, primarily that of "speaking in an unknown tongue," to show off to other believers, that many Christians were jumping up all over the church and gibbering away so that the church sounded like a mad house (which, not ironically, is all the rage today, unfortunately, there is no Apostle Paul to tell them to knock it off).Moreover, the modern manifestation of gibberish that "Bishop" Clarence McClendon and Benny Hinn and Rod Parsley and others of the "Word-Faith" Movement display (show off) is accomplished in the following manner (and you be the judge if this is how the Holy Spirit operates):Method #1:Close your eyes, open your mouth, and startmaking noises. Don't try and make any specificwords, don't even shape the noises comingfrom your mouth. Very soon, sometimes a littlelonger, something will take over, and a verydiscernible language that you do not know,perhaps not even a language of this Earth,will begin to issue from your mouth. This is"praying in the spirit."Method #2:A group of "anointed ones" stand over youwhile you kneel in their midst, or you can sitin a "hot seat" as they gather around you,lay their hands upon you, and they all prayin their "prayer language." Sometimes theywill yell at you, cast out demons from you (that you never knew you had), and they willdemand that you begin to pray, but not withyour mind, but with "your spirit," and oftenthe group about you will grow angrier andangrier until you finally find your very own"prayer language." They will blow on you,making snatching gestures in front of yourface, and then pretend to throw somethingon you. This, they say, is "prayer language."Does this sound like the method of the "Holy Ghost?" Imagine similar occultic practices to gain other "gifts of the Spirit," like, well, how about teaching? Can you imagine people surrounding you, yelling at you, until you are suddenly able to teach others? Or what about wisdom, they all pray over you until you suddenly get smart? The Bible tells us that not everyone gets the same gift from the Holy Spirit, and yet the practitioners of the gibberish manifestation maintain that everyone that claims to be a Christian should and must have this gift.For I would that all men were even as Imyself. But every man hath his proper giftof God, one after this manner, and anotherafter that.1 Corinthians 7:7Just as each of us has one body with manymembers, and these members do not allhave the same function, so in Christ we whoare many form one body, and each memberbelongs to all the others. We have differentgifts, according to the grace given us. If aman's gift is prophesying, let him use it inproportion to his faith. If it is serving, let himserve; if it is teaching, let him teach; if it isencouraging, let him encourage; if it iscontributing to the needs of others, let himgive generously; if it is leadership, let himgovern diligently; if it is showing mercy, lethim do it cheerfully.Romans 12:4-8 (NIV)But people involved in these practices usually know that what they are doing is not Biblical -- but they feel that this is okay (doing things not authorized by the Bible, or things blatantly anti-Biblical), because others of us who do not practice these things, it is because we do not "have revelation." And to these people, a "revelation" that you receive today can contradict the Bible, negate the Bible, supersede the Bible to establish completely new doctrine (that "revelation" received today is more valid than dead words written thousands of years ago).Tongues -- and yes, the very same "tongues" as mentioned in Verse 2 -- is a means of reaching out to people, with the Gospel, to be understood, a way for the Holy Spirit to reach out to an unbeliever through a Holy Spirit-filled Christian! A perfect example of this is found in Acts 2:3-11 (also Acts 10:46). Yes, in EVERY case, the intent of tongues is to reach a non-believer!Wherefore tongues are for a sign, not to them thatbelieve, but to them that believe not: but prophesyingserveth not for them that believe not, but for themwhich believe.1 Corinthians 14:22You cannot justify Verse 22 with Verse 2 if what Paul is speaking about here is a mystery "secret language" to bring believers closer to God! Tongues are to be used in public, not in private, for spreading the Good New to those that do not believe. For a step-by-step commentary on these chapters in 1 Corinthians, please see my study on Fruits. But this verse, 14:22, really ends the discussion on whether or not "speaking in tongues" is a proof of being filled with the Holy Spirit, or whether or not it is a proof of actually being a Christian! For the pure, unadulterated truth, read 1 Corinthians 12, the whole chapter, it will prove to be an eye-opener. It is very clear, the Holy Spirit decides and distributes the gifts, we do not choose which ones we receive, we don't manufacture them as in the illustration above. It is by the will of the Holy Spirit, not our own will. Exhaustively, the Apostle Paul ends Chapter 12 with the rhetorical questions:Are all apostles? are all prophets? are all teachers?are all workers of miracles? Have all the gifts ofhealing? do all speak with tongues? do all interpret?But covet earnestly the best gifts: and yet shew I untoyou a more excellent way.1 Corinthians 12:29-31The Apostle Paul asks the rhetorical question and the Christian is to provide the answer: a resounding NO! Obviously, not all are apostles, not all are prophets, not all are teachers, not all work miracles, not all have the gift of healing, not all speak in tongues, not all interpret! But the "Word-Faith" Movement, and the Charismatic Movement, and many branches of the "Pentacostal" denominations teach exactly the opposite. Why? I think you know the reason. If they teach something contrary to scripture, they are not following Christ. They are following "another christ." It is important to consider Spiritual Gifts, and what God expects of those that are given gifts, and what those gifts are for, and how they should be employed:God has given gifts to each of you from his greatvariety of spiritual gifts. Manage them well so thatGod's generosity can flow through you.1 Peter 4:10That all must speak in tongues when the Bible teaches something completely different -- this is a deadly commandment of men. Don't believe it, don't accept it, and study it out in the Bible. Don't accept slices of the Bible -- read God's Word in context, and pray for understanding.Yet in the church I had rather speak fivewords with my understanding, that by myvoice I might teach others also, than tenthousand words in an unknown tongue.Brethren, be not children in understanding:howbeit in malice be ye children, but inunderstanding be men.1 Corinthians 14:19-20Dramatic Parables - over 70 FREE dramas!
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