The KVJ says it this way "teach us to pray". However, I was reading a book by Andrew Murray and he brought out that it should have actually said ''teach us prayer". The disciples had seen miracles after miracles done at the hand of Jesus. Yet they recognized the miracles came as a result of prayer.
I am thankful for prayers that are prayed in my native tongue, English, that I can understand. One of the purposes for Holy Spirit is to help us to pray. He helps us by bringing scripture to our remembrance. He helps us by giving us heaven's language to pray in. I am so thankful and grateful to Father for the gift of heaven's language, praying in tongues.
There are some things that can't be taught. You have to experience and grow in wisdom and understanding. By faith we understand, not that we understand and then have faith. How is it we can trust that our own intellect is smarter than our creator in knowing how to pray?
I don't know about you, but I have come up on some times in my life that I just did not know how or what to pray but I knew I needed to pray.
Let me give you an example. I was hit with something that took me completely by surprise! How could this be happening? This is not the way things are suppose to be going! I had such a gut wrenching feeling that I knew was the Holy Spirit letting me know something was wrong. On the surface nothing seemed to be wrong. I was told "it is just you" and "it is natural for you to be experiencing some emotion". But deep down I knew it was more than what people were telling me.
I kept hearing in my spirit "pray'. Holy Spirit would bring up to my mind an evangelist who had spoken at our church and he talked about how his grandmother had prayed for him. I would hear "pray". Finally one day I said, "I don't know what to pray!"
I heard Holy Spirit say in my heart, "that is why you have me and can pray in tongues."
Now can I tell you I felt like such an idiot! I have known Romans 8:26-28 practically my whole life! Yet at that time in my life it seemed like I had forgotten everything I had ever been taught. Oh, I am so thankful for Holy Spirit! He brings things to our remembrance!
That day was a turning point for me. I took the situation to my Father God and lifted up the need to Him and would say, "I don't know what or how to pray about this situation, but I lift this up to you and I yield my tongue to you to pray your perfect will concerning this". Then I would pray in tongues. I didn't just do this one time. I purposed to pray over this situation daily until I had peace! Well it was over a year long process! But in the end "all things did work together for our good". Praise the Name of Jesus!
There would be different times that after praying I would know in my spirit steps to take and I would take those steps. He gave me understanding. He showed me how to walk the trial out so that we would be victorious.
I could give you example after example of how praying in tongues has caused me to have victory over situations that I know had it not been for the Holy Spirit and the ability to pray in tongues I would not have had.
How is it we can put so much faith in things we are unable to see in the natural? Such as the internet or text messages. Or not to long ago a fax machine (they almost seem to be a thing of the past, don't they?) We believe if we put a piece of paper in a fax machine that it would be transmitted to another person and they would receive an identical copy of the paper we were sending. We can't see the wires that it goes over. We can't see the person (well we use to couldn't) we are sending it to. Yet we believe the fax will work.
Why is it so hard for us to have faith that our Creator would give us a language that we could pray to Him? He who confused the languages at the Tower of Babel is more than able to give Christians a language by which they can now pray in unity with His will. Praying in tongues, enables us to pray the perfect will of God over our lives.
Luke 11:11-13
11“Now suppose one of you fathers is asked by his son for a fish; he will not give him a snake instead of a fish, will he? 12“Or if he is asked for an egg, he will not give him a scorpion, will he? 13“If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?”
We have a good Father, who desires good things for us and who has given us good gifts! There has been misunderstanding as well as misuse about praying in tongues. Praying in tongues was so important that Paul had to give instruction in how to properly use the gift. But it wasn't so the gift wouldn't be used, which is how some have interpreted his teaching.
Review- What have we learned up to this point through this series of teaching?
- Praying in tongues is heaven's language given to us to pray in. Although it may sound like nonsense to us, we are actually praying in an elevated discourse to and with our Father.
- Praying in tongues is used to edify or build us up.
- Praying in tongues is a way to pray in unity.
- Praying in tongues gives us utterance to change things.
- Praying in tongues enables us to pray the prefect will of God.
Is this helping you? If so, I would like to know and hear your testimony. I had thought this morning when I started to write this would be my last blog on praying in tongues. But instead next week I want to look deeper into Romans 8:26-28 with you. Will you come back to study with me?
No comments:
Post a Comment