WHY SPEAK IN TONGUES? Part 3 of 4.
The Christian's Three-fold Ministry in Tongues. *Continued.

C. Personal Intercession.
Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities:for we know not what we should pray for as we ought:but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered, And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God. Romans 8:26-27.

Certainly there are matters about which we should pray with the understanding; however, Spirit-filled Christians have been endowed with the ability to make supernatural intercession on their behalf in a manner that is always effective. The above text informs us that as we pray in the Spirit the Holy Spirit is making intercession for us according to the will of God; thus, prayer in the Spirit should always take precedence over praying with the intellect.

The Spirit's intercession is always effective on our behalf because it is in perfect harmony with God's will; so, we should pray in the Spirit about our needs, "for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered."

This does not mean that the Holy Spirit does our praying for us, but that He inspires our utterance in tongues with effective intercession. The Greek term signifies "inexpressible groaning or sighing." It is prayer in the Spirit which cannot be uttered in articulate speech but consists of inspired utterance from the Spirit through us to God on our behalf.

Sometimes even when we think that we know how to pray about some situation or need as we ought, actually we may be asking God to do what is contrary to His will and purpose for us, as we do not always know all the circumstances involved. At best we know only in part; we know only what little we have seen, read about, or learned in school and by experience, and this is extremely limited. We cannot know anything which lies outside our narrow and restricted sphere of learning and experience. For this reason prayer with the mind or intellect is limited only to that which we know--which is very little compared to all that we do not know--even about ourselves.

Thus, when we pray in tongues, even that which we do not know about is being dealt with, and dealt with perfectly according to the will of God. Because of this, and in view of the fact that prayer in the Spirit is always effective, it is much more rewarding to pray in the Spirit about eighty five percent of the time, limiting prayer with the mind to the remainder. The importance of prayer in the Spirit cannot be overemphasized when considered in terms of spiritual power and effectiveness.*

Because of out limited knowledge, we sometimes do not know how to pray about certain situations as we ought. This has been demonstrated time and time again. A man said God gave him a dream in which I saw his daughters lying in caskets. He was immediately awakened, and without understanding the significance of this, he began to pray in the Spirit for them. A short time later they were in a serious automobile accident. They could have easily been killed, but through this intercession in the Spirit they were miraculously preserved.

*We are not referring in this discussion to the prayer of faith regarding the promises of God, since in such cases God has already revealed His will to us in the matter through His Word. The prayer of faith, when we know God's will, is offered with the understanding or mind, specifically stating what we need in simple faith (Matthew 7: 7-8; Mark 11;24)

When Christians pray with the intellect (and there is a time for this of course) the mind selects the needs to pray about, as well as the words and ideas we wish to express. Sometimes, however, especially in cases of serious problems, trials, or needs, we may miss the real need or not understand the will of God in the matter, and, as a result, pray amiss. Moreover, there are times when God purposely does not let us understand too much about the matter so that we are compelled to pray in the Spirit about it, in order that we do not pray amiss or hinder His purpose in some other way.

2. Devotional Ministry to God.
For he that speaks in a tongue speaks not unto men, but unto God: for no man understandeth him; howbeit in the spirit he speaks mysteries. I Corinthians 14;2.

Did you know that God desires for you to minister to Him? In what manner? By adoration, thanksgiving, and praise. He knows the limitations of our finite minds to praise and worship Him effectively with the intellect; thus, He has provided us with supernatural utterance in the Spirit. Every Christian has felt his inadequacy and helplessness to express the praise, thanksgiving, and adoration which well up within his heart.

How many times you have struggled, trying to express with your intellect what you felt in your heart toward the Lord, finally giving up the effort! Sometimes you lament, "Lord, you see what is in my heart, but there just aren't adequate words to express my love and gratitude." This will help to explain why He has given us, through the baptism in the Holy Spirit, the supernatural ability to worship Him in the Spirit by praying in tongues.

No matter how much we may try to communicate our love, gratitude, and praise to God with the intellect, we find that it is impossible for us to express the soul's deepest feelings and emotions in this manner. This is the significance of Wesley's plea in his immortal hymn "O for a Thousand Tongues to Sing My Great Redeemer's Praise." Wesley had experienced the baptism in the Holy Spirit (as did Luther, Moody, Finney, R. A. Torrey, and all the other great spiritual leaders in history), and he refers in his hymn, not to a thousand voices in a church choir singing praises to God, but he is expressing his own desire for such an anointing by the Spirit that he can sing God's praises in a thousand new tongues.

God wants us to minister, not just to others, but also to Him. This is the significance of the statement in Acts 13:2, where we are informed that Paul, with others in the church at Antioch, "ministered to the Lord."

One of the basic reasons God gave us His Spirit today is that He not only wants a church which can pray with power and effectiveness, but one which can also praise Him effectively. Praise through the Spirit is the only way this can be done. Prayer which eliminates praise altogether is not too effective anyway. The prayer of faith will move mountains to be sure (Mark 11:23), but praise will move God (II Chronicles 20:21-24)

The devil will flee if you command him: he will also flee if you praise God! In fact, if you will begin to praise God more, you will find that you will have to rebuke the devil less. God will answer the prayer of faith as He promises (Mark 11:24), but praise will often hasten the answer. A child who asks a parent to meet some need will generally receive what he needs, but the child who mixes some real love and thanksgiving with his request will usually get his answer sooner.

The contemporary church has largely lost its power and effectiveness because it no longer accepts the validity of the baptism in the Spirit and speaking in tongues; and, as a consequence, it not longer has the anointing and spirit of praise. One of the surest ways for a church to lose both its power and spiritual effectiveness is to allow Satan to quench the spirit of praise. Both Israel and the early church knew the secret of effectiveness and victory over Satan--praising the Lord!

The term "Praise" and the command to "praise the Lord'' occur over 200 times in the Scriptures. Why? God tells us in Psalm 50:23: "Whoso offereth praise glorifieth me." Every Christian believes that he will praise the Lord in the age to come, but God wants to hear it now. Thus, the Psalmist declares: "Praise ye the Lord, Praise the Lord, O my soul. WHILE I LIVE will I praise the Lord: I will sing praises unto my God WHILE I HAVE ANY BEING" (Psalm 146:1-2).

Some Christians without the baptism contend that they believe in praising God, but that they do so silently in the heart. However, the Scriptures inform us that "out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh." Thus, if there is true praise in the heart, then it will have to come out of the mouth for all the commands in Scripture are for the vocal expression of praise. God cannot be glorified by so-called "silent praise" any more than a sinner could be saved by a "silent witness."

Anyone should be able to see that the term "silent praise" is a contradiction. The Scriptures tell us that we are to come into God's presence with a joyful noise of praise (Psalm 100;98:4f.); and that we are to do this at all times (Psalm 34:1; 35:28; Acts 2:46-47; Hebrews 13:15).

God wants us to praise Him simply because we love Him; we are to praise Him as an end in itself--not as a means to an end. God is to be praised simply because He is God and deserves to be praised, and not merely because we need something from Him, such as healing, financial help, or deliverance from some problem or trial. Although we should praise Him in anticipation of His provision for such needs nevertheless, if we limit our praise to such times we may find that our needs may not be met.

God will not let us use Him as a celestial Santa Claus. The highest form of praise stems from the purest motives, as can be seen, for example, in the praise of the Psalmist, who exclaims, "Whom have I in heaven but You? and there is none upon earth that I desire beside You" (Psalm 73:25).

God is to be praised for His own sake; He Himself, being God, is sufficient reason for praising Him. Any other reason for which you praise Him--for healing, health salvation, deliverance or for temporal blessing--is simply to be the result of your gratitude for God Himself. He loves His children for their own sake; He needs no reason for loving you other than the fact that you are His child.

This is likewise to be the basis of your love and praise of Him. Your praise is to be free of any selfish motive. You should not wait until the car is bogged down in the mud or snow, or until you are seriously ill, or in desperate need of something. You should praise God at all times as sufficient end in itself, because He deserves your praise and because you love Him for His own sake.

Because of the limitation of the finite mind and intellect, God has given unto His children the supernatural ability to minister unto Him in worship and praise through prayer in the Spirit; for only in this way can the deepest purest feelings, and emotions of the soul be expressed. Those Christians who reject speaking in tongues because they feel that there may be some stigma associated with this experience will certainly never be able to minister to God as He expects. We are informed in Acts 10:46 that it was through this means that the Gentiles were also able to minister to God, "For they heard them speak with tongues, and MAGNIFY GOD" (cf. Acts 2:11; I Corinthians 14:2).

3. Ministry on Behalf of Others.
Why speak in tongues? Because, through prayer in the Spirit we are able to fulfill our responsibility of ministry to others. Praying in tongues is not, as those without the baptism sometimes suppose, merely some exercise for personal edification. It is dispensable if the believer is to be effective in his ministry on behalf of the Body of Christ, as well as to the unsaved. This ministry includes intercession, edification, and occasionally supernatural witness.

A. Spiritual Intercession.
Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints. Ephesians 6:18.

Praying in the Spirit is the means by which the Spirit-filled believer intercedes for himself (Romans 8:26-27). But here in Ephesians 6:18 we see that praying in the Spirit is also a supernatural ministry of intercession on behalf of other saints. The importance of intercession in the Spirit on behalf of others cannot be emphasized too strongly. Just as we see in Romans 8:26-27, that often we do not know how to pray for our own needs as we ought, and the Spirit must make intercession for us, so it is with regard to our prayers on behalf of others. However, as we in faith commit them to the Lord and pray for them in the Spirit, the Holy Spirit makes intercession on their behalf through us according to the will of God. This does not, of course, eliminate all need of prayer with the understanding on behalf of others, but is does insure effective intercession for them, especially in times of trial and need. As we pray in the Spirit for other saints, needs that we do not know about, and which are often more important than those for which we pray, are also dealt with effectively.

The ministry of intercession is of extreme importance, for this is the ministry Jesus chose when He ascended to the right hand of God (Hebrews 7:20-25). By virtue of the baptism in the Spirit and praying in tongues this ministry can also be ours (Ephesians 6:18). As we pray in the Spirit regularly each day, we may not always be aware of all those for whom the Spirit may be interceding, nor what the need may be for which we are praying. However, this is of no real consequence, as prayer in the Spirit bypasses the intellect anyway.

At such times we may be interceding for a loved one who has some real personal problem and is in need of special prayer; we may be interceding for the pastor who is undergoing some difficult trial; it may be intercession for the President or government leaders who are facing a serious crisis and need to make the correct decision; or, as frequently happens, it may be in behalf of someone who is in need of God's help, whom He plans to send to you, or you to them in order to fulfill that need.

B. Edification of the Body of Christ.
Forasmuch as ye are zealous of spiritual gifts, seek that ye may excel to the edifying of the church. Wherefore let him that speaketh in a tongue pray that he may interpret. I Corinthians 14:12-13

By prayer in the Spirit men are enabled to speak supernaturally to God (I Corinthians 14:2); but the ability to speak in tongues also enables God to speak supernaturally to men. Edification of oneself by the devotional use of tongues is a great personal blessing and an important ministry on our own behalf, but by the use of the gift of tongues the believer becomes a minister to the whole Body of Christ. Through the exercise of tongues and the companion gift of interpretation, the Spirit is able to impart revelation to the church for its edification and comfort.

The gift of tongues is available today, as it was in Corinth in apostolic times. Many Christians can speak with divers kinds of tongues (I Corinthians 12:10), not being limited to the single devotional language which is the sign of the baptism. They can and should desire to use this gift for the edification of the church (I Corinthians 14;12-13, 26-27). According to I Corinthians 12:7, every Spirit-filled believer has been given some gift or manifestation of the Spirit. God has set each member in the Body for the purpose of ministering to the rest of the church (12:18-31); therefore, each member must make certain that he does not neglect his gift (I Timothy 4:14), but that he stirs up the gift of God (II Timothy 1:6, and yields himself to the Spirit for the manifestation of the gift. The gifts of supernatural utterance (prophecy, tongues, and interpretation) have been set in the church for its edification and should never be neglected nor forbidden (I Corinthians 12:10,28,31; 14;5,12-13,18,26-27,39; I Thessalonians 5;19).

God did not set any useless or unnecessary gifts in the church. Where the utterance gifts are neglected or discouraged, that body of believers suffers as a result. The preaching of the Word often lacks power and anointing, and there is an absence of real joy and freedom in the praise and worship.

C. A Supernatural Sign to Unbelievers.
In the law it is written, With men of other tongues and other lips will I speak unto this people; and yet for all that will they not hear me, saith the Lord. Wherefore tongues are for a sign, not to them that believe, but to them that believe not. I Corinthians 14:21-22.

Occasionally, speaking in tongues becomes a supernatural sign to unbelievers as we see, for instance, on the day of Pentecost when the unbelieving Jews heard the disciples speaking in tongues and asked: "What means this?" As a direct result of the interest which was aroused because of their hearing this supernatural utterance, three thousand were converted. There are numerous instances in the present-day where the Spirit of God has used supernatural utterance in tongues to convince unbelievers of the truth.

Spirit-filled Christians should not be reluctant about speaking in tongues in public services when unbelievers or non Spirit baptized Christians are present, if the Spirit so moves them. Not infrequently this sign has been used by the Spirit to convict the lost, as well as convince the unlearned concerning the baptism of the Spirit.

For instance, a young woman was prayed for to receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit and she immediately began to speak in new tongues. A woman in the audience later came up to her and said: "Here is my card. If you ever doubt that you spoke a true language by the Spirit, call me and I will tell you that I heard you speaking in Spanish, as I have studied the language. I have been on the fence about the baptism in the Holy Spirit, thinking perhaps there was nothing to it really, and that so-called tongues were just emotional gibberish--but let me tell you I am now fully convinced that all this is genuine!" The sign of tongues is still being used by the Spirit to convict the lost and convince the gainsayers of the validity of a supernatural, Christianity for this day and age. Edited. Shared.
To be Continued.

Lord willing, more will be posted soon. All glory to Jesus alone.