Praying in Tongues Benefits: What Scripture and This Book Teach

What are the benefits of praying in tongues?

"He that speaketh in an unknown tongue edifieth himself; but he that prophesieth edifieth the church."1 Corinthians 14:4 (KJV)

In my book New Creation, Old Habits I describe four ways God has given you to receive, and praying in tongues is the one I most want believers to understand. The book names several benefits: it builds up your spirit, it prays out the perfect will of God, it waters the seed of your new nature, and it brings revelation of the Word. I tie these together because they all come back to the question the whole book asks, which is how a new creation grows out of old habits.

I want to be clear that these are not rewards for earning anything. Praying in tongues is a way to receive, and it is a gift that builds you up from the inside, so that the seed God planted in you grows heavier than every old pattern trying to hold on.

Does praying in tongues build up your spirit?

Paul gives the simplest definition in 1 Corinthians 14:4, and the word to notice is edify, which means to build up, the way a builder raises a structure. Jude says the same thing in other words when he writes of building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost (Jude 20). Something in you is strengthened, enlarged, and made weightier when you pray this way.

The book also stresses whose prayer it is, because Paul writes, "For if I pray in an unknown tongue, my spirit prayeth, but my understanding is unfruitful" (1 Corinthians 14:14). You are not praying from your soul, with its trained fears and old reactions, but from the part of you that was born again, and each time you do you are building up the very part of you that is meant to lead. I describe the difference between the spirit and the soul on the page about spirit, soul, and body.

How does praying in tongues pray the will of God?

"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 (KJV)

The second benefit the book names may matter even more in everyday life. When you pray in tongues you allow the Holy Spirit to pray through you, and He prays things you could never pray for yourself, because you cannot pray the perfect, step-by-step will of God over your life when you do not know it, and the Holy Ghost does.

This is why tongues matters for breaking old patterns, according to the book. Righteousness and right actions go together, and you cannot live out righteous deeds if you are not following the right path. You can be born again and try to pray everything out of your own strength and still not be living the perfect will of God, because your own strength does not know where the path goes.

Does praying in tongues water the seed and bring direction?

The book teaches that your new nature was planted like a seed, and that it may feel overshadowed at first by years of fear, pain, anger, or wrong desires even though it is real and alive. Praying in the spirit waters that seed, and as your spirit is built up the new nature grows and becomes heavier than the old things that used to dominate your inner life. You begin responding from peace because peace has been built up in you.

It also waters the Word with revelation. To understand the Word the way the Holy Spirit wants you to, you need the Spirit, prayer, and the language of the Spirit, and praying in tongues is part of how you receive understanding beyond the confusion of the natural mind.

I learned the weight of this in a season I write about in Kingdom Productivity, my book coming soon, when for almost a year I had no job and no platform and simply prayed, read, and worshipped in the secret place. Invitations came, and each time I sensed a call to pause with a "not yet," so I stayed put, and when the green light finally came the doors that opened were personal and meaningful. I did not get that clarity by figuring it out, but by building up my spirit until I could recognize His leading, and I still keep a timer on my phone so that I pray in tongues every day.

What if I have never prayed in tongues?

"If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?"Luke 11:13 (KJV)

The book says that if you have not received this gift, you should ask the Father for it, because He gives good gifts and does not want one part of the body of Christ able to edify itself while another part is left without access. If you have received it, the book encourages you to use it daily, since it is not a small thing and not only an emotional experience.

Do not settle for less than what the Father wants to give you. Ask Him for the gift today, expect to receive it, and keep asking until you do, because Jesus tied the promise directly to the asking. When you begin the 21-day plan, pray in tongues on the days it calls for it as soon as you have received, and worship alongside it on the days the plan sets apart for worship. Praying in tongues is not an optional extra in this book; it is the gift that builds your spirit until the seed God planted in you grows heavier than every old pattern trying to hold on.

How often should I pray in tongues, and what if it fades?

The book encourages a daily rhythm, such as fifteen minutes at a set time put in your calendar the way you would a meeting, with shorter times added while driving, getting ready, or walking. It also suggests keeping a note of any clarity, nudge, or "not yet" that comes, because the aim is direction and not a particular feeling. Dave Roberson teaches that praying in tongues also purges the flesh and that it works together with fasting, which is where the book goes next.

If you start consistently and find it fading faster than you expected, the book offers a reason. Going deeper in His presence for longer and more consistent periods opens doors in the spirit that your flesh is terrified of, and your flesh tries to run from what it senses on the other side. That is the moment to keep going and not look back, since it gets easier, and things that you thought were broken off long ago begin to break off of your flesh.

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Keep reading

• Spirit, Soul, and Body: What the Bible Says About the Three Parts of You
• Renewing Your Mind: What It Means and How It Happens
• Habitual Sin: Why You Keep Sinning and How the Pattern Breaks
• The Fruit of the Spirit: All Nine, and Where They Come From