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Purposes of Tongues
By Randy Hurst
Three dramatic signs accompanied the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost: a rushing mighty wind, tongues of fire and speaking with other tongues. The wind and fire were not repeated in Acts, but speaking with tongues continued to occur when people were filled with the
Spirit. Praying in tongues has several purposes in the life of the Spirit-filled believer.
1. Confirmation. Speaking in tongues is the first outward sign of the Holy Spirit baptism. This is found in Acts 2:4 and also in Acts 10 and 19. Acts 10 is especially instructive, because Luke records that what convinced the Jewish believers that the Gentiles had received the gift of the Holy Spirit was that they heard them “speaking with tongues and exalting God.”1
2. Adoration. Our finite minds are incapable of comprehending and our own language is inadequate to totally express our hearts’ worship to God. Speaking in tongues, in what many refer to as a “prayer language,” frees us to communicate to God the worship of our hearts that we could not express in our limited vocabulary. Having been a missionary and being able to worship in more than one understood language, I still run out of words. But when I pray in tongues, the Holy Spirit bears witness with mine that the worship of my heart that I could not adequately express has been communicated with the Spirit’s help.2
3. Edification. Praying in the Spirit edifies — “builds up” — in two ways: It edifies the individual who prays in the Spirit, and if interpreted, it edifies the church. Paul stated that he spoke in tongues more than all of the Corinthians, yet he admonished them that in the church setting tongues should be interpreted so that all could be edified.3 This does not restrict the private use of tongues for personal edification, because praying in tongues builds up the believer spiritually.
4. Intercession. “The Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should.”4 When we pray in the Spirit, we are enabled to pray beyond our understanding, and God uses us to work His purposes in the lives of others through the ministry of intercession. Paul said, “With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints.”5
All Scriptures are from the New American Standard Bible [unless otherwise noted]
1 Acts 10:46
2 1 Corinthians 14:15-17
3 1 Corinthians 14:3-9
4 Romans 8:26
5 Ephesians 6:18
Randy Hurst is commissioner of evangelism for the Assemblies of God.
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