February 19, 2025
The Power of Speaking in Tongues – 3 Benefits That Transform Your Spiritual Life
Listen to last week’s sermon: The Power of Speaking in Tongues – 3 Benefits That Transform Your Spiritual Life
In today’s fast-paced world, Christians are constantly seeking deeper spiritual connections and more effective ways to communicate with God. Among the most powerful yet often misunderstood spiritual gifts is speaking in tongues. With an estimated 322-515 million Christians worldwide practicing this gift, it’s clear that this spiritual practice remains relevant and transformative in modern Christianity. Speaking in tongues isn’t just a denominational preference—it’s a biblical gift that has the power to revolutionize your spiritual life. As Pastor Eric explains, “It’s not a Pentecostal thing. It’s not a denominational thing. It’s a biblical thing.”
Why Is Speaking in Tongues Under Attack?
Before diving deeper into the benefits, it’s important to understand why this gift faces such opposition. The enemy actively works to:
- Create confusion about its purpose;
- Discredit its validity;
- Sow division among believers;
- Keep people from embracing this powerful gift.
Why? Because speaking in tongues provides believers with unprecedented spiritual access and power that the enemy would rather keep hidden.
3 Benefits of Speaking in Tongues:
1. Deeper Connection with God in Worship
One of the most profound benefits of speaking in tongues is the ability to engage in pure Spirit-to-Spirit worship. This transcendent form of communication bypasses human limitations and connects directly with God’s presence. Paul specifically addresses this in 1 Corinthians 14:14-15 (NIV):
For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my mind is unfruitful. So what shall I do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will also pray with my understanding; I will sing with my spirit, but I will also sing with my understanding.
This scripture reveals that worship can occur on two levels:
- Natural worship through our understanding
- Supernatural worship through our spirit
When we examine John 4:23-24, Jesus makes a profound statement about worship:
Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.
This passage reveals several key insights:
- God actively seeks true worshipers
- True worship must be in Spirit and truth
- There’s a spiritual dimension to worship beyond our natural understanding
Speaking in tongues provides a supernatural ability to transcend human language limitations. As demonstrated in Acts 2:11, the first instance of tongues in the early church showed people
declaring the wonders of God
in languages they had never learned. This wasn’t random babbling—it was Spirit-enabled proclamation of God’s greatness.
As Reinhard Bonnke eloquently stated:
The language of the Spirit is the language of heaven. When we speak in tongues, it is not just a gift—it is a gateway to worship that connects us directly to God’s presence.
It’s worship that isn’t limited by:
- Your mind
- Your vocabulary
- Your knowledge
It’s worship that flows directly from your spirit, empowered by the Holy Spirit.
2. Effective Prayer Through Tongues
The power of praying in tongues is thoroughly documented in Scripture. Paul specifically addresses this in 1 Corinthians 14:14-15:
For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my mind is unfruitful. So what shall I do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will also pray with my understanding.
Additionally, in Ephesians 6:18, Paul instructs believers to pray
always in the Spirit with all kinds of prayers.
This command comes within the context of spiritual warfare, indicating that praying in the Spirit (tongues) is a vital component of our spiritual armor. Romans 8:26-27 provides a foundational understanding of why praying in tongues is so effective:
The Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.
Three Key Assurances in Tongues Prayer
- Perfect Alignment with God’s Will
- The Holy Spirit knows God’s perfect will
- Prayers are always in accordance with divine purpose
- Eliminates human error in prayer
- Targeted and Specific Prayer
- Not random or meaningless utterances
- Precise spiritual intervention
- Addresses root causes beyond human understanding
- Especially powerful when facing:
- Obstacles
- Giants
- Mountains
- Challenges
- Uncertainties
- Spiritual Encryption
- Direct spirit-to-Spirit communication
- Protected from enemy interference
- Private conversation with God
- As evidenced in 1 Corinthians 14:2: “For anyone who speaks in a tongue does not speak to people but to God. Indeed, no one understands them; they utter mysteries by the Spirit”
When we pray in tongues:
- We bypass mental distractions
- Allow the Spirit to pray perfect prayers
- Build our faith (Jude 20)
- Engage in spiritual warfare effectively
3. Spiritual Edification – Your Personal Spiritual Gym
1 Corinthians 14:4 states clearly,
He who speaks in a tongue edifies himself.
This spiritual edification process works like a supernatural exercise program for your spirit. Just as physical exercise strengthens your body, speaking in tongues strengthens your spirit.
Think of speaking in tongues as going to a spiritual gym:
- Regular practice builds spiritual strength
- Consistency leads to growth
- Results become evident over time
- No shortcuts – requires dedication
Pastor Eric notes,
It surprises me when I see Christians, filled with God’s Spirit and gifted with tongues, who never use it. It’s like having a fully-equipped gym in your basement and never working out.
New Testament Examples
The gift of tongues consistently appears in Scripture connected to the baptism of the Holy Spirit:
- Acts 2:4 – “All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.”
- Acts 10:44-46 – “While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit came on all who heard the message… For they heard them speaking in tongues and praising God.”
- Acts 19:6 – “When Paul placed his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied.”
How to Receive the Gift
- Understand it’s available to all believers
- Desire the gift sincerely
- Ask in faith
- Receive through the Holy Spirit’s enablement
- Begin speaking as the Spirit gives utterance
The power of speaking in tongues extends far beyond its initial manifestation. As a gift from God, it provides:
- Deeper worship experiences
- More effective prayer life
- Continuous spiritual strengthening
This gift, available to all believers, serves as a crucial tool for spiritual growth and connection with God. As Pastor Eric emphasizes, it’s not about denomination or division – it’s about accessing the powerful spiritual resources God has provided for our growth and effectiveness in His kingdom.
Luke 11:13:
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!
Watch sermon here:
