Growing in the Gift of Tongues
Last night I lay in bed and felt led to practice speaking in tongues. I felt God asked me to pick up one of my prayer journals, read over the entries, and pray over them. I received the gift a few years ago (was at least 51% sure, maybe faith aha) but still had a lot of questions about it, wasn’t sure if I was doing it the right way, didn’t know how to do it more naturally, etc. But I had a fresh desire to try, to connect with God in this way because we had a great discussion at small group the night before.
Last Sunday’s sermon was on the gift of tongues and it was so nice to have this safe space to share experiences, understandings, confusions. And one of my takeaways was that tongues is a language. Some people have the ‘electricity flowing through the body tongues just coming out’ experience, while others develop it more gradually. Some wait for moments where tongues starts to happen, and others try and speak it inviting the Holy Spirit to move. I don’t think any way is better than the other … God knows our hearts and will meet us. If any of you would like to share a story / experience with tongues, please do! I’d love to learn from you.
One of the verses in my journal, that I prayed over, was Isaiah 40:31 which someone spoke over me a few weeks ago. So instead of going through my Bible app verses this morning, I pulled out my study bible and read more about the prophets and then Isaiah 40. And all of these experiences, last night and this morning, have filled my heart with such joy because they’ve been fresh, powerful reminders that our God is so lovely. He is pure love. In the introduction section, the commentary explained “The prophets shared God’s anger and grief, his sense of rejection, and his continuing passionate love for his people. Through the prophets we get a glimpse of the complexity and depth of God’s personality.” Isaiah 40 shows this so well, explaining God’s great mightiness.
Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, or with the breadth of his hand marked off the heavens? Who has held the dust of the earth in a basket, or weighed the mountains on the scales and the hills in a balance? (Isaiah 40:12)
God is so worthy to be worshipped and yet he gave us this chapter to comfort us.
Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her that her hard service has been completed, that her sin has been paid for, that she has received from the Lord’s hand double for all her sins. (Isaiah 40:1)
What an amazing God we serve. He gives us verses, he gives us spiritual gifts all so we can choose to understand him and love him more. Life can make us weary but let’s go to God to receive refreshment. God never grows weary and he promises that those who hope in him will renew their strength. In God, with God, we will soar on wings like eagles and be able to run the race he has for us well.
Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. (Isaiah 40:28-31)
