Spirit's Guidance Through Tongues

1 John 5:14-15 “Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.  (15) And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.” 

The second reason our prayers of understanding go unheard is that they often fall outside the will of God. In the scripture quoted above, the Holy Spirit tells us that if we ask the Father for anything in accordance with His will, He hears us. Conversely, the same passage teaches us that if we ask the Father for anything outside His will, He does not hear us.

When I say that God does not hear such prayers, I do not mean that He becomes temporarily deaf. Rather, it means that the Lord chooses to ignore those prayers and does not answer them.

2 Corinthians 12:7-9 “And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure.  (8)  Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me.  (9)  And He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness." Therefore, most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.”

To illustrate that the Lord chooses to ignore certain prayers offered outside His will, we can look at the apostle Paul as an example. In the passage of scripture quoted above, Paul prayed to the Lord three times about the same issue. On the first two occasions, the Lord completely ignored Paul’s requests. On the third occasion, the Lord finally explained why He would not grant Paul’s petition. Essentially, the Lord told Paul that his request was outside the will of God.

The background to this incident is that Paul was called by God to be the apostle to the Gentiles. To equip Paul for this role, the Lord decided to give him more revelation about the mysteries of the gospel than any of His other apostles. However, this abundance of revelation posed a danger to Paul, as it could lead to pride; because regarding the mysteries of the gospel, Paul would know more than anyone else. And we know that pride was the sin that caused Lucifer’s fall (1 Timothy 3:6).

To counteract the temptation of pride, the Lord permitted Satan to assign one of his angels to Paul, allowing the angel to persecute Paul as he wished. From the beginning, the Lord informed Paul about this plan, telling him how much he would suffer for the sake of the gospel (Acts 9:16). Over time, however, the persecution became difficult for Paul to endure, and he prayed to the Lord to remove the angel.

Finally, the Lord explained to Paul that the angel would not be removed because doing so would go against His will for Paul’s life. Instead, the Lord taught Paul to rely on His strength, which would be made manifest in Paul during his persecutions.

This account demonstrates that even the apostle Paul, in his natural understanding, did not always know how to pray according to God’s perfect will. It is no wonder Paul expressed gratitude for praying with his spirit more than others, as praying in tongues always aligns with God’s perfect will.

1 Corinthians 14:4-28 “He who speaks in a tongue edifies himself, but he who prophesies edifies the church.  … (27) If anyone speaks in a tongue, let there be two or at the most three, each in turn, and let one interpret.  (28) But if there is no interpreter, let him keep silent in church, and let him speak to himself and to God.”

One who speaks in other tongues builds themselves up in their spirit, becoming stronger in their spirit man. It is highly beneficial for a believer to grow strong in spirit. Remember that our Lord Jesus, during His time on earth, also grew strong in spirit (Luke 2:40). Weak Christians have weak spirits, while strong Christians have strong spirits.

All believers enter the kingdom of God as babes in Christ, and it is our spirits that are born into the kingdom as spiritual infants. Therefore, our spirits must grow and mature in Christ. One effective way to enable this growth is by praying in the spirit. Why is this so? Because our spirits understand the language they are speaking.

When we pray in tongues, only our minds remain unfruitful, but our spirits are edified as they hear what the Holy Spirit gives them to pray to the Father. The scripture mentioned above explains that when we speak in tongues, we are not only speaking to God but also to ourselves. The "ourselves" referred to here is our spirits.

The Bible teaches us to desire the pure milk of God’s Word so that we may grow thereby (1 Peter 2:2). Every word uttered in tongues feeds our spirits with the pure Word of God, causing them to grow stronger each time we pray. The same scripture also tells us that we edify our spirits when we speak in tongues. The term “edify” means to build up, emphasizing the strengthening effect praying in tongues has on our spiritual growth.

Jude 1:20 “But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit.”

The scripture quoted above also speaks about building ourselves up in our most holy faith as we pray in the Spirit. The Bible teaches that faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God. Therefore, for our faith to grow, we must hear the Word of God.

When we speak in other tongues, we are speaking the Word of God in a language we cannot comprehend with our understanding, but our spirits understand it perfectly. As a result, not only do our spirits grow stronger when we pray in tongues, but our faith is also increased at the same time.

There is no doubt that speaking in other tongues strengthens our spirits and simultaneously increases our faith. Thus, Christians who frequently speak in tongues have a significant advantage in their spiritual walk in this life.

Romans 8:14-27 “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.  … (16) The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, … (23) Not only that, but we also who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body.  … (26) Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.  (27) Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God.” 

Galatians 5:18 “But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.”

One of the greatest blessings of the New Covenant is the assurance that we can be led by the Holy Spirit in every area of our lives. The Holy Spirit teaches us this truth in the passages of scripture quoted above. It is the express will of God the Father that all His children learn to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit, who guides us in every aspect of life. This includes both our spiritual walk and our natural walk, as God is deeply interested in every part of our lives, not just the spiritual.

How does the Holy Spirit lead us? In the first passage quoted, scripture reveals that the Holy Spirit bears witness with our spirits that we are children of God. This shows us that the primary way the Holy Spirit leads us is by bearing witness with our spirits about the Father’s will for our lives. The Holy Spirit dwells in our spirits continually, never leaving us, and He always knows the Father’s will for every situation we encounter.

In fact, the Holy Spirit knows every situation we will face long before we encounter it, as our Lord Jesus taught that the Holy Spirit will show us things to come (John 16:13). If we follow His leading, He will prepare us for what lies ahead by revealing these things in advance. The Holy Spirit is in constant fellowship with our spirits, and He withholds nothing about the Father’s will regarding our lives. As a result, our spirits always know what to do in every situation.

The question then arises: how do we bring the knowledge already in our spirits into our understanding so we can act on it? One effective way is by speaking in other tongues. In the first scripture quoted, the Holy Spirit closely links His leading with His intercession through us, described as groaning in the spirit. Praying in tongues and groaning in the spirit are similar, as both emanate from the Spirit.

How does speaking in tongues bring spiritual guidance into our understanding? When we bring a situation before the Father in prayer and begin to pray in tongues about it, thoughts will arise in our minds from within our spirits concerning that situation. These thoughts often include perspectives or solutions we had not considered before. These insights are God’s counsel, showing us His will for the matter at hand.

This process may not happen instantly; in most cases, it requires persistence in praying in tongues over a period of time until those thoughts begin to surface. Continue praying until they do. When they emerge, you will recognize God’s guidance because it will likely involve ideas or directions you had not previously considered. If it aligns with something you had already thought about, it serves as God’s confirmation that your thoughts are on the right track.

In either case, you will experience an inner peace that affirms this is God’s will for your situation. With this assurance, act on what you have received and experience the leading of the Holy Spirit as God intended for His children.

Michael E.B. Maher

Holy Spirit Encounters

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