A Gift From God to You!

By Pastor Tim Burt

1 Cor. 14:18 “I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you.”

Have you ever experienced what are seemingly impossible circumstances to overcome while at the same time feeling that God through His word was trying to comfort you and encourage you to trust in Him through faith? Then you are in company with Abraham. God made promises to he and Sarah that were naturally impossible.

Romans 4:18-19 tells us, “When God promised Abraham that he would become the father of many nations, Abraham believed him. God had also said, “Your descendants will be as numerous as the stars,” even though such a promise seemed utterly impossible! And Abraham’s faith did not weaken, even though he knew that he was too old to be a father at the age of one hundred and that Sarah, his wife, had never been able to have children.”

What did Abraham do when God spoke this promise to him? It says “Abraham believed Him.” It says, “Abraham’s faith did not weaken” despite impossible circumstances. That is why Abraham is considered the father of faith.

Great and unwavering faith is pleasing to God and what God responds to. Hebrews 11:6 says, “So, you see, it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to Him must believe that there is a God and that He rewards those who sincerely seek Him.”

We continue to see the importance of faith and the curse of doubt in James 1:6-8. “But let him ask in faith, with no doubting. For he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.”

So now, let’s get real. I want you to think for a moment. How many times have you been in an adverse situation and you have prayed asking God for a miracle only to spill the hopelessness of your situation and unbelief in a later conversation? We so badly want to believe the promise of God’s Word and pray and be in faith, but our head seems to immediately get in the way.

In Mark chapter 9 we read the story of a man whose son has been possessed with evil spirits and is tormented. He begs Jesus to help his son. This man has lived with this situation for many years. Jesus does to him what He tries to do with us – give us hope.

We read: “The evil spirit often makes him fall into the fire or into water, trying to kill him. Have mercy on us and help us. Do something if you can.” “What do you mean, ‘If I can’?” Jesus asked. “Anything is possible if a person believes.” The father instantly replied, “I do believe, but help me not to doubt!” Mark 9:22-24

Haven’t we all been in the role of that man to some degree? We know God can do anything. We want to believe He wants to. But in our prayer for help, like the father we cry “I do believe, but help me not to doubt!”

This is one of the reasons the gift of tongues is such a precious gift. As I began to say yesterday, the gift of tongues is a gift from God. When I pray in tongues, I do not know what I am praying. I am praying in a language I do not understand. But, God understands! It is a mystery to me but not to Him. They become prayers unhindered with unbelief – prayers of faith that God can respond to. 1 Cor. 14:2 says, “For anyone who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God. Indeed, no one understands him; he utters mysteries with his spirit.”

When we know what we pray, it becomes the battle ground of spiritual warfare. The mind is where Satan wages war. He tries to move us into unbelief and doubt. When Jesus was in the desert being tempted by Satan, Jesus resisted Satan by the Word and promise of God. He is our model. We do try to do that but, sometimes it’s a struggle. Sometimes more than others and usually in the mind.

If we don’t know what we are praying but simply become a yielded vessel of the Holy Spirit to pray in tongues, we are told here that we don’t know what we are praying but we are praying mysteries. The Greek word for “mysteries” means secrets. They are secrets to us but not to God. That means God knows what we are praying. We simply don’t. What’s the benefit of that? Satan can’t bring doubt to it because he does not know what we are praying.

Satan doesn’t know but the Holy Spirit does. He is the one that knows our heart and helps us pray in tongues. Romans 8:26 says, “And the Holy Spirit helps us in our distress. For we don’t even know what we should pray for, nor how we should pray. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words.” The Greek word for groanings, means to literally speak unintelligible words – or words that we don’t understand. That is another language or tongues.

The Apostle Paul who wrote three-fourths of the New Testament prayed in tongues more than anyone. 1 Cor. 14:18 says, “I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you.” In 1 Cor. 14:39 he said, “… and don’t forbid speaking in tongues.” What language is tongues? Paul said, in 1 Cor 13: 1 that they are the language of “men or angels.” Tongues is a supernatural gift given to anyone that seeks God for the gift. But, like we started out today examining – you don’t receive anything from God unless it’s in faith and that includes tongues.

The man without pride will admit that his life is filled with circumstances and situations that are beyond his reach and control. God wants us to lean on Him but understands the mental warfare we face. The gift of tongues was a gift given to Christians to help strengthen our faith and prayers overcoming the attacks of unbelief. It is a gift to you! More next time…

If you would like a free book to help you learn more about the gift of tongues, write to: info@lwcc.org giving them your name and address and ask for the book Water, Wind, and Fire. I hope it will be of great blessing to you. I am confident it will help you with questions you may have.

In His Love,
Pastor Tim Burt
http://readfreshmanna.blogspot.com/