Is Praying in Tongues for Everyone?
Is Praying In Tongues For Every Christian?
Praying in tongues, or praying in the spirit as it is sometimes referred, is a grace gift for every single born-again Christian.
Once you receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit, you have the ability to speak in tongues.
Praying in tongues is a real gift for every Christian.
There is nothing you can do to earn the ability to speak in tongues- it’s a gift from God. You don’t have to wait for it or plead with God to receive it. You receive your prayer language as soon as you receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit.
If you haven’t received the baptism of the Holy Spirit (which is a separate experience from salvation), all you have to do is ask and receive by faith in exactly the same way you received salvation.
It’s very simple. Just ask Jesus for the baptism in the Holy Spirit, then believe you have received. Receiving from God is simple. He wants to give.
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! – Luke 11:13 NKJV
What Does the Bible Say About Praying in Tongues?
Did you know that Jesus Himself was baptized in the Holy Spirit before He performed any miracles or began His public ministry?
When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. – Matthew 3:16 NKJV
The Bible says that praying in tongues is a powerful gift for every child of God.
If Jesus needed the baptism of the Holy Spirit, how much more do we need the Holy Spirit?!
After His resurrection, Jesus told His disciples to wait in Jerusalem and not begin their ministries until they had received the power of the Holy Spirit.
Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high. Luke 24:49
On the day of Pentecost, the disciples who were waiting as Jesus instructed were all baptized with the Holy Spirit, and the evidence was that they all spoke in tongues. This is always the evidence of the baptism of the Holy Spirit!
And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. (Acts 2:4).
The baptism of the Holy Spirit is a baptism of power, and the evidence is speaking in tongues.
Previously, these disciples had received the indwelling Holy Spirit, but they had not received the fullness of His power, and when they did, it came immediately with speaking in tongues!
But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth. Acts 1:8
If you have received the baptism of the Holy Spirit but are not speaking in tongues yet, I encourage you to read How to Activate Speaking in Tongues.
Sometimes our uncertainty or wrong teachings we have received will hinder our speaking in tongues, but this does not mean that the ability is not there!
The ability to pray in tongues always comes with the baptism of the Holy Spirit.
Let’s look in Acts 19 where Paul talks to some believers about the baptism of the Holy Spirit.
And it happened, while Apollos was at Corinth, that Paul, having passed through the upper regions, came to Ephesus. And finding some disciples he said to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” So they said to him, “We have not so much as heard whether there is a Holy Spirit.” And he said to them, “Into what then were you baptized?” So they said, “Into John’s baptism.” Then Paul said, “John indeed baptized with a baptism of repentance, saying to the people that they should believe on Him who would come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus.” When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul had laid hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke with tongues and prophesied. Acts 19: 1-6
Notice that these disciples were already believing on Jesus but were not yet baptized with the Holy Spirit. It is a separate experience from salvation.
When Paul touched them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they all spoke in tongues and prophesied!
All over the book of Acts, we see that when people are baptized in the Holy Spirit, they are given the ability to speak in tongues.
What are Diversities of Tongues?
I want to point out the difference between our personal prayer language that everyone receives upon the baptism of the Holy Spirit and the diversities of tongues talked about in 1 Corinthians 12.
Many people ignorantly use this verse to explain why they believe some people don’t have the gift of speaking in tongues.
Diversities of tongues, as explained in the Bible are different kinds of tongues, which are gifts of the Holy Spirit that He operates at His will.
One kind of tongue like this is when the Holy Spirit wants to give a specific message to a body of believers and it will come with an interpretation. Someone will give the message in tongues and then someone will interpret (see 1 Corinthians 14: 27-28).
There is also a different kind of tongue where a person preaching may speak in tongues and it is heard by the audience in their native language. An example of this is found in Acts 2.
And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. And there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men, from every nation under heaven. And when this sound occurred, the multitude came together, and were confused, because everyone heard them speak in his own language. Acts 2: 4-6
These gifts of different kinds of tongues are still operating today all around the world.
These diversities of tongues are operated by the Holy Spirit as He wills and are different from your own personal prayer language of tongues which you can operate in at any time.
You are in complete control of when you speak in your own personal prayer language. You can start and stop speaking in tongues at your choosing.
For more about this, read The Holy Spirit Will Never Take Control of You: Here’s Why
Other Recommended Articles:
9 Reasons We Need to Pray in Tongues
The Holy Spirit Will Never Leave You: How You Can Be Sure