Creflo Dollar - Five Reasons to Pray in Tongues - Part 1
We're going to talk about five reasons to pray in tongues daily. Five reasons to pray in tongues daily. I think I'm pretty sure at saying what I'm about to say. I don't think there's a day that goes by where I don't pray in tongues. And there is something very powerful that happens, and I want to dive right into this so I can make sure... I don't know if we're going to be able to finish but I want to give you as much as I possibly can. Five reasons why, maybe one of these reasons can motivate you to receive tongues and to begin to pray in tongues, amen?
So number one, the first reason to pray in tongues on a daily basis is because praying in tongues or praying in the Spirit, remember the last teaching I told you that praying in the Spirit is not just praying silent prayer. Praying in the Spirit is praying in tongues according to 1 Corinthians chapter 4, in verse 2. So praying in the Spirit of praying in tongues opens the door to deeper intimacy. Praying in tongues opens the door to deeper intimacy.
Now, that's what we've been talking about these last several weeks, how to go from prayer to communion. And communion, it involves intimacy. It involves intimacy. And I believe that praying in tongues will give you deeper intimacy with God. I know it happened to me. I begin to pray in tongues and the level of intimacy that I experience with God, you know, I'm opening up and letting God in and he's opening up and letting me in. And I'm seeing things about him and he's seeing things, he's already known 'em, but he's seeing things about me willingly. And it goes from some religious prayer to, "Man, this is my friend, hey, can I talk to you about this"? Or "what do I need to do about this"? And then he immediately responds. "Well, you know you need to do this, and you may not be aware of this, but you're putting too much attention in there, and you're any walking around cluttered". And I'm telling you, praying in tongues will increase and open the door to deeper intimacy.
Now, I want to read 1 Corinthians 14:2, but this time I want to read it out of the Message translation because we're talking about, you know, how praying in tongues increases intimacy. You know, every marriage should have intimacy. I think that it's so important that we don't get into false intimacy, and in this case, religious intimacy. And look what he says here in 1 Corinthians 14:2 in the Message. He says, "If you praise him in the private language of tongues, God understands you but no one else does, for you are sharing intimacies just between you and him". Isn't that powerful? Let me read it one more time. He says, "If you praise him in the private language of tongues, in the private language of tongues, God understands you but no one else does, for you are sharing intimacies just between you and him".
And remember, this is a communion that we are after. We are after communing with the Holy Spirit. And so, by praying in the Spirit, by feeding on God's Word, and even what I do sometimes, I read God's Word and just pray in the Spirit after I finish the Scripture. And you know, pray in the Spirit throughout my Bible study time because there may be some nuggets that I'm missing while I'm reading the words, you know? By praying in the Spirit and feeding on God's Word every day, you will intimately connect, you will intimately commune with God, and begin to converse and talk. That's a special time. It's a special time. And you do this throughout the day. Remember not just a set time only but throughout the day. You know how special it is to be somewhere and the Spirit of God just talks to you and lays something on your heart? That's what happens, I believe when you spend time speaking in tongues and praying in tongues.
So here's the second reason that we are to pray in tongues on a daily basis. Number two, praying in tongues, praying in the Spirit, watch this, it produces peace within. Ah, I know this for a fact. I know this for a fact. When you pray in the Holy Ghost, it produces peace. You can be in the middle of crazy stuff, but if you'll just step aside somewhere and start praying in the Spirit, it takes the stress and the pressure of life or a circumstance or situation, and it brings calmness and it brings an ease into your life as you pray in tongues. I used to rely and still today on this a lot when things would come up and just crazy things will be going on, and you know, just in the middle of a trial or tribulation where my soul was being bombarded. And then I'd just start praying in tongues and then I'd find myself praying in tongues for two hours. I wasn't planning on praying for two hours but it was like the more I prayed in tongues, the more peace I had.
And when you pray in their Spirit, and you pray in tongues, you will produce peace within. You know, here's what the Bible says about peace in Galatians chapter 5:22 in the New Living Translation. He says, "But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: he produces love, joy," watch this, "peace, he produces patience, kindness, goodness and faithfulness". The Holy Spirit does. And when you're praying and communing with the Holy Spirit, you're going to produce some fruit, and you're going to bear witness of that fruit.
Now, true peace ladies and gentlemen, is God's peace. You know, the world can't produce this peace. True peace is God's peace. True peace is stability in the midst of difficulties. Stability in the midst of difficulties. Are you stable in the midst of hard times? Are you stable in the midst of challenging times that happen in your life? True peace is stability in the midst of difficulties. It's security in the midst of turmoil. And so, it is the ability, this peace that comes from praying in the Holy Spirit, it's the ability to remain mentally, emotionally, and spiritually and physically calm and collected in all dimensions of your life. The ability to remain mentally, spiritually, physically calm and collected in the midst of problems that go on in your life.
Look at what John, I think John chapter 14, verse 27 in the Phillips Translation. He says, "I leave behind with you, peace. I leave behind with you, peace; I give you your own peace and my gift is nothing like the peace of this world". So Jesus says, "My gift of peace, don't even try to compare to what the world calls peace". He says, "Don't even compare to that". He says, "You must not be distressed, and you must not be daunted". And I'm telling you, spending time praying in tongues and praying in the Holy Spirit, it allows you to access this kind of peace that shows up in your life. And the world thinks that they can really talk to you about peace. No, not the peace that has been gifted to us by God and has been given to us by God.
Also, look at Colossians chapter 3, verse 15 in the Amplified Bible, he says, "Let the peace of Christ [the inner calm of one who walks daily with Him]," so let the peace of Christ, the inner calm, he describes this in this translation, "the inner calm of one who walks daily with Him". You know, I believe that every Christian needs to begin to believe God for spirit of ease and a spirit of calmness, especially in the midst of turmoil. That really exemplifies our holiness that when they're not calm, we are, you see. And so he says, "Let the peace of Christ be the controlling factor in your hearts [deciding and settling questions that arise]," wow. "To this peace indeed you were called as members in one body [of believers]. And be thankful [to God always]".
You know, you just have to do this. I mean, I don't know the day or the time when I just made my mind up, "I'm just not going to live like the world". You know, a lot of people are trying to be saved and still trying to figure out how to get a little world in there. It ain't nothing out there for you, it really isn't. You think it's fun until the consequences of that comes up in your life. And then you see there's just so much greater things here and we're surrounded by just drama. I mean reality shows full of drama, social media full of drama. And if you get engaged into that, that stuff's going to rob you of peace and it's like, you're stressed out over a stranger. It's just doesn't make sense to me. And there has to be this decision that you make that, you know, "God's got something a lot greater. and I want to what he has".
And I realize, you know, I might be a little weird because I just choose not to participate in this. I might be a little weird because I choose not to have, you know, social media apps on my phone. I don't know, I don't want, I'm not dogging people who have social media apps on their phones, but for me, I don't want to hear what somebody's saying about me or nothing like that. I wanna stay away from that, I wanna stay in the peace of God. I don't want to get involved in somebody's drama. I just want to stay in the peace of God, and that's a choice that you have to make. But Colossians 3:15, this really ministers to me. He says, "Let," you let. In other words, that's going to be a decision. You're going to have to decide to do this. "You let the peace of Christ [the inner calm of one who walks daily with Him] be the controlling factor in your hearts [deciding and settling questions that arise]".
I want the peace of God to help me to decide whether or not I need to take this job, whether or not I need to do this situation, whether or not I need to go to this country, whether or not I need to make an investment here. I want the peace of God doing that. I don't want to be caught up in such drama and have my mind and my spirit just filled with so much noise and so much clutter, I can't make the right decision. And so, you know, he says, "To this peace, indeed you were called as members in one body [of believers]".
I've been called to this peace. Every Christian has been called to this kind of peace. Every Christian has been called. A calmness in the midst of difficulties? And we're right now living, we live in a very difficult world right now and I want calmness. I do not and will not and have decided not to be caught up into that. As much as it's within me to do that, I just want the peace that I've been called to; not the peace that the world calls peace, I want the peace that I've been called to. And then he says, "Be thankful [to God always]".
You know, I just believe that's the will of God. I believe that no matter what is going on in the world, what is happening in my life, what is going on in my relationships, I just, there is something supernatural that's released when you can be thankful to God. Not for the bad things that are going on but be thankful to God always. And so, if you go to the doctor and the doctor says you have cancer, you going to say, "God, I just thank you for revealing this to me early, and I thank you that by your stripes I'm already healed. And I thank you that you already took care of this cancer on the cross of Calvary 2000 years ago, and I thank you, Lord, that I walk in the favor of God and the comfort of the Holy Ghost". That's just how I do it. That's how I do it.
And when I'm tempted to get involved in some kind of gossip, I catch my mouth and say, "Now, hold on. In the name of Jesus, I bless this person. I bless this situation". You know, the Bible says, you know if you love life and if you want to have a long life and see good days, just make sure that your mouth is not speaking guile or speaking lies, or you know, you can speak lies by repeating another lie. And I want the peace that I've been called to. And praying in tongues helps you to stay in that right place where you can walk in that place of the peace that you been called to. And then look at this Scripture real quick.
You know, I believe that the primary way the Holy Spirit leads us into God's perfect peace, and God's perfect will, think about that, that the Holy Spirit can lead you into God's perfect will for your life, is through a sense of peace within. Through a sense of peace that's on the inside of you, I believe God takes that and uses that to lead you in the perfect will of God for your life. I don't think you're going to really find the perfect will of God for your life when you're cluttered and when you're not operating in that perfect peace. I think the Holy Spirit really leads us through that peace, that sense of peace that's on the inside of us.
Look at Romans 8:16. He said, "The Spirit", it uses "itself," but the Holy Spirit is not a "it," he's a "him". You know, and you know that's, and I won't get into that. Anyway, he's not a "it," okay? "The Holy Spirit himself beareth witness with our spirits, that we are the children of God". Now, that's a peace that I have within. "I'm a child of God. I'm a son of God. I'm heirs of God, joint heirs with Christ Jesus. I'm the righteousness of God. I've been set free. I live under God's grace". And through that peace of who you are and what the Word says, he can now use that peace, that sense of peace, to take you to the will of God for your life, amen.
Now, let's go to the third, the third reason to pray in tongues. Number three, praying in tongues unlocks the mysteries of God. We saw that, talked a little about that in our last session, that praying in tongues unlocks the mysteries of God. See, you got to understand this, you got to understand, and you got to be willing to come to the place where you can admit, there's a whole lot I don't know. There's a whole lot I don't know. I don't care how many degrees you get from college. You can have so many Ds after your name, you can sing Dixie. "Dee, dee, dee, dee, dee, dee, dee, dee, dee". I don't care, that doesn't matter, because you're never ever gonna know more than God where this life is concerned. It can work and it can work with great joy, and great prosperity and great happiness. But it may not work based on what you know but based on your relationship with God, and your trust with him, he'll begin to open great things up to you.
I'll never forget when the Lord, I was sitting at my desk at home and the Lord said, "Life is the sum total of who you spend it with". Well, I'm like, "And"? But it just dawned on me, "Wait, wait, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, life is not you and the whole world. Life is a sum total of who you spend time with". In other words, maximize the time that you spend with those that are in your inner circle and quit letting your mind and spirit be exposed to drama. I used to say this, I still say it, "If it costs you your peace, it's too expensive". If a relationship that is toxic, costs you your peace, it's too expensive. But praying in the Spirit will unlock mysteries of God. Only when you don't, you know, you can't go thinking you know more than God.
And I'm shocked at the number of people, Christian people, who have been saved for a minute, and they know what they know, but there are things that I knew for 20 years and found out later on, it wasn't quite right. And I made my mind up instead of me just getting on something and hanging on to it, just 'cause I've known it for 20 years, I didn't want my traditional understanding to make the present Word of God of no effect. So I decided I'm just going to be a student of grace and I'm just going to be in the position of learning. I think that's the most powerful place that a person can be. Always maintain the posture and the position of learning. And so, you know, I know I went right to a little right on that, but the praying in the Spirit of God unlocks the mysteries of God.
Let me show you something, I never thought about this until I read this the other night. Matthew chapter 13, and verse 11 and 12. Look at this, Matthew 13:11-12. God wants to unlock mysteries in your life. What's the mystery to having a successful, happy, loving, intimate marriage? What's the mystery of being able to have all your needs met all the time, the mystery of being able to hear from God, knowing that he's not trying to keep something from you? But he says, "Ask and you will receive; and knock on the door will be answered". I mean God wants to give it to you more than you want it. What's the mystery behind that? I want to know how to tap into these things that I'm not aware of, and you know, I'm going around talking about, "Well, I don't know". Well, God wants you to know.
You see, the great thing about being a Christian and having relationship with the Holy Spirit, is that what you don't know, he can make you aware of. He wants you to know it. Look at this, Matthew 13, in verse 11 and 12. He says, "He replied, 'You've been given insight into God's kingdom. You know how it works. Not everybody has this gift, this insight.'" He calls that insight "gift". God wants to give you gifts of insight. He says, "It hasn't been given to them. Whenever someone has a ready heart for this, the insights and understandings flow freely. But if there is no readiness, any trace of receptivity soon disappears".
Now, I'mma read that one more time because it sounds to me like God is saying, "Dude, you need to be in a position to want this and ready to receive this". He said, "He replied, 'You've been given insight into God's kingdom. You know how it works. Not everybody has this gift, this insight; it hasn't been given to them. Whenever someone has a ready heart for this, the insights and understandings flow freely,'" when they have a ready heart. There's a lot of people don't have a ready heart. They don't have a ready heart to receive these insights. Is that's what I'm saying, get your heart ready. You know, show God, "I want it. I want to receive this insight, it's a gift". "But if there is no readiness in your heart, any trace of receptivity will soon disappear".
I don't want that to happen, I think it's happening in our world. I think that people are just saying, "Oh, the Bible is a dumb book and I don't want to have nothing to do with God and I don't want to have nothing to do with the Bible. And you know, it is what it is," and all that kind of stuff. And he says, "Where there is no readiness, any trace of receptivity will soon disappear". I don't ever want to get to that point in my life where I'm not ready to receive the unlocking of a mystery in my life, the unlocking of the mystery in my life. Communication with God involves speaking and it involves hearing. And so, not only do I speak the mysteries of God according to 1 Corinthians 14:2, but I'm ready to hear some unlocking of mysteries in my life.
Look at Ephesians chapter 1, and verse 17 through 19 in the Phillips Translation. Check this out, "That God, the God of our Lord Jesus Christ and the all-glorious Father, will give you spiritual wisdom and the insight to know more of Him," wow, "that you may receive the inner illumination of the spirit which will make you realize how great is the hope to which He is calling you, the magnificence and splendor of the inheritance promised to Christians, and how tremendous is the power available to us who believe in God". Dude, that says it all. I mean, that says it all. God has so much he wants to reveal to us.