I was recently reminded of the mysterious power of speaking in tongues, also called praying in the Spirit.

My son awoke up in the middle of night crying from a nightmare. He was inconsolable. I prayed, but nothing happened. Then as soon as I began to speak in tongues, Orion calmed down instantly.

This summer, I got a little kitty and was determined to keep her as an indoor cat because an outdoor cat is a dead cat, usually. She would dart out a few times and I�d promptly retrieve her. Then one day she got out, I swooped down determined to get her back in the house, and the Lord spoke to me loud and clear, �Stop. Let her stay outside�She�ll be OK.�

Then one day last week, I�m worshipping in my office and I see the neighbor�s dog chase my cat. This neighbor has a pack of hunting dogs. I zip outside like a warrior, all angry and protective, ready to annihilate this dog. I see that my cat is up a tree. I grab some rocks and I go after that dog intending to peg him with a few stones. I didn�t really want to hurt him, just teach him not to mess with my cat. As I lift my hands up and take aim, the impulse completely leaves me�no way could I peg this dog! He looked so innocent. The bubble over his head said, �What�s the matter with you, lady? I�m just following my instincts. I see something small and furry and I go after it to kill it. That�s what I�m made to do.�

I say to him, �Don�t come back here! You cannot hurt my cat!�

Then another dog, his buddy, came towards me looking defiant and standing his ground. Then I point my finger at this second dog and, to my total surprise, I speak something to this dog in the Spirit. A rapid firing of non-sense words comes flying out of my mouth. As soon as this thing comes out, the second dog immediately turns his body around and runs in the opposite direction. His buddy follows.

I say repeatedly, "Thank you, Father." The Lord brings to mind a sermon I�d recently heard by Mahesh Chavda about fighting supernatural powers. He says the first thing you need to do is have the good sense to lay down your natural weapons. You need supernatural weapons, the Power of the Holy Spirit, to do battle with every enemy of God.

Mahesh wrote a book called �The Hidden Power of Speaking in Tongues.�

I have heard people in so-called "Spirit-filled" circles that speaking in tongues is truly a communication by our 'Spirit man' with the Lord.

Have others had this sense or experience?

Hi Shasha,

Thank you for the wonderful sharing.

Tongues is a bit of a confusing issue for me. I was once prayed for to recieve the baptism in the Spirit and then was urged by the Pastor to pray in tongues. I did, and as far as I remember it felt good. But then I later became concerned about the charismatic movement and stopped praying in tongues.

Later while at bible college a group of charismatic Christians came to pray for us and the woman praying for me said that the Lord wanted to give me the gift of tongues. As she prayed for me I once again started speaking in tongues. But even then I was unsure as to whether I really was speaking in tongues or simply making up words.

To this day I can speak in tongues whenever I want to, but am never completely sure if I am really speaking in tongues or simply making up words. It is a difficult issue for me as I do desire to pray in real tongues (I have resolved my concerns about the charismatic movement), but am never sure whether I am or not. When I pray in tongues it does not feel especially spiritual or different from praying in my native tongue and I can start or stop as I please at any time. I seldom feel the urge to suddenly speak in tongues as thought the Holy Spirit were forming the words in me, rather I could start speaking even as I write this. I am also unsure about whether they are real tongues as I only say a few words over and over again and I don't seem to be having a real conversation or speaking in real sentences. Then again perhaps all I say is "Praise you Jesus", over and over, which would be perfectly fine.

I don't know, any thoughts or advice .

Dear Jacques,

Hmm...I can't really speak to your particular experiences, except the usual, but profoundly important, suggestion that you simply pray to draw close to God and what you need will just come to you.

I know that for me, praying in the Spirit usually feels automatic. At times, it is fierce and out of control and accompanied by a rush of the Holy Spirit ripping through my body (this energy is not kundalini). To stop the flow of such praying would involve an act of willful rebellion. The 'words' definitely feel like they mean something. When I'm repeating the same thing over and over again and I stumble on a syllable, I immediately correct myself as if I know that there was an error.

Other times, it is more 'mundane,' and I repeat the same 'words' or phrases over and over again in the Spirit, as you describe above. During these times, it simply feels comforting or like I'm needing this thing to focus my mind which might otherwise seek some kind of mental junk.

In listening to others praying in the Spirit, I notice that people do seem to have their own personal 'set' of phrases that they repeat. Other times, I've heard people speak in the Spirit and it literally sounds like a whole language, like they are saying something quite elaborate. One time only, I heard somebody say something in the Spirit and I literally 'heard' the interpretation in English. That was weird!

In the past few months, I've noticed that when I'm praying with others, I always break into speaking in tongues. This happens even in the middle of my sentence!...it's as if the Holy Spirit jumps right in and takes over.

As I write this, it occurs to me that for over one year now, I usually have begun my praying out loud with others with, "Holy Spirit, come and teach us how to pray." hmmm...just realized that...

In general, it is a mystery to me, but I must conclude that praying in the Spirit is a gift, a tool, a form of worship, and a powerful connection with God.

Phil, could you please give us your reflections on this topic, if you don't mind, because I suspect you've had a lot of experience in this area.

much peace to you all,
in our Lord,

shasha

Good topic and sharing. It sounds like this gift emerged more or less spontaneously for you, Shasha, and that it's grown to become more common in your prayer life.

I think the experience Jacques describes is more typical - - that one is open to the gift through laying on of hands in a prayer group, that it's difficult at first to tell if it's the Spirit or your own mind generating the language. In time, the gift grows and matures so you can tell the difference.

Glossalalia has been a mainstay in my prayer life since 1973, when I first spoke in tongues at a prayer meeting. After a few months, it was suggesting itself spontaneously at different times during the day, and I found I could give utterance under my breath. It helped to keep me focused, balanced, and in tune with the Spirit; that's still the case today. Without it, I'm sure the K process would have driven me bonkers (of course, the K might not have arisen at all). It's unquestionably a bridge to contemplative prayer, in my experience, and might even be a specialized form of infused contemplation. I am speaking of glossalalia as a "prayer language," here, rather than its manifestations as an actual language or prophetic utterance.

I have written more on this topic in an online retreat conference I presented a couple of years ago. These conferences are collected in a booklet and can be found at http://shalomplace.com/view/hsbook.html See Chapter 6; you can read it online by clicking the link to the "lite" version (can read but not print).

By the way, Jacques, I think you might really enjoy watching Todd Bentley. He's your age! and he's been to Africa several times for crusades. He's brought thousands of people to Lord Jesus through preaching the Gospel surrounded by amazing miracles. He gives a bit of his life story and a moving call for us all to BE HUNGRY for more of God.

http://www.maheshchavda.com/vi...ARCHIVED_CONFERENCES

Go to Signs and Wonders Conference, Todd Bentley's talks, then slide over to his presentations if you want to skip over the worship part. Also, check out the Prophetic Fire Conference and you MUST hear Bill Johnson's presentations.

Jacques,I know it's hard to make time for 'extra' stuff with a baby at home! But I also know how hungry you are for more of God!... that is a beautiful thing.

Dear Phil,

If you remember from my paper, speaking in tongues just came to me completely by surprise. I had just had a terrifying demonic encounter while I was on the verge of denouncing all Eastern spiritual connections, false gods, and conviction that the Holy Spirit was the same as kundalini. I was sitting in my living room, trembling with fear and cried out to God to protect me from this thing. Without any warning or expectation, these non-sense words came flying out of my mouth. I had never wanted to speak in tongues and certainly never beleived it to be a "gift." In fact, I secretly believed those folks were kindof faking it because they needed to feel special and to fit in.

That was two years ago, and praying in tongues came sporadically. Since early this year, though, it has been growing steadily.

--------------------------------------
I am speaking of glossalalia as a "prayer language," here, rather than its manifestations as an actual language or prophetic utterance.
-------------------------------

Phil, I don't understand why you call it glossalalia. Doesn't this term mean any kind of 'language' that doesn't make sense to anybody. This exists in schizophrenics and it happens to people who come in contact with disembodied spirits and begin speaking their language.

This is maybe just a personal pet peeve, but if we're talking of a prayer language inspired by the Holy Spirit, as distinct from all other non-sense speech, don't we want to use the Biblically-based descriptions?

Anyway, thanks, Phil, for the reference to your teaching on this. I'm looking forward to learning more about your experience.

much love to you and your family,

shasha

Shasha, the term "glossolalia" is the term used in Scripture; it's simply Greek for "speaking in tongues" and is often used to indicate this gift.

Wikipedia has a good general discussion with a few helpful links. The practice isn't limited to Christian spirituality, though what we'd say is that the Holy Spirit is the impetus and guiding intelligence for this kind of prayerful utterance.
- see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glossolalia

Thanks, Phil, for clearing me up on that.

Good to let that pet peeve go!

Shasha:

During prayer I occasionally notice a stirring leading to murmurs of praise which almost reach an overt expression that would probably be Glossalalia, but the infused quiet tends to reabsorb this into something else. So I can certainly see where speaking in tounges would be an expression of a gift of grace already happening; however, in those links you provide, the ministers seem to be assuming this expression is a primary sign of that grace; this I'd disagree with, if I'm understanding them correctly. Perhaps they allow for quiet, but it seemed to me they were all falling rather quickly into Glossalalia, or from the start, which could make it difficult for those who aren't lead to that expression to feel united with others.

Hi w.c.

You write, "...the ministers seem to be assuming this expression is a primary sign of that grace; this I'd disagree with, if I'm understanding them correctly....Perhaps they allow for quiet, but it seemed to me they were all falling rather quickly into Glossalalia..."

I don't really know...I never thought of it this way. I guess I assume Grace can manifest in various way...but maybe I'm misunderstanding your point.

Phil,
Thanks for the link to your on-line retreat on the Holy Spirit. I enjoyed Chapter 6 and will be reading the whole thing. I'm curious, do you know of anyone who's received tongues upon praying the prayer that you've published?

By the way, if you're ever holding a 'live' retreat, let me know.

in our Lord,

shasha

Shasha:

In the prayer group I was in for over a year, there was a real fullness of the Holy Spirit, which I attribute to the company I was keeping and to the promise given to the disciples by Jesus: "Wherever two or more . . . " While the Holy Spirit manifested somewhat differently in each of us, the predominate atmosphere of the group was one of graced "prayer of quiet," with various degrees of simple affectivity opening to this. There was no prescribed approach within the group, other than using Lectio Divina in the group format. On just a few occasions I could feel a murmur deep within me, a moan like Paul talks about, that might have emerged as Glossalalia, but usually returned to the silence of being held in His love beyond my understanding and beyond immediate or intense affectivity.

I've already said this in my first post on this thread, so what I'm wondering is how much of Glossalalia might occur if groups were allowed to take the Lectio format, so that other spontaneous expressions of prayer, all gifts, might have some room. I just get the sense that those not disposed to speaking in tounges might feel drawn to join in so as not to feel left out, which can be a pretty subtle influence, and a psychological drawing into affectivity where the Holy Spirit may be leading toward quieter states of being for receptivity.

Along with this concern, there was on that link you gave us a teaching about staying in the mode of revival continually. Of course, without knowing what they're saying explicitly my comments are possibly misplaced here; but, I have acquaintences that are Pentecostal, and this idea is common among them, which to me seems an attempt to avoid arid periods that could be viewed incorrectly as the person failing in the life of prayer somehow.

Dear w.c.,

Thank you for sharing about your prayer group experience. Do you still attend any kind of prayer group?

I agree with you about the 'subtle influence' that group members may feel in a setting in which there are several who are bursting out into praying in the Spirit. Yes, there is that pressure in groups that some feel as a kind of 'performance anxiety.' It would probably help some folks to have a framework in place allowing them to be in quiet receptivity, more expressive, or however the Spirit moves them to worship.

I don't know what Lectio Divina is, so I'll have to look that up.

You said: "Along with this concern, there was on that link you gave us a teaching about staying in the mode of revival continually. Of course, without knowing what they're saying explicitly my comments are possibly misplaced here; but, I have acquaintences that are Pentecostal, and this idea is common among them, which to me seems an attempt to avoid arid periods that could be viewed incorrectly as the person failing in the life of prayer somehow."

Yes, I see your point. One can use staying in "revival mode continually" as a kind of manic defense, needing to avoid pain and suffering. At the same time, I believe there are people and times in one's life when "we have not because we ask not," which is another kind of defense. This defense may be against experiencing more of the fullness and miraculous Power of God, and perhaps it's owing to some sense of being undeserving or unworthy.

Thank you for your refections, w.c.

many blessings to you!
in our Lord,

shasha

shasha, I do quite a few presentations at Heartland Center for Spirituality, especially with our SpiritLife program. I used to travel and do workshops and retreats all over the country, but haven't done as much in recent years. The last weeekend of this month, I'll be in Tucson at the Redemptorist Renewal Center leading a retreat on Spiral Dynamics, then teaching a couple of classes for their spiritual direction training program. That's about it. I've done several retreats and workshops over the Internet in recent years. See https://shalomplace.org for more info.

As for the circumstances in which people have begun to pray in tongues, I've heard all kinds of ways. One woman told me it happened while she was singing a hymn in the bathtub. A participant on the "Come Holy Spirit" internet series you referred to stated that it happened to her when she followed the steps from Lange and Cushing's book. Usually, it happens during the laying on of hands in a charismatic/pentecostal group. In my own case, it came to me in 1973 while praying with two Spirit-filled friends, one of them our beloved JB. I had been "prayed over" numerous times before, but nothing had happened. I see now that I was focusing more on the prospective emergence of the gift than the Lord, and that was the problem.

w.c. wrote: During prayer I occasionally notice a stirring leading to murmurs of praise which almost reach an overt expression that would probably be Glossalalia, but the infused quiet tends to reabsorb this into something else.

It could be that you're describing a stirring that could take expression as glossolalia, but the Prayer of Quiet is also a good place to be. . . the early onset of infused contemplation, really. In my experience, this is where glossalalia leads; it seems to bridge between active/kataphatic prayer and the Prayer of Quiet or even the Prayer of Union. Although it's often associated with praise or other emotional expression, sometimes there seems to be little affectivity involved.

I've found that it's good to give utterance to this prayer when it suggests itself spontaneously, as, indeed, it does all throughout the day, every day. It calms the mind and awakens contemplative consciousness. I trust myself to it and the work it's accomplishing in me; it's good to not know what the Spirit is doing, and how. Most interestingly, it doesn't interfere with ordinary functioning -- I can drive, walk, etc. while praying in tongues (it's not an ectatic state); the human spirit and its non-reflecting awareness is alive and well.

Phil,

Do you think I should purposefully pray in tongues, even though I am unsure of whether it is self manifested or the true gift. Or do you think I should lay it aside and only pray in that way when I definately feel God urging me to do so?

Jacques, I don't think it would hurt anything to purposefully pray in tongues, if by that you mean to utter nonsensical sounds while giving praise or thanks.

What I'd suggest for people who are open to this gift is to pray for it. Ask the Holy Spirit to show you how to express it, and to prompt you when it's a good time to pray in tongues. Like any other spiritual charism, it grows through exercise, so the more you use it, the more you mature in the gift and learn how it works.

An good resource for better understanding "Speaking in Tongues" is is:

"Tongue Speaking: An Experiment in Spiritual Experience" by Morton T. Kelsey

Kesley is a Christian, Anglican-Priest, and a Clinical Psycho-therapist who studied under Carl Jung.

-Fr Aidan Hix+

Welcome, Fr. Aiden!

Thank you, I'll look into that. I have found a few new authors lately. I'm reading The Ecstatic Journey
by Sophy Burnham. Almost ten years old, but to me she is new and interesting.

Inward groanings can be authentic. Sometimes they can be spiritual indigestion, and glossed over glossalalia. Hard to say,as I fool myself sometimes. I like to run the impressions which I recieve by someone to check for well intentioned unconscious rationalizations.

caritas, mm <*))))><

Father Hix,

I am delighted to make your aquaintance, and do hope
that you won't be shy about posting. I was just over to amazon.com looking over the Morton T. Kelsey reviews. Looks promising, and I have come to expect
synchronicity. No doubt the Holy Spirit is bringing this author to my attention. Many thanks.

I have been praying it the spirit and praising God for you. Again, delighted to meet you! -mm <*))))><

Hello friends,

I was just made aware of an interesting article that came out Nov. 7 in the New York Times called, "A Neuroscientific Look at Speaking in Tongues" using 5 female subjects.

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania used "imaging techniques to track changes in blood flow in each women's brain in two conditions, once as she sang a gospel song and again while speaking in tongues."

The summary statement in this report is that both the frontal lobes and the language centers of the brain were relatively quiet during the tongues condition (as compared to the gospel condition in each subject, I am assuming).

The frontal lobes are responsible for the thinking, willful part of the brain. The language centers (an area in the left temporal lobe in most people), of course, always light up when people use speech. To me, this is amazing. Seems unbelievable that the language centers would not light up during these utterances.

The author, Benedict Carey, states "The amazing thing was how the images supported people's interpretation of what was happening...The way they describe it, and what they believe, is that God is talking through them."

I'm going to have to read the original study if I can find it, and I'll let you know what I think.

much peace to you all!
shasha

Very interesting, shasha. I'm not too surprised by the results, however, as I don't experience glossalalia as a language . . . more as a kind of contemplative murmering. Language as to do with conceptual thinking, which goes on in the cerebral cortex -- especially the frontal lobes. Glossalalia is not that kind of language; there are no concepts being engaged. It might not even be appropriate to call it a language, except maybe a "prayer language."

I don't think it necessarily follows that the lack of activity in the frontal lobes implies some kind of miraculous intervention by God. My good friend, Jim Arraj, believes glossalalia can also be suggested by the unconscious in the interest of maintaining psychospiritual equanamity and homeostasis. This doesn't discount the role of the Holy Spirit, of course, but it does help to explain why we see this phenomemon in a wide array of religious cultures -- even animistic ones.

See http://www.innerexplorations.com/chmystext/cm.htm by Jim Arraj on this topic. Maybe we can discuss some of the points he raises here.

here is the link to that article: A Neuroscientific Look at Speaking in Tongues

http://www.religionnewsblog.co...-speaking-in-tongues