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One Good Reason To Pray In
Tongues by Charlie Rogers After several years being in the ministry with many hours in prayer along the way, I begin to notice many things that happened. Things that I went through and things that others went through along the way. These things usually happened after a season of somewhat intensive prayer and the pattern was always the same. People would come to me or to others around me and make proclamations unto God, usually proclamations that depended on obedience. All these were made with good intentions of following through. Please understand when it comes to finances and labor we have some partners in the ministry that have not backed off of their proclamations and have supported the ministry for years. It hasn’t mattered what the devil threw at them. I have been amazed myself at times the pressure they were under to quit doing what they knew God told them to do, but yet they continued carrying out their obedience through good times and bad. But, I can even remember myself saying I am going to do this or I am going to do that, knowing most of the time that God had laid this particular thing on my heart to carry it through. I know you can identify with what I am saying when I say, all went well for a period of time, then one thing or another in the form of circumstances would come up to detour me off what I knew that God wanted and expected me to follow through with. I can’t tell you how many times I was essentially told that God changed His mind. When all along it was I who changed my mind or let the circumstances dictate whether I followed through with and obeyed God’s will and instructions. Many times people will start out with a relationship with God and a prayer life like a gangbuster, full speed ahead only to seem to hit a dead end. Not only can this be emotional things and fleshly things in our life that the enemy uses to detour us off what God wanted, but it can also be spiritual things from wrong teachings by men and false doctrines we picked up along our path in life. Regardless of the reasons or what the devil uses to stop someone, this is what is happening. When we make a big proclamation of obedience to God and what He wants us to do and then we then stop doing it, we are being stopped in carrying out a part of the plan of God for our life and receiving His blessings. When people get stopped or detoured in this act of obedience they are deceived into thinking they followed through and then find themselves asking God what do you want me to do next when they never completed the previous task of obedience. It is then that part of our testimony before God is ruined. Of course it does help to hear God in the beginning before making a proclamation of obedience. Always remember we can find our answer in the Word of God, in this case it is found in; Jude 20-21, But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, 21 keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. NKJV He is telling them here the reason that kept them from being dictated to and conformed to by their emotions like others was from praying in other tongues, praying themselves above those things. That praying in the spirit built up their faith in God and not in their senses or soulish realm of their life. Not only did praying in other tongues help them in that area of their life, but if you were to read and meditate the entire Book of Jude you would find that false teachings and doctrine had come into the early church. Jude 12-13 These are spots in your love feasts, while they feast with you without fear, serving only themselves. They are clouds without water, carried about by the winds; late autumn trees without fruit, twice dead, pulled up by the roots; 13 raging waves of the sea, foaming up their own shame; wandering stars for whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever. NKJV When we pray in other tongues we turn ourselves over to the Holy Spirit for change. A good example is like when climbing a ladder and when we climb the ladder we leave the ground behind. When we pray in other tongues we build ourselves up in God like faith and we leave things behind. Things left behind like emotional strongholds, and religious strongholds. Of course, it does help to read the Bible in this process. So just remember when you stand before God and everyone and make a particular proclamation of obedience. Start following through with it all the way to the end, all the while staying in prayer. Stay close to God and know that the devils only hope is to take something concerning spirit, soul and flesh in your life to stop your obedience, ruin your testimony and keep a blessing of God from you. Keep praying in the Holy Ghost and don’t stop no matter what the economy or the government does, when you get tired and discouraged, pray some more, follow that obedience until God says your done! What you are tomorrow is determined by what you do today whether it be in the bad times or the good times. |