Glosario de arabismos del reino de Granada

Here is an important fact about the value of speaking with tongues:

although speaking with tongues is the initial sign or evidence of the Holy Spirit's infilling, continuing to pray and worship God in tongues helps us to be ever conscious of His indwelling Presence. This one benefit alone is bound to affect the way we live.

In John 14, Jesus talked about the Holy Spirit's abiding Presence in the lives of believers.

JOHN 14:16-17

16 And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may ABIDE WITH YOU for ever;

17 Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him:

but ye know him; for he dwelleth WITH you, and shall be IN you.

It would behoove us to stay conscious of the Holy Spirit's divine, holy Presence in our lives, for He is ever abiding with us and living within us.

I heard an evangelist give a testimonial along this line a number of years ago that was very helpful. It helped me understand this particular benefit of praying in tongues, so I've used it as an illustration ever since.

The evangelist related an incident that happened when he was staying with a pastor and his family in the parsonage while holding a meeting in their church. The evangelist said, "I usually took a one-hour walk after the noon meal to get a little exercise.

Then I'd come back and get ready for the evening service. But on this particular day, I had some letters I needed to write and mail, so I went to my room first. My plan was to take the letters to mail when I went for a walk later."

The pastor and his wife had only one child, a 12-year-old daughter.

This daughter didn't know their guest was still in the house; she thought he was out taking his afternoon walk as he normally did. So when something happened to make her angry with her mother, the young girl threw a temper tantrum and talked ugly to her mother.

Just about that time, the evangelist came out of the bedroom and into the living room. When the daughter looked up and saw their guest

standing there listening to her tantrum, she turned white and started to cry. She wept, "Oh, forgive me, forgive me! I'm so sorry you saw me act this way and heard me speak like this!"

The evangelist took the young girl by the hand and led her over to a chair to kneel down. Then he said, "Well, I forgive you. But there is a Greater One on the inside of you Who also heard you. And if you'll repent, the Lord will forgive you too."

So the girl repented and began to weep and pray, "Lord, please forgive me."

After a while, the girl started praying and worshiping God in other tongues and got over into the Spirit. Then the evangelist asked her, "Do you often pray in other tongues and worship God like that?"

"No, not often," she answered.

"Well, I want you to promise me something. I want you to pray in other tongues every day from this day forward. I'm not talking about rattling off a few words in tongues. I want you to take time to wait before God and pray in other tongues for at least 30 minutes a day.

"If you'll do that, it will help you become more conscious of the Holy Spirit's Presence on the inside of you, and it will affect the way you live. When you're conscious of His indwelling Presence, you're not going to fly off the handle and lose your temper anymore." The young girl tearfully agreed to pray in tongues every day.

Of course, we all know born-again, Spirit-filled people who lose their temper and say a lot of things they shouldn't. But that doesn't need to happen. Believers act in the flesh because they're not conscious of the Holy Spirit's abiding Presence within them.

About two and a half years later, the evangelist returned to this church to hold another meeting. The young lady was now about 15 years old. After the service, she took the evangelist aside and asked, "Do you remember what you said to me when you were here a few years ago?"

"Yes, I do."

"Well, I've done what you told me to do," the girl said. "Every single day I pray at least 30 minutes in other tongues. And I want you to know that I haven't talked ugly or lost my temper one single time since then—not with Momma or anyone else!"

Praying in tongues on a daily basis helped this young girl become more conscious of the Holy Spirit's indwelling Presence, and it affected the way she lived.

The same thing can happen to us when we make a daily practice of praying in tongues. There are many things we wouldn't say or do if we were more conscious of the Holy Spirit's Presence in us.