Understanding Spiritual Gifts: The Gifts of Tongues and Interpretation of Tongues… In Under 10 Minutes
WELCOME to Issue #206 of The Seedhead from Alex and Hannah at Dandelion Resourcing - a weekly confidence booster to help you step into naturally supernatural discipleship and mission!
The gift of tongues is the ability to pray or speak in either a heavenly language or a human language that you don’t otherwise speak, and your inspired speech brings glory to God (out loud) or edifies your spirit (if just you). Interpretation is the way that these otherwise unintelligible words can be understood by the church body.
Basically tongues is a form of prayer, albeit one that transcends the language barrier. In 1 Corinthians 14:2 Paul writes, “For anyone who speaks in a tongue does not speak to people but to God. Indeed, no one understands them; they utter mysteries by the Spirit.”
Another way to think of tongues is that it’s a connection of our spirit with God’s Spirit. As Romans 8:16 notes, “The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children”.
In the video we reference Romans 8:26 and Ephesians 6:18, which help us understand some of the reasons why God might have created this gift.
Of course, tongues is the gift that might well be the most controversial, and certainly it can seem the most crazy! Nevertheless, it is something that God has given to us in order to build us up, so we mustn’t be put off by either misuse or misunderstanding. It is part of the all things that we can learn to express decently and in order.
Here’s the video:
Next Steps
If you don’t have this gift, ask God to give it to you. A way to jump-start the process is to worship Jesus and begin in that atmosphere of praise and adoration. Keep your focus on Jesus!
Here are some links to tongues being used in worship. If these aren’t helpful, just ignore them! But you might want to find that place where you are not being overheard, and play one or some of them, and seek to join in with the worship leader, both when in English and when in tongues. Don’t worry about saying the “right” words, as no-one else is listening. To be honest, the goal is not for you to speak in tongues! Instead, the goal is for you to encounter the Lord in worship and to honor Him. Thus success in this exercise is drawing closer to Jesus and loving Him more deeply, whether or not you find yourself speaking in tongues.
Cory Asbury - Always Faithful (Prophetic Song) (around 1 minute 25 seconds in) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dm5Jatw_xNQ
John Mark Pantana - Let My Love (just over 1 minute in) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5NXAypMOq8
Jenn Johnson - Joy Of The Lord (from near the start) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=982z7KRkb7g
Melissa Helser - Catch The Wind (about 3 minutes 20 seconds in) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FBeZwQgWtcA
To learn more about Tongues, The Naturally Supernatural Course has a whole module that will give you strong biblical rooting and simple practical outworking. Look for Part B: Warfare, and start watching Module B1.
*If you enter coupon code gifts24 at the checkout, you’ll be able to purchase all 6 videos in Part B at half-price - down from $49 to $25! This offer is good until August 31, and comes to you with our love!
Tongues is not the most important of gifts, but it can be very personally edifying and powerful in moments of spiritual battle.
If you don’t receive this gift at this time, please don’t stress. Instead, keep your focus on loving Jesus and intentionally drawing closer to Him. The rest is up to the Lord.
With love,
Alex + Hannah
ALEX AND HANNAH ABSALOM
P.S. This autumn we’ll be speaking at Exponential West (in the Bay Area, Oct 22-24) and Exponential Central (in Chicago, Nov 19-21). Find out more here - and if you enter the coupon code holy2024 then you can join our pre-conference for free!
