with Bob Condly
Tag

tongues

Fruitless on Purpose

By Bob Condly
July 9, 2021
(https://www.cru.org/content/dam/cru/train-and-grow/spiritual-growth/spiritual-warfare-header.png )

Last week I left out a verse from my post about fruitlessness because I ran out of room! Also, the verse covers a different subject than the others did, so it makes sense to treat it in a separate post. 

All the verses in the previous article were negative. (We looked at Matthew 13:22, Mark 4:19, Ephesians 5:11, Jude 12, Titus 3:14, and 2 Peter 1:8.) Jesus, Paul, Jude, and Peter all warned disciples about the dangers of an unfruitful life. 

So we would expect this final verse to be likewise adverse to fruitlessness. And it does come across that way.

Kind of.

Let’s start by reading the whole passage in which it occurs.

So it is with you. Since you are eager for gifts of the Spirit, try to excel in those that build up the church. 13For this reason the one who speaks in a tongue should pray that they may interpret what they say. 14For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my mind is unfruitful. 15So what shall I do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will also pray with my understanding; I will sing with my spirit, but I will also sing with my understanding. 16Otherwise when you are praising God in the Spirit, how can someone else, who is now put in the position of an inquirer, say “Amen” to your thanksgiving, since they do not know what you are saying? 17You are giving thanks well enough, but no one else is edified. 18I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you. 19But in the church I would rather speak five intelligible words to instruct others than ten thousand words in a tongue. – 1 Corinthians 14:12-19

In this part of his letter, Paul’s trying to straighten out how the Corinthians exercise spiritual gifts in their gatherings. Chapter 12 introduces an array of gifts, but chapter 14 focuses on two or three: tongues (and the interpretation of tongues) and prophecy.

The issue is intelligibility. Christians who pray in unknown tongues (human or angelic languages; see 1 Corinthians 13:1) build themselves up even if they don’t understand what they’re saying. Their spirit communicates with God in direct fashion, bypassing the mind. When believers pray or sing in the Spirit, the Holy Spirit expresses Himself through them to God. And that’s a blessing even if we don’t grasp the meaning of our own words!

Paul doesn’t oppose what Pastor Jack Hayford has called “the beauty of spiritual language.” By engaging the Father in this fashion, our spirits become fruitful.

But our minds don’t. At least not at that moment.

When we speak in tongues, neither we nor anyone around us comprehend what’s going on. It’s a spirit-based activity, but the mind is on hold. That is, unless we or someone else interprets the words.

The apostle promotes the personal value of spiritual language. But in social settings, he has a different opinion.

Sandwiched between two chapters about spiritual gifts (chapters 12 and 14) lies one of the most famous passages in the Bible–Paul’s ode to love (chapter 13). Gifts are powerful and can suffer abuse, but love will keep them in line. It provides the proper motivation and the right direction. Inspired by the love of Jesus, we will use the gifts of God’s grace to bless others. 

When we’re alone, we can attend to our growth in Christ by praying with our spirits and with our minds. That way, we cover all the bases! But with other believers, we should esteem their welfare more than our own.

One of the ways we do that is by communicating the will of God to them in ways they can understand. This might not look spiritual to those captivated by charismatic experiences, but it pleases the Lord. And isn’t that our top priority?

So is praying in tongues worth it? What’s the value of an unfruitful mind? If we can discipline our minds to remain at rest while our spirits converse with God, we grow in Christ. We train ourselves to be still in His presence even as our spirits are active. And when we do this on a consistent basis, we find the Holy Spirit giving us a depth of self-control we never imagined.

God’s not hostile to our minds. He created us to explore, think, and learn. But when we follow Jesus, we will discover the kingdom is more than we can take in. The times and occasions when we put our minds at rest we open ourselves to the working of His Spirit. The fruitlessness of the mind is only temporary; the fruitfulness of our spirit lasts forever.

Because love lasts forever.

Praying in the Spirit

By Bob Condly
January 29, 2016

Praying in the Holy Spirit 2

(http://www.artforsabra.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/person.jpg)

(This is the fourth [and probably last] installment in the prayer series. Here are the links to the first, second, and third posts.)

What does the phrase, “praying in the Spirit” mean? I hesitated writing this post because I couldn’t come up with a tidy answer. I talked to the Lord about it (you could say I prayed about prayer!) but nothing came to me. Yet, God began to deal with my question by answering some prayers. In doing so, He shed light on what the Bible teaches about this blessing.

I’ll explain by interpreting “praying in the Spirit” three different ways and will illustrate each with an account of how the Lord answered such prayers. I don’t present these as inflexible categories but rather as something for you to ponder.

Mind

In Ephesians 6:18, Paul directs Christians to “pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests.” I suspect that the apostle has in mind here intelligent prayer. That is to say, he’s probably referring to communicating with God in one’s native language.

For most Pentecostals and charismatics, the term “praying in the Spirit” is synonymous with speaking in tongues. But I have a hard time imagining Paul insisting that Christians pray in tongues constantly. Rather, I get the impression that he’s reminding believers to pray about any and every situation they face. Nothing’s beyond the Lord’s ability to hear and answer.

At the worship service last Sunday, my wife and I prayed with some congregation members for a lady undergoing a test for cancer. An intimidating request, but we prayed in faith. Only a few days later, they emailed me that her test showed no cancer; this sister in Christ was clear! Praise God!

Does this qualify as praying in the Spirit? I’d like to think so. I believe that the Holy Spirit helped us intercede for a godly lady and I give Him credit for the fantastic results!

Heart

Now consider praying in tongues. In 1 Corinthians 14:14-15, Paul seems to identify praying in tongues with praying in the Spirit. As you talk to God in a language you don’t know, your mind may not be engaged but your spirit is active. You have a direct line to the heart of God (see 1 Corinthians 14:2).

Years ago, when I was driving back home from a day of seminary classes, I decided to pray in tongues as a way to make productive use of my long commute (about an hour). After a few minutes, I felt my prayer intensify, as though the Holy Spirit were compelling my speech.

When I arrived at the house, my roommate told me that a friend of ours had called to let us know that his mother had passed away. I’m convinced that I prayed for my friend during that entire drive home. My mind may not have understood what was going on, but my spirit, under the authority of the Holy Spirit, interceded for a hurting soul. That’s the love of Jesus in action!

Gut

Finally, praying in the Spirit doesn’t even require words. According to Romans 8:26, the Spirit Himself prays on our behalf with “wordless groans.”

I’m about to switch health insurance plans, and if you’ve ever done that, you know how complicated things can get. I’m an insulin-dependent diabetic, so occasionally I have to order supplies for my insulin pump. In the past, I’ve had little trouble placing an order over the phone and getting the supplies shipped to my house within a week.

But not this time. Because it was the beginning of the year, the customer service rep explained, insurance companies had a backlog of requests to process. It would take between 8-14 business days just to get the approval from insurance before the supplies could be mailed out.

I didn’t argue with the representative. Instead, I fell silent, and uttered a brief groan under my breath. Not in despair; more like an attempt to surrender the matter to Jesus. What else could I do?

That was the end of it, or so I thought. Except that, only a couple of days later, I received an email telling me that the supplies had been shipped out. I got them yesterday! Somehow, God cut through the red tape and gave me what I needed when I needed it. And all I’d done was sigh!

Summary

To pray in the Spirit means that He guides your communication with the Father. It’s not confined to any one form of expression. Praying in the Spirit includes English (or whatever your native language happens to be), tongues, and even groans.

When you’re praying in the Spirit, He watches over, influences, and directs your prayers. But you’re not passive. You don’t have to sit back and watch what happens. Be active. Put yourself into your prayers; invest them with your mind, your heart, and your gut. Don’t hold back! When you do, you’ll discover that you’re being guided by the Spirit. You’re not praying alone even if you’re by yourself. Christ is with you.

It’s not neat, but it’s relational and real. If you follow Jesus as His disciple, He will teach you about prayer. He will equip you to pray under the authority and with the full force of the Holy Spirit. And that can make all the difference in this world.

What has God taught you about praying in the Spirit? I’d like to hear your experiences.

 

with Bob Condly

Recent Posts

Recent Comments

Archives

Categories

Meta

Verified by MonsterInsights