In this comprehensive article, we'll explore the profound benefits of praying in tongues for healing weaknesses. Whether you're facing emotional burdens, temptations, or spiritual frailties, the gift of tongues offers a unique pathway to divine restoration, inner strength, and healing.
Join us as we delve into the depths of this extraordinary practice and discover how tongues can bring about a remarkable change in your life as a Christian.
Part 3 of 3 by Don Bell | ⏱️ 10 minute read
Are you searching for a powerful, life-changing practice to overcome your weaknesses? Look no further than praying in tongues, also known as praying in the Holy Spirit.
Praying in the Spirit is a powerful spiritual practice that bypasses our intellect and enables us to align our hearts with God's perfect will, free from the influence of negative emotions and imperfect intent. It cleanses our souls by exposing our weaknesses and helping us overcome them.
Engaging in the healing process through tongues brings emotional healing on the deepest level despite circumstance. It empowers us to resist the desires of the flesh and walk in the Spirit, preparing us for effective ministry to the Church while experiencing wellness and God's will for our lives.
Paul writes, "Therefore, my beloved, … work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure" (Philippians 2:12, 13).
Meaning, we're encouraged to actively participate in working out our own spiritual renewal with reverence and humility. This is made possible because it's God's Spirit working within us, guiding us, purifying us, and empowering us to carry out His will.
How does God do this?
The gift of tongues enables us to PRAY PERFECT PRAYERS that are inspired by the Holy Spirit, originating from the depths of our innermost being, and directly connecting us to God's transforming power. Through this supernatural prayer practice, we can witness transformative change in our old nature and experience positive outcomes in our lives.
John the Baptist declares, "'He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clean out His threshing floor, and gather His wheat into the barn; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire'" (Matthew 3:11, 12).
The Lord's cleansing process is associated with the baptism of the HOLY SPIRIT and FIRE. When we're filled with the Holy Spirit and choose to live according to His guidance, a cleansing process begins in our souls to rid us of unrighteousness.
This process not only empowers us with God's strength to serve but also helps us recognize our character flaws and weaknesses, which WE may not be aware of but are known by GOD. This preparation is essential for fulfilling our calling in Christ.
Our farm had an old-time fanning mill (also known as a winnowing machine) that separated grain from the unwanted dust, chaff, and weed seeds. My job as a young boy was to turn the handle that operated the paddle-wheel fan and caused the screens to shake so vigorously that the machine seemed close to self destruction.
The grain was gravity fed into the hopper, and the wind from the fan blew off the dust and chaff while the shaking screens separated the weed seeds, allowing the clean grain to fall through into a separate container. The symbolism of the "wind" and "shaking" to the Holy Spirit's cleansing process cannot be ignored.
At times, we may complain, mistaking the wind and fire of God for a spiritual attack from the enemy. In reality, this is God's way of removing our weaknesses and aligning our thinking with His will, and we must not turn away from the process. After all, we've given Him permission to cleanses us; we've asked Him to be the Lord of our lives!
The threshing floor is never pleasant, nor is it meant to be, but undergoing the shaking and sifting at the mercy of the uncompromising wind of the Holy Spirit is NECESSARY to remove unwanted chaff and weeds from our lives. This process is crucial if we want to be used by God.
Our human nature (Paul calls it "our old man") can easily spot the weaknesses in other people while remaining blind to our own. Nonetheless, God is fully aware of our faults, even when we are not.
Jesus asks, "'Why do you look at the speck in your brother's eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, 'Let me remove the speck from your eye'; and look, a plank is in your own eye? Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye'" (Matthew 7:3-5).
We cannot minister to others while we're judging them for their weaknesses and ignoring our own! EMPATHY and COMPASSION are lacking when we're judging others; the two essential qualities needed for a healing and restorative ministry. As Jesus says, we must first remove our own weaknesses.
Identifying our weaknesses is key to overcoming them; however, it's impossible for us to pray in the natural to purge a weakness when either we're unaware of it or in mental denial of its existence. At times, we might have an awareness of our weakness, but without knowing its root cause, we remain powerless to totally overcome it.
Praying in tongues for healing, however, exposes the root causes of our weaknesses to the consuming fire of God. The more we speak in tongues, the greater the cleansing fire, and the greater the freedom we will experience.
Paul explains, "The Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered" (Romans 8:26).
Praying in the Holy Spirit involves UNKNOWINGLY praying for our weaknesses to be overcome in order for us to be more effective in our ministry to others and fulfilled in Christ.
Praying in tongues for healing initiates a process of cleansing and purification by God's fire. If we desire to experience God's best and have a fruitful ministry, we must engage in the purifying practice of praying in the Holy Spirit.
Contrary to the faulty "religious" perspective of some people, we do not need to be perfect before receiving the baptism of the Holy Spirit and His gifts, including the gift of speaking in tongues. That's because it's only through God's GRACE and MERCY that we receive His Spirit, and our prayers uttered in tongues ALWAYS yield fruitful results.
During a Charismatic conference in Toronto, I met a young British man who was heartbroken that he couldn't speak in tongues, despite being born again and baptized with the Holy Spirit. He told me that he had once spoken in tongues fluently until he moved to a different village and joined a new Assembly.
After attending an evening prayer meeting, he confided in a church elder about his experience of engaging in oral sex before becoming a Christian. Unfortunately, the church leadership reacted strongly to this news and forbade him from ever praying in tongues, claiming that his mouth was unclean.
I had the privilege of laying on hands to break the unholy bondage of guilt and shame that had been placed on him by those misguided leaders.
Thanks to God's anointing, he was set free and rejoiced in being able to pray in the Spirit again. Never allow religious judgment rob you of God's blessings!
The gifts of the Holy Spirit are not given to us because of our perfection or deserving nature. Far from it! He gives the supernatural abilities to us precisely because we are imperfect and undeserving. The gifts of the Spirit are essential in refining our character and building up our faith.
Read the following verse carefully: Paul says, "Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh" (Galatians 5:16).
Note that he did NOT say, "Don't fulfill the lusts of the flesh, and you shall walk in the Spirit" — a prescription for religious legalism!
Paul clearly makes it known that walking in the Spirit helps us to resist the temptations of the flesh. And praying in the Holy Spirit is an important part of walking in the Spirit. It's not about following external legalistic rules, but rather about allowing the transformative power of the Holy Spirit to work within us.
We've all experienced the legalistic approach to achieving perfection, either by attempting it ourselves or having it imposed upon us. However, it's important to recognize that this religious "thou shalt not" approach doesn't work.
No matter how many church conferences we might attend or how many Scriptures we memorize, we cannot obtain personal perfection through our own efforts. Instead, God desires us to walk in the Spirit according to His will, and as we do, the desires of the flesh will lose their attraction, gradually loosen their grip on us, and become consumed by the fire of the Spirit.
Paul bows his knees and prays, "That He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man" (Ephesians 3:16).
Praying in tongues for healing is a powerful practice that strengthens us in the inner man, our spirit. It grants us power to overcome the desires of the flesh that would hinder us, enabling us to live victoriously.
It allows the Holy Spirit to bring deep emotional healing, freeing us from negative memories and responses such as fear, anger, guilt, loss, and inferiority. We can begin to experience genuine "inner healing" and transformation in the deepest level of our being.
Additionally, as our faith is strengthened through tongues, it enhances our ability to exercise the other gifts of the Holy Spirit, blessing others and ultimately deepening our connection with God.
Throughout the Bible, we find verses that highlight the connection between spiritual and physical well-being. In the book of Isaiah, God reveals that fasting is not about abstaining from food only, but also about breaking free from the bonds of wickedness, heavy burdens, and oppressive yolks.
God asks, "'Is this not the fast that I have chosen: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, to let the oppressed go free, and that you break every yoke? … Then your light shall break forth like the morning, your HEALING shall spring forth speedily, …'" (Isaiah 58:6,8, emphasis added).
As we fast and pray in the Spirit, we strengthen our faith and allow God's refining fire to loosen and undo our weaknesses, enabling us to receive His healing and blessings.
Have you noticed the tendency of some people to endlessly discuss ailments and medical treatments when they gather? Sadly, even believers are not immune to the habit. Jesus says, "'Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks'" (Matthew 12:34).
Far too often believers are unknowingly expressing more faith in ailments medical treatments than in God's healing mercies. Praying in tongues can help restore balance not only by increasing our faith but by directing that faith to God, the Giver of Life.
Praying in tongues for healing is a holistic approach that not only leads to spiritual enlightenment but also has the potential to bring healing and wellness to the soul and body.
Similarly, John writes, "Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers" (3 John 1:2).
John emphasizes the importance of aligning our spiritual and physical well-being, recognizing that a thriving soul often leads to wellness and prosperous living. We are reminded that our pursuit of physical well-being should not be held separate from our spiritual growth.
The good news is, you don't need a long-established Christian life or a solid Bible background to activate the gift of tongues and other gifts of the Spirit. While leading a godly Christian life and studying the Bible is important, perfection is not required to utilize the Holy Spirit's gifts.
That said, there are moments when we must exercise self-discipline and bring to a stop harmful actions. It's during these times that we require the Holy Spirit's encouragement to walk in the Spirit and exercise His gifts, especially the gift of tongues.
By praying in tongues for healing and exercising the other gifts of the Holy Spirit to bless others, we can overcome the weaknesses of our human nature and simultaneously strengthen our faith and the faith of others.
This process enables us to become the ministering saints He intends us to be and to fulfill our role as the ambassadors of God's Kingdom.
If you missed it, here's Part 1: Praying in Tongues.
Don Bell is the creator of the Kingdom Anointing™ website, and a dedicated follower of Jesus Christ. He shares insights from his spiritual journey to encourage ordinary believers to seek God's Kingdom and lead extraordinary lives in the Holy Spirit.