This has been a difficult topic for me since I can remember.  I met Jesus when I was a little girl.  My experience with Him has been unique and very personal.  I would learn things straight from Him.  I didn’t have names or terms for what I experienced or learned.  This has been my lifelong experience. 

     My journey or my walk with Father has been personal and straight from Him.  Based on these experiences I have come up with my own terms which may or may not have the correct connotations for others learning these things from other people.  Having said all of this, I didn’t know certain terms used in church even though much has been the same.  

     This has made it difficult to relate to people with church terms.  Many have really judged me for my lack of church terms.  To be honest, I have no idea why I was kept away from people when it came to my walk with the Lord.  People have shared their opinions about why this happened the way it did, but to it doesn’t even matter to me.  To some it is even scary.  Others have said that if it wasn’t discovered and confirmed in a church that it must be evil.  None of this made sense to me.  Some of people’s definitions didn’t make sense to me either.

     When I was about 15, I felt the Holy Spirit come over me in a most exciting wave.  It was a tremendous renewal, It was full of love and very powerful.  I was compelled to begin singing.  It was in an unknown language to me.  It was lovely and peaceful.  It was calming as if a cool spring of water was washing over me.

      It was after this point that I would during my prayer time, I would often pray in an unknown to me language.  It felt pure and simple. I felt like it would bypass my brain and my ability to mess it up.  It was like a direct line from Holy Spirit to Jesus.  With this I could now understand how I could pray without ceasing.

      I could be house cleaning or cooking or doing laundry and still be praying through the Holy Spirit.  It always felt appropriate and true.  At this point I had no idea the war that had been going on within the church about such things.  I didn’t understand the fear that seemed associated with it. 

     I was spoken to by a pastor and he said that if I continued my personal and private prayer life as I was that I would be sent to hell.   That terrified me and I stopped praying like that.  I stopped for many years, I had to push it away every time I would pray.

      I don’t even remember what made me start back up again.  Once I did I knew I had been duped and that it was not from hell, but from Father.  This was key for me as I was an intercessor and I use this praying to fight many battles against darkness. 

     I didn’t understand why a pure prayer from the Holy Spirit, untainted by my own self will or my own mind, was such a form of fear and even terror.  I can’t tell you how many lectures I would get about the evil nature of this way of praying.  I never prayed like that in front of an assembly of believers, but I would pray over an individual sometimes.

      I always felt led to do what I was doing.  This was how my walk with the Lord has always been since I was four years old.  I didn’t understand why it caused so much fear and horror in so many people.  To me it was just normal. 

     There have been so many things that to me were normal that I realized as a child was not understood or normal by most people.  That was ok with me but not so much ok with others.  It was very troublesome to most.  I was told by pastors and church leadersto keep quiet and keep to myself.

      It was strange cause I had such a drive to help others, to share things that would encourage people or even answer a question that they asked God and didn’t tell me.  I would put my hand on people, and I would get a flood of words through my soul. 

     So many things and so many critics.  I began to be afraid of people and their judgements.  I remember being called evil by church members countless times even as a child.  I began to retreat some to myself and I hid from most others.  At least away from the churches I had attended, they couldn’t get all angry and judgmental over my being so different.  I really didn’t ask to be so different it just happened.  

      I am very thankful for being so different now.  I understand so much more now.  My heart hungers to show love and I am learning now that I am to just go with it. 

     I also felt led to share some scripture that shows a difference between praying in a different language in my prayer closet or even over somebody else versus standing up and speaking a word in a different language to an entire church assembly or congregation.

      I understand why there has been such a whirlwind of confusion about this topic, It is powerful and necessary.  Why would the enemy want something so powerful to be acceptable across the board?  The enemy is the author of fear, not our Heavenly Father.  The enemy tries to divide and conquer God’s people.  What an effective way to destroy the Kingdom.

      I for one want to stand up for truth and walk in power.  I want to show the world how loving, amazing and powerful Yahweh is!!  If we are always fighting each other about this and that we will not be reaching out in love to help all those lost and alone to find salvation and Love. 

     God is powerful and loving.  In fact, I believe the most powerful force known to man is Love!!  Remembering that God is Love.  This chapter clearly states how powerful love is and how God is love. 

1 John 4:7-21 New American Standard Bible (NASB)

God Is Love

7 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is [a]born of God and knows God. 8 The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love. 9 By this the love of God was manifested [b]in us, that God has sent His [c]only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him. 10 In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12 No one has seen God at any time; if we love one another, God abides in us, and His love is perfected in us. 13 By this we know that we abide in Him and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit. 14 We have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son to be the Savior of the world.

15 Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. 16 We have come to know and have believed the love which God has [d]for us. God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. 17 By this, love is perfected with us, so that we may have confidence in the day of judgment; because as He is, so also are we in this world. 18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear [e]involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love. 19 We love, because He first loved us. 20 If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen. 21 And this commandment we have from Him, that the one who loves God should love his brother also.

From <https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+John+4%3A7-21&version=NASB>

Now that we have a bit more understanding of love and how powerful it is, I now want to bring up those verses that mention praying in a different language and how that is different from speaking a word to a group of people in a different language that needs to be interpreted in order to bless the entire assembly. 

So first we may ask the question “what is praying in the Spirit?” 

According to I Corinthians 14:2 It says

 2 For one who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God; for no one [a]understands, but [b]in his spirit he speaks mysteries. 

 So, the question here is, “Is it wrong to pray directly to God?” 

     Then we have the scripture where Paul talks about that he prays in the spirit more than all of his audience collectively, and in my opinion that is a lot of praying in the spirit. 

18 I thank God, I speak in tongues more than you all; 

From <https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=I+Corinthians+14&version=NASB>

Now we have the big verse that really isn’t all that confusing, but it states that it is better to speak prophecy and in our own language while we are in church.  That is it, while we are in church with lots and lots of other people.  This is not addressing personal prayer life or one to one deliverance prayers in the privacy of our homes or back yards. 

Here is the entire passage all together.  Notice the first concept mentioned above everything else is Love. 

1 Corinthians 14 New American Standard Bible (NASB)

Prophecy a Superior Gift

14 Pursue love, yet desire earnestly spiritual gifts, but especially that you may prophesy. 2 For one who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God; for no one [a]understands, but [b]in his spirit he speaks mysteries. 3 But one who prophesies speaks to men for edification and exhortation and consolation. 4 One who speaks in a tongue edifies himself; but one who prophesies edifies the church. 5 Now I wish that you all spoke in tongues, but even more that you would prophesy; and greater is one who prophesies than one who speaks in tongues, unless he interprets, so that the church may receive edifying.

6 But now, brethren, if I come to you speaking in tongues, what will I profit you unless I speak to you either by way of revelation or of knowledge or of prophecy or of teaching? 7 Yet even lifeless things, either flute or harp, in producing a sound, if they do not produce a distinction in the tones, how will it be known what is played on the flute or on the harp? 8 For if the [c]bugle produces an indistinct sound, who will prepare himself for battle? 9 So also you, unless you utter by the tongue speech that is clear, how will it be known what is spoken? For you will be speaking into the air. 10 There are, perhaps, a great many kinds of [d]languages in the world, and no kind is without meaning. 11 If then I do not know the meaning of the language, I will be to the one who speaks a [e]barbarian, and the one who speaks will be a [f]barbarian [g]to me. 12 So also you, since you are zealous of [h]spiritual gifts, seek to abound for the edification of the church.

13 Therefore let one who speaks in a tongue pray that he may interpret. 14 For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my mind is unfruitful. 15 What is the outcome then? I will pray with the spirit and I will pray with the mind also; I will sing with the spirit and I will sing with the mind also. 16 Otherwise if you bless [i]in the spirit only, how will the one who fills the place of the [j]ungifted say the “Amen” at your giving of thanks, since he does not know what you are saying? 17 For you are giving thanks well enough, but the other person is not edified. 18 I thank God, I speak in tongues more than you all; 19 however, in the church I desire to speak five words with my mind so that I may instruct others also, rather than ten thousand words in a tongue.

From <https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=I+Corinthians+14&version=NASB>

     I believe it is super important to understand that the point of this passage is to say that while we are assembled together that we will teach better in the native tongue.  It will be less confusing and more effective to remember this.  This is not referring to personal prayer closets or even prayer partners praying together.   This is trying to convey that when in church the diversity of people is great, and some may not understand what is happening.  This is not so when you are praying with your prayer partner or with God alone in your prayer closet. 

Here is a verse to think about.

Romans 8:26 New American Standard Bible (NASB)

Our Victory in Christ

26 In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words;

From <https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans+8%3A26&version=NASB>

I believe that our God is multifaceted and highly complex.  It really is impossible to fully know all of God and His complexities.  My whole life I have been about learning about Him and I still could keep learning about Him for ever and ever.  I have a rule of thumb that if it is strange and weird it has God’s fingerprints all over it.  As it seems that our ways are not His ways and our thoughts are not His thoughts.

Isaiah 55:8-9 King James Version (KJV)

8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord.

9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.

From <https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Isaiah+55%3A8-9&version=KJV>

     So, in conclusion, I believe that praying in the Spirit is a gift given to everyone who will have it and its valuable in spiritual warfare and all sorts of praying.  It is a way to pray directly to God without our thoughts and self-will getting in the way.  It is never wrong as it comes from the Holy Spirit. 

     Sometimes we can pray with good intentions, but really be praying what we want and not necessarily what is God’s will.  Praying in the Spirit can alleviate such mistakes.   Whenever I pray with someone else, I always ask what they are comfortable with and I proceed as I am led by the Holy Spirit. 

     I have never however, been asked by the Holy Spirit to speak a word to the church and have it interpreted.  It is not that I don’t believe in this gift, it just isn’t a gift I have been asked to use.  I believe these are two entirely different things. 

From <https://d.docs.live.net/81e477026fdf7848/Documents/Praying%20in%20the%20Spirit.docx>

© Jennifer Wallace 2020