August 30, 2022
I don’t always pray in tongues. Truthfully, I should say I don’t often pray in tongues. But I did last night. I didn’t intend to. I suppose I had to.
Let me back up.
The Lord recently revealed to me that I had settled in the secret place into a routine. What used to work doesn’t work anymore. So, yesterday morning I spent far more time in silence before the Lord than in worship (with music). And yesterday was a good day: productive at work, few physical symptoms, and the joy of the Lord, which manifested in howling laughter at the end of the day – the kind that makes your stomach “hurt.”
However, last night when I got into bed certain of the physical symptoms returned: flashes of fire in both arms so intense that I had to apply ice packs. When this happens, I often think of this verse:
Set me as a seal upon your heart,
as a seal upon your arm,
for love is strong as death,
jealousy is fierce as the grave.
Its flashes are flashes of fire,
the very flame of the Lord.
- Song 8:6
And when this happens, I tell the Lord that if this is my cup, if this is my thorn, then nevertheless, Thy will, not mine, be done. Yet I know He is not the author of this affliction.
Last night the ice helped for a bit, but the flashes of fire returned. I kept praying, “Oh, Lord. Oh, Lord . . .” I didn’t have the words to pray, but He knew what I meant.
Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.
- Romans 8:26
Then somehow, exasperated, I began praying in tongues. Just me to the Lord, alone in the dark. I didn’t intend to do so; it just happened. And it poured forth from within me for something like a good two minutes.
As I said, I don’t often pray in tongues. But whenever I hear someone recommend it, or I read a verse about it, it arrests my attention. I don’t understand it well. But last night after I did so, I fell asleep quickly and slept deeply. Then this morning in the secret place, He was there again. That is, I was able to behold Him again.
About two weeks ago, I was awakened before 4:00 a.m. every morning with a burden to pray for certain people. I always feel honored when the Lord gives me such a burden because it’s as if He is entrusting me with His heart for that person. I believe last night was a demonstration of a better way to pray for myself.
Now I want to go after the intercessory life with everything in me. I feel a transition coming. I will always worship Him in spirit and in truth and with everything I have. But what I really want to do now is to PRAY – for hours and days at a time.