 How can the believer who has been praying for the gift of tongues finally receive that gift and see it fully operational in their life? I pray that by the end of this, that the gift of tongues would be released through you, that you would be praying in that beautiful heavenly prayer language that God has given to you. Every believer can pray in tongues, that is their personal prayer language. So it's not a matter of receiving this gift, but of releasing this gift. Yes, the gift of tongues is for every believer. Often we reference 1 Corinthians chapter 12 where Paul the Apostle is asking a series of rhetorical questions. Do I have this? Do I have that? Do we all pray in tongues? But it's important to note there that Paul the Apostle is talking about a very specific expression of the gift of tongues, namely the prophetic expression of the gift of tongues that's to be used in tandem with the gift of interpretation. Now let's take a look at the often misapplied portion of Scripture. 1 Corinthians 12, 29, and 31. Are we all apostles? Are we all prophets? Are we all teachers? Do we all have the power to do miracles? Do we all have the gift of healing? Do we all have the ability to speak in unknown languages? Do we all have the ability to interpret unknown languages? Of course not. So you should earnestly desire the most helpful gifts, but now let me show you a way of life that is best of all. Now again, context matters. You can't just go taking portions of Scripture out and then building entire doctrines on them. Paul the Apostle here is specifically talking about a set of gifts that's to be used in the context of public church assembly or among fellow believers. How do I know that? Well, 1 Corinthians chapter 12 verse 7 makes it clear that a spiritual gift is given to each of us so that we can help each other. So all of these spiritual gifts that are listed here in 1 Corinthians chapter 12 are to be used from one believer for the benefit of the other. But let's look at this now. Are we all apostles? No. But does that mean that we're not all to be involved in helping to establish new ministries? Does that mean that we're not all to be about our Father's business? Are we all prophets? No. We're not all called to fulfill the office of a prophet. Does this mean only a few believers can hear from God? Does this mean that only a few believers can share encouragement, which is a form of prophecy? So we don't apply that reasoning to any of the other spiritual gifts. We're not all apostles, but we should all still expand the kingdom. We're not all prophets, but we should all still hear from God. We're not all teachers, but we all need to know the word. Not all of us have the gift of miracles, but we can still believe from miracles. Not all have the gift of tongues or the ability to speak in tongues and the ability to interpret tongues. So notice how it's tying the two together. Even though the two separate sentences are mentioned in the same breath, it's tying the two together. It's the gift of tongues and tongues interpretation. Where is that used? It's used in the context of the public assembly of believers. And therefore that is talking about the prophetic expression of the gift. It's a very specific use of the gift of tongues that's not for every believer. This is about the public gifts of tongues and tongues interpretation. But 1 Corinthians chapter 14 verses two and four make it very clear that there's also an expression of the gift of tongues that's used for self edification. When you pray in that tongue, you're praying in the spirit. When you pray in that tongue, you're praying in a way that strengthens the inner man. So there's a difference between the prophetic expression of the gift of tongues and your own personal prayer language. By the way, look at what Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 14, four and five. A person who speaks in tongues is strengthened personally, but the one who speaks a word of prophecy strengthens the entire church. I wish you could all speak in tongues, but even more, I wish you could all prophesy. For prophecy is greater than speaking in tongues unless someone interprets what you are saying so the whole church will be strengthened. Let me ask you, why would Paul the apostle wish for something that was contrary to the will of God? And why would the Holy Spirit allow for that desire to be recorded in Holy Scripture if it were indeed contrary to God's will? Not all have the gift of tongues and tongues interpretation, but every believer can pray in a personal tongue to God. Now, what blocks this gift from becoming operational in one's life? Ultimately, it comes down to one word, and you're not going to like this. I understand that this might be offensive to some, but it's important that you hear this, and I'm saying this to you in love, and I'm going to say it, and then I want you to let me explain it. What's blocking you from receiving the gift of tongues can be summarized in one word, ego. It's all ego. Now, you might be saying, wait a minute, David, I'm not prideful. I don't feel proud. I'm not puffed up. I'm not boastful. Well, that's not what I'm talking about. Pride is an expression of the ego, but the ego is simply self. In other words, we get in our own way and we complicate things that are rather simple. So the first obstacle let's look at here is fear. Now, there are many fears surrounding the gift of tongues. Some go so extreme as to say that if you pray in tongues or if you ask for the gift of tongues, or if you pray in tongues when someone's praying over you that you can somehow receive this demonic spirit. Well, what does the scripture say? Luke 11, 11 to 13 says this, you fathers, if your children ask for a fish, do you give them a snake instead? Or if they ask for an egg, do you give them a scorpion? Of course not. So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him? So if I'm asking the Heavenly Father in the name of Jesus for a gift of the Holy Spirit, he's not going to send a demon. Often those of religious inclination, imagine that if someone prays in tongues that there's somehow going to get a demon in them, or they think it's all self and that God's going to get angry with them for praying in tongues. Well, you're asking your Heavenly Father for a gift that's made available to all believers as clearly mentioned in scripture. So if I'm asking the Heavenly Father for the Holy Spirit, is he going to send the demon? No, I trust not in my ability to receive from heaven. I trust in God's ability to give from heaven. I trust that when I ask my Heavenly Father for this beautiful expression of the Spirit in my life, and it's beneficial too, that he will send that beautiful expression of the Spirit in my life. Obstacle number two, inactivity. I've seen it many times where somebody comes to the altar, they're praying to receive the gift of tongues, they're asking for that beautiful expression from heaven, and they're standing at the altar, they're rocking back and forth, and they say again and again and again words that come from their own understanding. They'll say something like hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah. Thank you, Jesus. Thank you, Jesus. Thank you, Jesus. And they're making no room for that gift to be expressed. They expect that the Holy Spirit is going to come down from heaven, grab them by the tongue, and begin flapping their tongue around and making them speak in that heavenly language. No, the Holy Spirit isn't going to take control of you. And many have prevented themselves from receiving this gift because that's what they're expecting. They expect that all they have to do is stand their hands, lift their eyes closed, and that the Holy Spirit's going to come upon them and force them. The scripture says they prayed as the Spirit enabled them or gave them utterance. In other words, he enabled them, he didn't force them. They had to operate in the gift. They had to take action. They had to open their mouths. They had to make those sounds. All spiritual gifts require some exercise of faith on the part of the one using them. Why would speaking and tongues be any different? Lay hands on the sick and they shall recover. Well, you got to go lay hands. Ask him for miracles, and miracles can happen. But you got to pray, preach the gospel, and the lost will be saved. Well, you have to preach the gospel. Worship and he'll manifest his presence. Well, you have to worship. Everything that the Holy Spirit does in our lives requires our participation, not because God can't do it, but because he chooses not to do it. He won't do it unless we exercise our will to surrender to what he wants to do in our lives. So when we're praying in the Spirit, when we're praying in tongues, we have to surrender the syllables and sounds. We have to open our mouths. Paul the apostle devoted an entire chapter, 1 Corinthians 14, to the regulation of one of the expressions of the gift of tongues. He spoke at great length of how we are to control it and how we are to use it and how we are to operate in it. Why would Paul the apostle talk about controlling the gift if the gift could not be controlled? So yes, it is of the Spirit, but it's also partially you as all spiritual gifts work as all spiritual realities work requires your participation, your surrender. As you surrender, God enables. As you empty, God fills. As you obey, God does miracles. God leads a clear path forward and so on and so forth. You have to participate. And number three, and this is the final obstacle. It's overthinking. Is this just me? What will people think? Will they think I'm weird? Let me solve that mystery for you. Yes, people will think you're strange and that's okay. We who are of the Spirit are often regarded as very strange. A natural man can't receive these things. These things are received by the Spirit. So our overthinking can often cause us to not receive this precious gift, this precious expression of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Is this just me? What's happening now? Should I pray hallelujah? Should I say amen? Well, that tongue sounds like that person's tongue, or I keep repeating the same syllable over and over again, or that doesn't sound like a clear structure of a language, or I'm not so sure that that's necessarily the gift. And we just think ourselves out of surrender to the Holy Spirit. Now, there is a time to use the rational mind. Of course, those who are of the Spirit are not senseless. They're sharp. That's one of the marks of the Spirit field. They're made very sharp. But when it comes to the gift of tongues, leave it to God to hide such immense power behind such a childlike act. And I have to have the faith to release that. Now, there's a story I like to tell about a father who was teaching his daughter to pray. Each night, he and his daughter would kneel beside her bed. And he would tell the little girl, repeat after me. Say these prayers. And he would say a prayer. She would repeat the prayer. And then he would give her a kiss, good night, and leave her to sleep. And this happened night after night. He was wanting to really establish this prayer routine in the life of his daughter. And so one night, he says, tomorrow night, when it's bedtime, I'm gonna let you talk to God on your own. You won't have to repeat after me, but I want you to talk to God in your own way. Say something to him that comes from your heart. Sure enough, the next night, the father leaves the little girl to pray. Curious, the father leaned his ear against her door. And he listens to the little girl praying. And she begins to sing a familiar tune. It was the alphabet song. A, B, C, D, E, F, G, and on and on and on. He heard her little voice singing this. He laughed to himself, thought it was adorable, and went to bed. The next night, same thing. He leans his ear against the door. And here's this little girl praying the alphabet. A, B, C, D, E, F, G, and on and on and on. I'm not gonna sing it for you. And so this happens night after night. And eventually he becomes a little concerned and he says, well, I should probably teach her at some point that you actually have to pray sincere prayers to God. They have to come from your heart. You have to talk to him. You have to communicate. It's a relationship. And so one night he leans his ear against the door. Sure enough, she's praying the alphabet again. So he enters the room, kneels beside her bed with her, and he says, sweetie, I so love that you're talking to God and I love that you're praying and I love that you're making this a routine. But I just have to correct one thing. When you pray, you have to actually talk to God. You can't just say the alphabet. The alphabet isn't a prayer. And the little girl said, Daddy, I am praying. You see, I just give him the letters and then he rearranges the letters to be whatever he wants and to be whatever he thinks they should say. That's speaking in tongues. I'm surrendering the syllables and sounds. You see, when you pray with your understanding, you are adding your intention. You are adding your will. You're adding your desires to your prayers. Sometimes this is good. As the scripture says, we should do both pray in the spirit and pray with understanding. But when you pray in tongues, you are speaking syllables and sounds that are void of your meaning, that are void of your intention, that are void of your desires, and you leave those words as empty spaces for the Holy Spirit to fill. The Holy Spirit will only fill that which is empty and far too often our prayers are filled with self, not spirit. When you pray in tongues, you are surrendering syllables and sounds and with childlike faith, you're saying, Holy Spirit, I trust that you will fill those sounds with your intention, with your meaning. But if you want to make use of that beautiful heavenly language and that God wants to give to you, then you're going to have to let go of self and say, Holy Spirit, I trust you. You will fill these words, these sounds with your intention. And many are about to pray in their heavenly language right now for the first time. So Father in the name of Jesus, I thank you that you've given to each of us this beautiful prayer language. And I pray, Holy Spirit, that you would embolden that one watching now, help them to receive that heavenly language in the mighty name of Jesus. Now as we're praying, I want you to set aside the flesh, yes to the Spirit, no to the flesh. And I want you right now to begin to release the syllables and sounds. You'll be asking, is this just me? Is this just me? It is partially you, but you do play a part here. You have to release those syllables and sounds and trust, this is where it's going to take childlike faith on your part. Trust that the Holy Spirit will fill those sounds. Thank you, Jesus. Release that now. No more fear, no more doubt, no more overthinking, just release that now. Lord, I thank you. You're releasing. Some of you are doing that now that's happening now. Just go ahead. In fact, someone watching you just kind of prayed this utterance. It was a small utterance and then you stopped yourself. Don't do that. Allow that to flow. Thank you, Jesus. I give you the honor on the praise, everything you're doing. Lord, we give you glory in the honor. Thank you for these beautiful prayer languages now being released. In Jesus mighty name we pray. I want you to say it because you believe it, say amen. If you received the gift of tongues, I want you to write in the comment section right now, I received it. And if you enjoyed this teaching, make sure you leave a like so that others can receive it as well. And also don't forget to subscribe to my channel so that you can receive more teachings on the Holy Spirit prayer and spiritual warfare and also see live streams of our events that we host around the world where many are saved, healed, delivered and empowered. Now I want to ask you to take a moment to consider helping this ministry on its mission. Our vision is simple. We want to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ all around the world in the power of the Holy Spirit through events and media. Very simple vision. 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DavidHernanIsMinistries.com slash donate to give a single gift. DavidHernanIsMinistries.com slash partner to become a monthly ministry supporter. And I also want to make sure that if you enjoyed this teaching, you check out the teaching how praying in tongues every day will change your life. Bless you and remember until next time, nothing is impossible with God.