Tongues for the Post-Modern Saint Part 5
If you believe even 10% of this post, it will revolutionize your prayer life. I’m not asking you to agree with me 100%, but to just entertain the possibilities in scripture concerning angelic tongues. You might paint me a heretic, but that’s a risk I’m willing to take. If you have felt your prayer language was pointless or powerless - you’re about to see the truth that satan prays you’ll never discover.
As a young child growing up in Pentecost, I learned the basic three-fold purpose for speaking in tongues.
- My tongue is a personal language of worship that only God knows and understands.
- Tongues allow the Spirit of God to pray – through me - His perfect will when I don’t know how to pray.
- Praying in tongues strengthens the inner man and builds faith.
How thankful I am for the Holy Spirit education that was given to me at a very early age! This foundation, however, is begging to be built upon. We’ve failed to recognize that God uses tongues to direct angels in their assignments. Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 13:1, “If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.” Tongue-talkers across the board seem to have no problem with calling their language “a Heavenly dialect.” There seems to be division, however, on accepting that they are indeed the tongues of angels. Before I proceed, let me clarify a few points.
- We must never worship angels. Speaking in an angelic tongue is in no-wise insinuating angel-worship. I’m speaking in your language right now, but I’m not worshipping you, right?
- We must never pray to angels. You’ll never find in scripture where a saint prayed to an angel or made his request to anyone but Father God. Jesus taught in Matthew 6, “When you pray say, ‘Our Father Who art in Heaven…”
- We must never make angels the center of our focus. They are not superior to us in creation but rather servants to us. “Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?” Hebrews 1:14. Jesus had angelic visitations and interactions but never failed to keep His focus on the Father. Likewise, we must not be distracted by or pre-occupied with angelic hosts, but be thankful for their God-directed assistance.
A prophetic friend of mine spoke with me just the other day. We were talking about the glory of God and the angelic hosts Father has assigned to each believer. He said, “Don’t pray to your angels! If you do, they’ll leave you!” We chuckled over his quip, but the warning does stand. To be honest, I’m not sure if it’s proper to command angels. Psalm 91:11 says, “For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways;” We may assuredly ask Father for angelic assistance, but asking angels to do specific things for us is right close to prayin’ to ‘em.
Some have drawn authority to command angels from 1 Corinthians 6:3. Paul explains, “Do you not know that we will judge angels? How much more the things of this life!” This he speaks of our participation in the final sentencing of the fallen angels. We will have the pleasure of passing judgment on every demon spirit that has tormented us in this life, hoooraah! This is clearly not an admonition to begin barking orders out to the Heavenly servants whom Father has so graciously given us. Having said the former… let’s dive into the fun stuff, shall we?
“If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels…”
The tongues of men refer to the ability to speak another human language not learned through natural means. This phenomenon took place in Jerusalem on the Day of Pentecost. Acts 2:4-6 records, “All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them. Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard them speaking in his own language.” Missionaries throughout the ages have reported this same phenomenon in distant lands. This is a rare and wonderful application of the gift of tongues. Rare… because, let’s be honest… how often are we in an unknown land or surrounded by foreigners without the ability to communicate? But it does still happen. The tongues of men are known and interpretable by mankind.
Angelic tongues cannot be interpreted by human means. Father God, the author of diverse languages (remember Babel?) has also given the creatures of Heaven their own wonderful languages. The Inter-Varsity Press Bible Commentary has this to say about 1 Corinthians 13:1:
In some Jewish traditions, angels preferred to speak Hebrew, but most Jewish people would have agreed that angels understood human languages, especially since angels were appointed over various nations. Paul may believe that there are angelic languages in addition to human ones, in which case he would be saying, “Though I be so fluent in tongues that I could speak every conceivable language…” (Job’s daughters at the end of the *Testament of Job spoke ecstatically in angelic tongues as they were inspired to think heavenly things.)
Source: IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament by Craig S. Keener
That tongues could be an angelic language is nothing new in Christendom. Would God have inspired Paul to use hyperbole in what He knew would be such a polarizing topic? I doubt it. If the Word of God is simple enough that even a child could read it and walk away with understanding, we can read 1 Corinthians 13:1 and see the obvious.
If tongues are a Heavenly language, that means the beings of Heaven are fluent in them. Why is this important? I’m glad I asked! Knowing this changes the way we envision prayer. Allow me to illustrate. According to Romans 8:26-27, when we don’t know how to pray, the Holy Spirit will search our hearts. He takes inventory of the concerns of our heart and then formulates a God-inspired prayer that pleads a perfect case before the court of Heaven – on our behalf. The Spirit Himself intercedes for us, through us, with groans that our human language cannot express. As the Spirit partners with us to plead our case to Heavenly Father, the angels are listening in. In those glorious unintelligible groans and syllables, they hear instruction on how to answer our prayers. That instruction is not coming from us, remember. It is coming through us from the Spirit of God. He can move and direct angels, through our tongues, to act on our behalf to resolve the issues of our lives.
In Daniel 10:12-14 we read how an angel was commissioned the moment Daniel began to pray. “Then he continued, “Do not be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day that you set your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to them. But the prince of the Persian kingdom resisted me twenty-one days. Then Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, because I was detained there with the king of Persia. Now I have come to explain to you what will happen to your people in the future, for the vision concerns a time yet to come.’ The moment we begin praying according to the Father’s will, angels are sent to deliver. If the answer is delayed or deterred, it is because of demonic interference. We must be persistent to press in prayer. By continuing to pray in tongues, more angels can be directed to do warfare on your behalf.
What if you believed that God heard you every time you prayed? Could you believe that it is Him praying through you in Heavenly tongues? If you could see in the invisible eternal realm the angels who are hanging on your every Shatanday cabaskah sheebow-low may! Is it possible they are listening to Father instruct them – through you – on how to deliver breakthrough? If we believed even a slice of that, prayer would be a joy!
Read Part 1 Tongues for the Post-Modern Saint
Read Part 2 Accessing the Inner Man
Read Part 3 Reducing Tongues to Hypnosis
Read Part 4 Tongues: The Key to Revealing the Mysteries of God
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