Power of Praying in Tongues & How Often You Should Do It

When it comes to living a life of faith, nothing is more powerful or transformative than prayer. Praying in tongues, specifically, can build up your spirit and make you strong in God.

It releases the Glory of God, the Light of Christ, and helps us see clearly. But you may be wondering, “how often should I pray in tongues?”

How Often Should I Pray in Tongues?

An hour a day. Start praying in tongues 15 minutes a day, then increase to 30 minutes, and then an hour. Work your way up to it. Paul thanked God he prayed in tongues more than everyone because he understood its power. 

Most Christians don’t pray in tongues as much after receiving their prayer language. If they only knew what they were missing! You have to exercise the muscle.

Tongues is Like Spiritual Muscle that Needs Exercise Regularly

Praying in tongues is like a fountain bubbling up from within you. God promised that living water would bubble up from within our “bellies” or spirits. Sometimes, God can suddenly breakthrough like a river breaking through a dam. Other times it’s like a gradual turning on of a water faucet. It’s like a slow drip at first, but the more you do it, the more naturally it flows.

9-Step Guide On Praying in Tongues More Often

1. Decide on a schedule. You should pray in tongues every day. Pick a time for you to do this. In the morning, midday, at night–it doesn’t matter. It just has to be something you can stick to.
2. Decide on a set amount of time and use a timer. I tell people to start with just 15 minutes of focused praying in the Spirit. Force yourself to continue praying, and do not stop until that timer goes off. It’s a discipline that needs to be developed.
3. Turn off your phone and all other distractions. Or put your phone on do not disturb if you use it as a stopwatch. Let people know you cannot be bothered during your prayer times. Trust me, as soon as you set aside time to pray, unusual things will come up, seemingly good sometimes, but you must stick with your prayer schedule. God will greatly honor you when you do this.
4. Increase the amount of time gradually. You may increase it by 5 to 10 minutes weekly for several weeks. It’s okay to start out at a slow and steady pace. You want to finish the race, like Paul. Sprinting is great sometimes, but it’s not sustainable over the long term. If you want to have a prayer life in God years from now–make it easy on yourself by gradually increasing the time.
5. Get to the point where you can pray in the Spirit for an hour a day. If this seems unrealistic, then set 30 minutes. This should be the minimum. It might take you a few weeks or a few months. Everyone can get there within six months to a year. Set a goal with a date of when you want to be able to go for an hour at a time.
6. Pray in tongues while you drive and commute. I’ve found this to be one of the easiest and most enjoyable times to pray in the Spirit. It’s time I have alone with God, and it’s easy to do. I don’t use timers for this. However, pay attention to the time if it helps you meet your daily prayer goals.
7. If an hour is still hard for you after a few months, then try to pray in tongues two times per day. Praying 30 minutes twice a day might be easier for some. You can break it up even more, especially if you can pray while commuting to work or at other times during the day.
8. Pray in tongues throughout the day. As much as you remember to, or sense, the Holy Spirit is leading you too. Ask Holy Spirit to remind you and to refresh you during the day.
9. Stick with it. Pray in the spirit as often as possible. If you are unsure about it, have doubts, God is feeling far away, etc.–trust that the dam will break one day. You will experience a breakthrough. You will encounter God. When you pray in the Spirit, you are praying His perfect will into your life. Some of us feel it sooner than others. Some of us hardly feel it at all in the beginning. Trust that when Paul thanked God that He spoke in tongues more than anyone–he said it with good reason.

From Doubt & Frustration to Praying in Tongues Regularly

In the beginning, after first receiving the baptism of the Holy Spirit and praying in tongues, I found it challenging. I had much doubt and skepticism arise, and when I prayed, I wouldn’t feel anything. It didn’t flow like it did when I first received the baptism of the Holy Spirit and my prayer language.

At times, my prayer language was stuck. I could only speak specific phrases and syllables over and over. They were a few. I questioned a lot. I am sure I was praying in tongues during this phase. 

There may have been times, in the beginning, I was experimenting, and what came out of my mouth may or may not have been–and that’s okay! It’s the journey that counts. Like me, if you set your heart on praying in the Spirit regularly, even if you are initially skeptical, there will be a reward for you. Just stick with it.

Thankfully I pressed through over the years, and my prayer language is constantly changing and evolving. At least every couple of years, it seems. So now, when I pray, several different types of sentences, phrases, and many other words come out of my mouth–it’s completely spontaneous.

During spiritually dry seasons when I have neglected my prayer life, I find it takes some time to start back up, like a car parked in an ice-cold winter. It needs to warm up before it can safely be driven and the gasoline and other fluids can flow into the vehicle.

If you stick with it and begin to pray in the spirit regularly, you will experience a breakthrough. You will start to feel it, and your senses will eventually be opened up and more in tune with God.

How often you pray in tongues will determine much of your Spiritual growth in God. It accelerates it 100x. It releases His perfect will into your life. Combine it with deep study and meditation in the Word, and you will be unstoppable in the Spirit.

Let’s grow so strong in Spirit that demons shudder and leave when we enter a space.

Follow Holy Spirit’s Promptings To Pray in Your Prayer Language

Holy Spirit will prompt you when he wants you to pray in the spirit. If you don’t get them, don’t worry. The more you pray, the more sensitive you will become over time. Suppose you are experiencing any warfare in your life, whether it’s your emotions or circumstances, or you can feel it in the spiritual atmosphere around you. In that case, that’s a clear sign you should begin to pray or sing in the spirit regularly. Just do it. You don’t have to feel anything!

Understanding the Purpose of Praying in Tongues

When we pray in the Spirit, we are strengthening our spirit-man. We have unique spirits, and the Holy Spirit lives inside of us. Christ in us, the hope of our Glory! We are enlarging our capacity to receive from God when we pray in the Spirit. He increases our sensitivity to what He is doing in us and the people around us. God uses this strange prayer language to completely align us to His will.

We become stronger, and God moves into the circumstances of our life and re-arranges things–sometimes quickly–to be in alignment with His purpose.

I believe angels and demons both move at the sound of our voices. God has given us authority through Jesus. When we pray for His perfect will, the enemy’s assignments are exposed and broken, and God’s blessings and promises begin to flow into our life.

You are Praying the Perfect Will of God

When you pray in tongues, you are praying the perfect will of God. So often, our minds don’t know what to pray for, and our prayers are unfruitful. Thankfully, the Holy Spirit inside us has given us this gift of having a prayer language that only he and perhaps the angels understand. It makes demons shudder.

God has moved many times miraculously in my life when I have spent long hours praying in the spirit. But, then, he completely aligns things in my life to match His perfect will–when I do this. 

There is cooperation with the Spirit. It’s not magic, and God isn’t a genie. When He reveals His will, I have to obey him, and my behavior Has to shift too. But His will seems to be expedited. It’s like we get upgraded to express shipping from Heaven to earth.

It Cuts Through Spiritual Warfare

Praying in tongues can also be a weapon against spiritual warfare. It can be a powerful tool that can help us to overcome the attacks of the enemy. This is because we allow the Holy Spirit to intercede on our behalf as we pray in tongues.

We are uttering mysteries we do not understand, but the angels and demons do. God works His power through us, earthen vessels. Christ is in us, the hope of our Glory.

I believe praying in tongues releases the Glory of God into our lives. First, it works in us as God imparts His tangible Glory, then he releases it through us.

The demons hate the Glory of God. God is light, and in Him, there is no darkness. That’s part of what the Glory is: it’s God’s Light that shines bright. Demons hate it and will do everything they can to get you to not pray in tongues.

The Glory is a tangible presence. A thick substance. A very real spiritual and physical reality. When it comes, things change. When we pray for God’s perfect will by using our prayer language, we invite His Glory. We are praising and exalting Him in an unknown tongue. We are issuing decrees from Heaven, the Holy Spirit interceding on our behalf, and praying for the perfect will of the Father. Things our minds don’t understand, but our spirits do!

Demons don’t want you to pray in tongues, and they will do EVERYTHING to keep you from doing it, including doubt, skepticism, distractions, emotional heaviness, fatigue, tiredness, etc.

Make praying in the Spirit a discipline in your life. Commit to it every day for a set amount of time. Set a schedule and use a timer. Force yourself to do it until the timer runs out. I recommend 15 minutes in the beginning. That’s where I started, and I’ve done somewhere over 5-6 hours at times.

Personal Testimony of Increased Praying in Tongues

For the past couple of weeks, I have been praying in tongues for at least a couple of hours most days. I’ve experienced a lot of life situations change during this time. From being offered a new job to having half a dozen people, I lost touch with reaching out to me. It’s been bizarre. God has put me in certain people’s hearts, given me favor the past week, and opened a bunch of new doors.

I am also experiencing an increase of the fruit of the Spirit in my life. I am more sensitive to the convictions and leadings of the Holy Spirit. I am saying “no” to behaviors in my life. He has just recently shown me He doesn’t like. I have increased self-control, and my will has become much more aligned with God’s and heavenly things.

Let His will be done on earth as in Heaven!

It’s truly remarkable. Praying for God’s perfect will is what I want to do as much as possible.

I often feel dry, and God’s Word is not alive to me. Thankfully, during these seasons, I’ve developed the habit and know to pray in tongues. Corey Russel mentions in his book “The Glory Within” how he learned to pray in tongues regularly through the warfare he faced in his life.

When things were falling apart, he would pray in tongues. He said he’d always get a spiritual breakthrough. Sometimes it was 20 minutes, and other times several hours.

I can relate to his experience. He is the person that has influenced me the most in spending extended times praying in the Spirit–and I can tell you–it’s changed my life. It’s funny. My life does not go as well when I get out of this habit.

Praying in Tongues: Physical Sensations 

During my prayer in the Spirit, I experienced various physical sensations and emotional feelings. These sensations can manifest in different ways, such as feeling heat or coldness on my body, sensing a breeze blowing through me, or feeling physical pressure, tingling, or vibrations.

There have also been instances when I have felt a strong burden to pray for someone or something, and in those moments, I have felt deep compassion and love.

At times, my emotions can be so stirred up that I am moved to tears, while on other occasions, I am filled with joy and laughter.

In a separate blog post, I will delve into the various sensations that can arise during prayer in the Spirit and discuss how we can discern whether they are from God.

However, it’s important to remember that our experiences are unique, and we should not compare them to others. Instead, we should focus on our personal relationship with God and let the Holy Spirit guide us in prayer and worship.

What Happens When You Start Speaking in Tongues?

1. It may feel awkward or unnatural when you first start speaking in tongues. Still, with practice and persistence, it can become a powerful tool for communication with God.
2. When you pray in the Spirit, it’s the Holy Spirit interceding through you. He is praying through your mouth for God’s perfect will. So he ensures that the most important things in your life are getting prayed for.
3. When you start speaking in tongues, you have access to God’s power and Glory. The more you do it, the more you enlarge your spiritual capacity to receive spiritual things from God. Such as the fruit of the Spirit and spiritual gifts.
4. Speaking in tongues can create a sense of intimacy with God that can be difficult to achieve through other forms of prayer or worship.
5. Speaking in tongues is an act of faith, as it requires a surrender of control and an openness to the Holy Spirit’s guidance.
6. Speaking in tongues can affect the body and emotions, such as peace, joy, or a sense of being filled with the Holy Spirit.
7. Gathering and praying with other believers in the Spirit can bring a corporate anointing and release of God’s power. Healings, signs, wonders, and other spiritual gifts like prophecy may be the result. Pray and expect to receive!
8. Speaking in tongues can be a powerful tool for spiritual warfare. It can help to release God’s power and authority into various situations and circumstances.
9. Doubt & skepticism about tongues is 100% from the enemy. There may be times when they arise about the validity of speaking in tongues, but it’s important to remember that these doubts are not from God. Be encouraged when this happens because the enemy is afraid you’ll tap into God’s power and start praying regularly!
10. Speaking in tongues is supported by numerous passages in the Bible, and it is a legitimate and valuable form of prayer and worship for Christians today.

How do I know if I am really speaking in tongues?

You know you are speaking in tongues either by feeling a deep connection to God or by not feeling anything at all and getting hit with doubt that it’s real. I’ve found both extremes to signify that someone is receiving, or about to receive, their prayer language.

Praying in tongues is an act of faith. It’s not something you think about. However, suppose you are unsure whether you are really praying in tongues while using your prayer language. In that case, I encourage you to go where the anointing is.

Whether it’s a church worship service or a prayer room or just a few friends gathered together to seek God, pray with others, and, when you are around them, have them pray for you, or at least pray in tongues with you, open your mouth and speak and don’t over-think.

The Holy Spirit is a person; ask him to fill you and receive it by faith by opening your mouth and speaking.

One sign that you’re really praying in tongues, or at least did get the baptism of the Holy Spirit, is discouragement from the enemy and doubting. 

You May Feel Something, Or You May Feel Nothing

Many people have a powerful encounter with God when they receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit and pray in tongues. This can be experienced emotionally or spiritually. On the other hand, many people do not feel anything. Still, they pray in tongues as they step out in faith without having an encounter that can be felt emotionally, physically, or spiritually.

I’d say most people do feel something, but not always.

Some people don’t pray in tongues when they are first prayed for.

I don’t know why this happens, but be sure that God has this incredible spiritual weapon for every follower of Jesus.

For these people, I remember the words of Smith, Wigglesworth, and one of his books. He said he would tell people to read the gospels and stick to them Gospels for several weeks. Then, he told them to meditate on Jesus and let Christ’s words get on inside them.

I can imagine this is especially true with the sermon on the mount, further surrender, and obedience, and things like fasting can prepare us for experiencing God in this way.

Praying in tongues can seem intimidating and foreign at first. It is normal to feel uncertain or even apprehensive when beginning to pray in tongues. However, it is important to remember that God has given us the gift of tongues to communicate with Him. We trust that He will guide and protect us through it.

It is okay not to feel anything right away, as feelings don’t necessarily measure spiritual growth or faith; rather, they come with time as we stick with praying in tongues. 

Praying in Tongues is Not a Requirement for Salvation

It is also important to note that while praying in tongues is a powerful and edifying spiritual practice, it is not a requirement for salvation. People receive the Holy Spirit when they believe in Jesus and follow Him. Becoming a Christian and deciding to follow Jesus invites the Holy Spirit into a person’s life.

We can have a meaningful relationship with God through other forms of prayer and worship. However, praying in tongues can be a valuable tool in our spiritual journey. It can deepen our connection with God in unique and powerful ways. The baptism of the Holy Spirit is where the power to resist sin further, preach the gospel, and do signs and wonders come from.

Praying in tongues is a powerful and edifying spiritual practice that can deepen our connection with God. It’s not something you think about but rather an act of faith where we set our minds on the Spirit and open our mouths to speak without overthinking.

We may feel something or nothing when praying in tongues, as feelings don’t necessarily measure spiritual growth or faith; however, it is okay not to feel anything right away as long as we stick with the practice.

Ultimately, how often you should pray in tongues depends on how much time and effort you are willing to put into your relationship with God to achieve maximum spiritual growth.

Kenneth Hagin on Praying in Tongues