Speaking in tongues While Sleeping? Here’s Why it Happens

We are told in Scripture to pray without ceasing. There is a posture our hearts can have that offer prayers to God—even during sleep. The more we yield to God and practice prayer and His presence, the more God can use us.

Song of Solomon 5:2 “I slept, but my heart was awake. A sound! My beloved is knocking. ‘Open to me, my sister, my love, my dove, my perfect one…

Why do I wake up praying in tongues?

Speaking in tongues while sleeping is your prayer language, which is a gift distinct from the Gift of Tongues mentioned in 1 Cor. 12:10. It could be a sign you are becoming more yielded to the Holy Spirit, that he is giving you prayer burdens or your spirit is responding to spiritual warfare.

So, what does it mean, and what should you do? Whenever God wakes us up to pray, it’s always a good idea to get up and continue praying. Ask Him if there is a particular burden; you should pray for it. If you don’t sense anything, continue praying in tongues until you sense it’s ok to go back to bed.

It’s common for this to happen the more we press into God and the more we ask him to use us as Intercessors.

If this happens to you, you should take it as encouragement and a good sign! There is a reason it’s happening. In this post, I will cover some of the reasons you may be waking up praying in the Spirit, including:

1. Becoming More Yielded to the Holy Spirit
2. Holy Spirit Burden For Intercession
3. Sign of Spiritual Strength & Warfare

You Are Becoming More Yielded to the Holy Spirit

Speaking in tongues in your sleep could mean you have been pressing into God more and have become more yielded to him, so the Holy Spirit is able to pray through you more easily, like in your sleep. Romans 8:26-27.

As we yield and obey scripture along with the Holy Spirit’s promptings in our everyday life, He is able to work through us more effectively, especially in prayer.

It can take some time. We do it decision by decision and moment by moment throughout our day. It’s not complex; it just takes obedience.

Becoming more yielded to the Holy Spirit can also lead to a greater sense of peace, joy, and purpose in our lives. By allowing the Holy Spirit to guide our thoughts and actions, we can experience the pleasures of God which lead to a greater sense of fulfillment.

Ultimately, the journey of giving our lives to Christ is lifelong, marked by moments of challenge, growth, and transformation. If you pray in tongues during your sleep at night, take it as a good sign of growth!

Waking Up Speaking in Tongues – Prayer Without Ceasing

Ephesians 6:18 and Thessalonians 5:17 exhort us to pray without ceasing, a daunting task at first glance. However, as we grow in our faith and become more attuned to the Holy Spirit, prayer can become as natural as breathing. In fact, we may find ourselves praying even in our sleep as the Spirit intercedes for us.

As we read in Song of Solomon 5:2, even in sleep, our hearts can be awake and attuned to the Spirit. This passage shows the intensity of the love relationship between God and His people, with the beloved eagerly responding to the knocking of His heart.

If God is giving you a burden to pray at night or you wake up praying in the Spirit, take it as a sign of Him calling out to you, His beloved.

As we yield to the Spirit and open ourselves up to His leading, we can experience a deep and intimate communion with Him that transcends even our waking hours.

Tongues During Sleep Can Be a Burden for Intercession

The Holy Spirit is the Teacher and Helper. He partners with us and gives us burdens to pray for situations. Often, the burden comes through a sort of ‘wrestling’ in the Spirit. Through praying in tongues, we can often get further insight and revelation into the situation God is having us pray for.

A burden often comes with a deep sense of urgency or concern about a particular person or situation as we are led to engage in fervent prayer. Praying in tongues can be a powerful way to intercede, as it allows the Holy Spirit to pray through us in a way that is beyond our understanding.

If this happens to you at night, it would be wise to get up and continue speaking in tongues until the burden has lifted or you feel it’s ok to return to sleep.

Meaning of Speaking in Tongues While Asleep: Spiritual Strength

When we pray in tongues, we build ourselves up spiritually. This means that when we do it, our spirits grow strong. So, if you are speaking in tongues while sleeping, it’s a sign of spiritual strength. If spiritual warfare occurs around you, and you wake up praying in tongues, it’s a good sign that you are becoming strong in spirit.

The one who speaks in a tongue builds up himself… – 1 Cor. 14:4

The Greek word used in this verse for “build up” is Strong’s g3618, and it means

“to build up (from the foundation)

To restore…rebuild, repair

to promote growth in Christian wisdom, affection, grace, virtue, holiness…

I have many memories of spiritual things happening while I was sleeping; in seasons, I was intentionally pressing into God and praying in the Spirit often.

One time when I was 19, I was taking a nap in my room. I was really prayed up and becoming more sensitive to the spiritual realm. As I was sleeping, I felt, saw, and discerned a spider (in the spiritual realm) crawling on my back near my left shoulder.

Without thinking or making a conscious decision to do this, I jumped out of bed and brushed the spider off with my hands. I don’t remember if I prayed in tongues in this case, but this is the example that comes to mind.

Our spirits can grow strong in God, and we can trust the Holy Spirit and His gifts to help us when needed!

So, as we pray in tongues more often—we grow in the Spirit of Wisdom and Revelation, as Paul mentions in Ephesians 1:17. We become stronger and more sensitive to spiritual warfare when it comes. The stronger we are in Spirit, the easier it is to defend ourselves with the armor of God (Ephesians 6). Part of the armor is praying in the spirit at all times, and that’s what you’re doing when you speak in tongues while asleep at night.