What is the Gift of Tongues?

This article is entirely based on the Youtube transcript of Mike Bickle’s teaching on The Gift of Tongues Links at bottom.

This is the only article I didn’t write; it is an experiment. It took a long time to edit, organize, and form sentences out of incorrectly transcribed words; it still needs to be completed. Some stuff was left out, edited, and reorganized, but the points are the same. “Our copyright is the right to copy” – Mike.

2 Different Types of Tongues in Scripture

What is the gift of tongues? There are two different types of tongues. One is a personal prayer language for building yourself up spiritually, as in 1 Corinthians 14:4, which every believer can receive. The other is a spiritual gift to benefit a corporate body of believers, as in 1 Corinthians 12:7-11, a gift that not everyone is given.

The rest of this post is from Mike’s teaching. It’s really good stuff.

Mike Bickle Teaches on the Gift of Tongues

1 Corinthians 14:2. Let’s examine the gift of tongues. It says 

“For he that speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but he speaks to God, for no one understands him, however, in his spirit, he speaks mysteries.”

The Private Gift of Tongues

Speaking in tongues is not so that people can understand you. To paraphrase, the Lord says, “I didn’t give you the gift so you can speak to people.” Now there is the gift of tongues where a person speaks, and somebody interprets, but Paul’s not talking about that in this verse. He’s not talking about the gift of tongues to the body where somebody stands up and speaks, and somebody interprets, and then there’s a clear message. 

So there are two different types of the gift of tongues in the Word of God.

One is a gift to the body, but in 1st Corinthians chapter 14, it’s for our private edification.

 It speaks of the personal gift of tongues that every individual can operate in. And he says in verse 2 that speaking in tongues, you speak mysteries. So you speak mysteries, and what does that mean? 

God is communicating to your spirit information when you pray in the Spirit, that simple little prayer language. He’s releasing divine information in your spirit.

The Importance of Praying in the Spirit

Now it’s not like the minute you pray in tongues. You get divine information. Still, when you pray in the spirit, your spirit becomes sensitized to receive information. You’re speaking it back to God. You’re speaking it in your prayer language. Still, it’s mysteries, divine information, which is what that Word is talking about. 

I try to pray in the spirit for an hour or two hours a day. I’ve done that for, I don’t know, 25 years.

I don’t always do it, but most days, I do it. I don’t know the amount, but certainly, it’s the rule of my life, and the reason I want to do it is that I want the Lord to give me divine information. I want those mysteries because as I speak in the spirit, speaking at times to Him, I don’t know when it happens, but a spirit of revelation is released to me. 

Here’s where I get information about my heart and how the Lord talks to me about it, how he wants it to be released, how I’m stopping the grace of God, how my heart is wounded, and how my heart is made. 

He wants to speak to me. He gives me information about my own heart’s life when I pray in tongues. He gives me information about other people, about what’s blocking the blessing of God in another person’s life when I pray in tongues.

The Word of God Unlocks

He gives me information on the Word of God. One of the things I love most is to pray in the spirit for an hour – especially on a fast day – to pray in the spirit and then open my Bible. 

I always try to have a notepad there because I love journaling. And I pray in the spirit, for maybe for a half hour or an hour, and then I’ll begin to read a passage I’m familiar with. I pray the spirit to read the passage, praying to go back and forth, you know, every couple minutes, I go back and forth, and tremendous insight comes.

I begin to journal. That’s not all 100% inspired, but there are these nuggets of truth that God’s giving me that are unusually inspiring compared to the everyday thoughts that you would get. They have a high level of inspiration, a phrase here, a thought there, and He unlocks the Word of God. 

So when you pray in the spirit, you’re speaking mysteries about your own heart, God’s heart, other people, and the Word of God. So it’s a very, very important part of the grace of God in prayer to pray in the spirit.

So, What is the gift of tongues?

2 Different Types of Tongues: Personal Edification vs. Corperate

It says in 1 Corinthians 14:4, “He who speaks in tongues edifies himself,” and the word “edifies” is the word “he builds up” or “charges like a battery.” 

This is how you know 1st Corinthians 14 is the personal gift of tongues because it edifies you. 

1 Corinthians 12:7 says, “The gift of the Spirit is for the good of others,” In 1st Corinthians 12, the gift of tongues is for other people. So if somebody’s speaking in tongues and somebody’s interpreting, it’s a gift to the body.

But chapter 14 is a very different thing. He’s talking about edifying yourself, which is a very different subject.

Everybody doesn’t have the gift of tongues for the whole body. That’s true, but everybody does have the gift of tongues for their personal devotional life.” Verse 4, chapter 14, the gift of tongues for the building, the charging of their spiritual battery. Many believers do not charge their spiritual battery. They have the gift of tongues, but they don’t use it.

Mike Taught Against Speaking in Tongues for 5 Years

For four years, five years, not that many years, but when I was about 17, 18 years old, about 22, 23, right in those years, many years ago, I was against the gift of tongues.

I was involved in the college ministry and the University of Missouri right down the road. So I would go to other college campuses and high schools, speak and give Bible studies, and they would come to visit us. And whenever I went somewhere, like the University of Kansas or K-State or Mizzou or different college campuses and little Bible studies, I’d talk to them.

And I always went and spoke to them against the gift of tongues. 

I had this unusual energy against tongues. I thought it was a deception, and I always told people I said, “First Corinthians chapter 12, verse 7, it says, ‘Not everybody has the gift of tongues. Everybody doesn’t have the gift of miracles.’ See, you’re not supposed to tell everybody that they have it. And it’s true.

When I was against tongues for several years, Paul’s statement in 1 Corinthians 14:18 bothered me. He said, “I thank God I pray in tongues more than all of you.” I had every verse figured out, or so I thought. Meaning I knew every argument for and against tongues. But this one verse bothered me because I could not understand how a man as anointed and busy as Paul could pray in tongues more than anybody else.

I taught all my disciples to be against tongues, and I practiced praying in tongues with towels on the air vents so that they couldn’t hear me. I had this little semblance of a prayer language, but I didn’t believe it was real. However, in sincerely seeking answers from the Holy Spirit, He touched me. He marvelously released the gift of tongues.

The Value of Praying in the Spirit

So in verse 4, it’s for their improvement, spirituality, faith, and the building up of their spirit. They don’t do it because they don’t understand the value. They don’t speak in tongues to God, so they don’t receive the number of mysteries or divine information God wants. 

It says you speak to God when you speak in tongues. You don’t speak into the air.

Mike Focuses His Mind on the Throne of God or Holy Spirit

When I pray in the spirit, I focus my mind on the Revelations 4 throne of God. First, it describes the throne with God the Father at the center and His son at the right hand.

I love to focus my mind on that scene and speak in tongues while gazing into the throne filled with the glory of God. 

At other times, I focus on the Holy Spirit, who dwells in my human spirit, thinking of the Holy Spirit as light and life and speaking directly to Him.

When you pray in the spirit, you’re focusing your mind on God’s throne or the Holy Spirit living in you, and your spirit is active in the grace of God. You’re being edified, receiving mysteries, and giving thanks to God, whether you know it or not. You’re thanking God in your spirit, and sometimes you receive information about your heart, the people you’re praying for, God’s heart, or the Word of God.

Building Up the Inner Man

Praying in the spirit has a powerful impact on building up my spirit. I love to sit there and gaze into that Shekinah glory dwelling in my being, called the Anointing Spirit, and silently pray in tongues, saying, “Holy Spirit, speak to me. Holy Spirit, I am Yours.” 

Of course, this dynamic release of God does not happen every time I pray, but there are times when it is powerful.

Praying in the Spirit for an Hour a Day

Praying in the spirit for an hour a day may sound extreme, but it’s not. Millions of people have done it, and it’s not impossible. Maybe you can break it down into two 30-minute slots, but something builds up in your spirit when you pray in the spirit for a full hour at a time. 

Our worship teams often lead in singing in the spirit, and more happens when we do it together. Likewise, engaging in praying in the Spirit is a free gift; if we engage ourselves more, more will happen.

Mike’s Encouragement to Ask God For the Gift of Praying in Tongues

So I want to encourage you to ask God for that gift if you haven’t experienced praying in the spirit or speaking in tongues. It’s a gift available to every believer and a powerful tool for building up your spirit, receiving revelation, and connecting with God more deeply.

And suppose you have experienced praying in the spirit. In that case, I encourage you to continue to press in and make it a regular part of your prayer life. Set aside time to focus your mind on God and allow the Holy Spirit to pray through you. And don’t be discouraged if it doesn’t always feel powerful or dynamic. Just keep at it, and trust that God is using it to work in your spirit, even if you don’t see or feel the results immediately.

I believe praying in the spirit is a vital and powerful part of our walk with God. Of course, it’s not the only way to pray, but it’s a gift that God has given us to help us build up our spirits and connect with Him in a deeper way. So I encourage you to make it a regular part of your prayer life and see what God will do in and through you as you seek Him in this way.

Importance of Praying in the Spirit

When praying in the Spirit your spirits are active in the Holy Spirit, your spirits are coming to life, and things are happening. Be encouraged. There is a grace you will feel at times when you do it.

I want to urge you to lock into an hour or a half hour two times a day. I did this when I was the pastor of a growing church with meetings and congregation, and I mean, it was a full-time job plus, and I determined years ago I was too busy not to do this.

The fruit of it is as I’ve gained so much understanding of the Word through this avenue of praying in tongues, reading the Word in tongues, journaling, and throwing a little bit of fasting into the mix to make it even more intense.

Change Comes through Spiritual Violence

People have this idea that if they love God, they suddenly will wake up one day, and they’ll change. But it doesn’t work that way. They say, “I love God, I go to church, and I hang out with good people,” but that’s not how you change. 

You change by spiritual violence. 

Jesus said the violent take it by force.  

You change by getting a goal by getting focused: 

• you’re going to fast
• you’re going to fill yourself with the Word
• you’re going to pray in the spirit
• you’re going to set some goals in your life, and you’re going to stick with it for ten years.

Long-Term Commitment: It’s Like Taking Vitamins

People do this, and a month later, they go, “I don’t feel any different.” 

I go, “a month later?” It’s like taking vitamins. 

You know you could take vitamins for a month and not feel any different. However, they say it takes a long time before the health of the vitamins begins to really impact you. 

They say, “I read the Word for an hour day and prayed in in tongues an hour a day for a month; it didn’t work, I quit.”

 I say, “don’t even measure it. For it for 10 years lock in and don’t look back.”

I’m telling you, I’ve never seen anybody disappointed who’s done that for five or ten years. All sudden, the Word of God begins to move it becomes alive. Your spirit becomes tender. You feel the presence of God. This is how you do it.

You don’t do it by being a good Christian that loves God and hangs out with good people. That’s not how it works. You do it by being focused and determined. 

You get a hold of your schedule, you lock in, and you fill your time with the Word in this way. But, I’m telling you, you will be a different human being in a couple of years.

Importance of Discipline & Long-Term Results

It’s discipline. It’s like going to the gym. You don’t feel like going to the gym. Nobody likes going to the gym when they’re there. But you like having gone to the gym when you leave the gym. So, it’s just discipline.

I’m telling you, I have not seen anybody disappointed who has done this for five or ten years. 

But then, all of a sudden, the Word of God begins to move. It becomes alive, your spirit becomes tender, and you feel the presence of God, and that’s how you change, not by being a good Christian.