The Gift Of Tongues

And these signs shall follow them that believe; In My Name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak in new tongues; Mark 16:17

  

And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. Acts 2:4

Notice that on the Day of Pentecost, all of the believers were speaking in new tongues, not just the Apostles, but all 120 people, both women and men spoke in tongues. All of the believers who were there at Pentecost spoke with tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance! Jesus said the sign of speaking in tongues would follow all who believe. Speaking in tongues is a sign of the presence of our Father. Whether we are speaking in an earthly language that is not our own or a heavenly one, it is the Spirit that gives us the ability to do so, and it is a sign that our Father is real, that He is alive, and that He dwells within us.

Eagerly pursue and seek to acquire [this] love [make it your aim, your great quest]; and earnestly desire and cultivate the spiritual endowments (gifts), especially that you may prophesy (interpret the Divine will and purpose in inspired preaching and teaching). 1 Corinthians 14:1

Tongues is a gift from our Father that acts as a sign to the world, a sign that proves that He is real, and since it does, we should eagerly desire it. Should we desire tongues above the other gifts of the Spirit, no; but we should desire it. Think of never needing an interpreter to preach the Gospel. How awesome, regardless of which nation we will be in, the power of the Holy Spirit will give us exactly the Words that our Father wants spoken, exactly when they should be spoken, and exactly how the people hearing them need them spoken. Through the power of the Spirit we can speak to a person, even if we have never spoken their language before, exactly as our Father would speak to them. Think of the intimacy and understanding that our Father has, and that is exactly how we will be used by Him to speak to with people! Awesome, absolutely awesome!

Now think of praying in tongues. The Spirit of our Father giving us the utterance, so we are praying exactly what needs to be prayed, exactly how it needs prayed, and all through the power of God Himself! Jesus said that we all would speak in new tongues, and the Holy Ghost inspired Paul to write that we should all eagerly desire it! The gifts of our Father are not to be feared, we haven’t been given a spirit of fear, but of power. God’s signs should be desired by all of us. Faith comes from hearing the Truth and the Truth sets us free.

There is no condemnation here, if our Father hasn’t given you the gift of tongues yet, He will, for it is a sign for all who believe. So there is no fretting if you don’t have it yet. Eagerly desire the gift though!