Speaking in Tongues

In yesterday's post about The Holy Trinity, Sandi, a regular and welcome visitor to this Blog, asked a question about "Speaking in Tongues".

What is Speaking in Tongues?

After Christ's Resurrection, the early Christians were in a house when "suddenly a sound like a mighty rushing wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw tongues like flames of a fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them. Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. And when this sound rang out, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard them speaking his own language" (Acts 2 1-6 onwards). 

You know the rest of the story ... 

Let us now fast forward to today. When we speak about God, His Son Jesus, and the Holy Spirit we talk about what we have read, what we have been taught, and what has been passed down to us from the Bible or from our parents. Few amongst us have "experienced" the presence and love of God in person, and actually "met" Jesus and His Holy Spirit.

When you meet a new person, you get talking, asking questions perhaps, and forming opinions as you get to know that person better. It takes time and eventually you get to know that person better as you get to "experience" various life situations with that person.

This is what happened to the early Christians. They met Jesus and got to know Him personally over a period of three years or so. They witnessed His way of living, His teachings, and His miracles. They saw Him die and Resurrected again; and met Him in person again many times after the Resurrection. 

At Pentecost they experienced the Holy Spirit filling them with new found courage and determination to go out and preach the Good News in many languages (tongues).

To them, these events were real. Not something they had read about in a book.

So, the question is: Do/can these events happen today? Does the Holy Spirit descend upon people today? Do/can people today "speak in tongues"?

In my view - the answer to these questions is YES.

The Holy Spirit does fill peoples' souls today, and does guide us and teach us what to do and say. But this only happens when we earnestly and honestly pray and ask the Holy Spirit to come to us. It does not happen without our willingness and "permission".

When this happens, the individual often feels a sense of peace like they have not experienced before. A sense of knowing that all will be well and that God is indeed in control of every situation. A sense of "enlightenment" guiding them on what they should do, or say, and how to do it.

This sense of being filled with the Holy Spirit can last a matter of days or longer; depending on the situation and person. I have known people who have always been calm and serene and somehow at peace with themselves and the world all the time. Being with them was like being with a living Saint, a holy person ... someone totally different from everyone else.

I have also witnessed "speaking in tongues". I used to attend regular weekly prayer meetings. We were a group of 20 or so. At quiet times, as we were praying silently, one or two individuals would start babbling incomprehensibly in a low voice for a minute or so. At first I did not know what was happening. It was explained to me that they were speaking in tongues - the Holy Spirit was praying through them. It was never explained in what language the Holy Spirit was praying. This happened several times over several weeks and was accepted by the rest of the group.

One of these individuals was our priest at the time. He has since moved to another town and I have kept in touch with him through the years. That particular priest was different from most people I met. He was always calm and serene, and never ever raised his voice. Always talking, and preaching, calmly with some confidence that other priests I knew seemed to lack.

So ... personally, I believe that the Holy Spirit of God does fill us with His presence and guides us today should we ask Him earnestly to do so.

Also, I believe that people can speak in tongues. Although I have personally never done so or understood what they were saying/praying at the time.

I guess people will have their different point of views on this. But that should not matter. What is important is that we are united in what we believe in - God, His Son Jesus, and the Holy Spirit - and not dis-united in our differences.