1 Corinthians 14:4
He who speaks in a tongue edifies himself…
Many Charismatics believe that when you speak in tongues, you edify or build up your spirit man. Well, that is only one-third true. The Bible does not say that the speaker edifies his spirit. No, it says that the speaker “edifies himself”. This means his entire self — spirit, soul and body. So he who speaks in tongues builds up not just his spirit, but his soul and body as well.
Beloved, if you are feeling emotionally drained or just physically tired from a hectic week, begin to pray in tongues and allow the Holy Spirit to edify you. God’s Spirit in you knows exactly what you need and will rest and recharge you — spirit, soul and body — as you yield to Him and pray in tongues. Sometimes, when I am tired after a long flight and still need to preach at a conference, I will pray in tongues to edify myself. I have found that when I do this, despite the jet lag, I will have the strength and clarity of mind to preach an anointed message and do whatever I need to do for the day.
One of our congregation members, a 74-year-old brother, decided to build up his body, specifically, his heart. He had discovered that two of his arteries were 70 per cent blocked and five smaller vessels were 80 per cent blocked. So during a church service, when I asked those who wanted to be healed of heart problems to stand up, he stood up, placed his hand over his heart and prayed in tongues.
He shared that at that moment, he believed that the Holy Spirit touched him and he became a different person. When he went for his medical check-up, his surgeon found that all the blockages in his arteries and blood vessels were gone! Even a scheduled heart-related operation was cancelled as there was no longer any necessity for it. Indeed, he was a different person. He literally had a change of heart, a new heart from God!
Beloved, you may not have a heart condition, but you can still pray in tongues for your area of need. Start building yourself up today — spirit, soul and body — and enjoy the healing, well-being, power and wisdom that only the Holy Spirit can bring!