Prayer in tongues
Philip Yancey writes in Christianity Today about a Brennan Manning prayer retreat he went on, where no one had ever failed to hear from God. it worked for him.
my question is how many poorer believers can afford a week of retreat and solitude? how many believers with 3 young kids can take off for a weekend to hear God? maybe pastors and CT writers. its a nice option, but what is there for the rest of us pew/chair/couch warmers? (that was the modern/contemporary/emergent nod). what is the average believer to do to hear from God?
"Beyond this, we were free to spend our time as we wished, with only one requirement: two hours of prayer per day.
I doubt I had devoted more than 30 minutes to prayer at any one session in my life...How long will I stay awake? I wondered."
Who has 2 hours a day to spare? I've been in prayer meetings for more than 30 minutes, but i can guarantee you i wasn't there for more than 5 minutes at a time mentally. and maybe this is where i could grab 2 hours of prayer, 5 minutes at a time. the other option is rising early in the morning. i've done this on and off, but i usually give it up after i fall asleep two mornings in a row. now supposedly, "old men dream dreams." Joel 2:28. and in prayer meetings i think i approach having visions.
but what can we do in our free moments to pray, especially since we are encouraged to pray without ceasing. i think i would need a puch list to pray with any variety over the day. but i'm a guy who hates lists. lists discourage me. but i do pray off and on throughout the day. my method is not generally accepted in Christendom, especially in those Baptist Missions circles. i pray in tongues. not everyone speaks in tongues, 1 Cor 12:30. So this isn't a solution for everyone. i appreciate Paul's encouragement in 1 Co 14 that he wishes all spoke in tongues, v.5. Because when we pray in tongues we speak to God, v.2, and we edify ourselves, v.4. How it edifies us, we don't know. it's something to do with our spirit's edification, v. 14. And since i haven't had my desire for the gift of interpretation granted, i also pray in my language that i understand. While i pray in tongues, which is what i usually do when walking the dog, my mind is still engaged, but like it is in a prayer meeting. it's like i'm in a prayer meeting with the Holy Spirit, and i'm listening to him pray. so sometimes i'm focused on the linguistics coming out of my mouth. is that a phrase? what's it mean? what are the common sounds? but i'm also looking at the stars, disentangling the dog from her leash, and thinking about putting the trash out when i get home. it's as normal as it is mysterious. i pursued God for over a year for this gift. i was prayed over several times before he gave it to me. it was a way he got me talking to him before and after.
this might approach what Yancey calls meditative prayer.
"Some have called meditative prayer a useless act, because we do it not for the sake of getting something, but spontaneously, as uselessly as a child at play. After an extended time with God, my urgent requests, which had seemed so significant, took on a new light. I began to ask for them for God's sake, not my own. Though my needs may drive me to prayer, it is there I come face to face with my greatest need: an encounter with God himself."
when i pray in tongues, i'm not aware of any communicating on my part for my needs. it's my spirit entwined with His Spirit talking to Him spiritually.
my question is how many poorer believers can afford a week of retreat and solitude? how many believers with 3 young kids can take off for a weekend to hear God? maybe pastors and CT writers. its a nice option, but what is there for the rest of us pew/chair/couch warmers? (that was the modern/contemporary/emergent nod). what is the average believer to do to hear from God?
"Beyond this, we were free to spend our time as we wished, with only one requirement: two hours of prayer per day.
I doubt I had devoted more than 30 minutes to prayer at any one session in my life...How long will I stay awake? I wondered."
Who has 2 hours a day to spare? I've been in prayer meetings for more than 30 minutes, but i can guarantee you i wasn't there for more than 5 minutes at a time mentally. and maybe this is where i could grab 2 hours of prayer, 5 minutes at a time. the other option is rising early in the morning. i've done this on and off, but i usually give it up after i fall asleep two mornings in a row. now supposedly, "old men dream dreams." Joel 2:28. and in prayer meetings i think i approach having visions.
but what can we do in our free moments to pray, especially since we are encouraged to pray without ceasing. i think i would need a puch list to pray with any variety over the day. but i'm a guy who hates lists. lists discourage me. but i do pray off and on throughout the day. my method is not generally accepted in Christendom, especially in those Baptist Missions circles. i pray in tongues. not everyone speaks in tongues, 1 Cor 12:30. So this isn't a solution for everyone. i appreciate Paul's encouragement in 1 Co 14 that he wishes all spoke in tongues, v.5. Because when we pray in tongues we speak to God, v.2, and we edify ourselves, v.4. How it edifies us, we don't know. it's something to do with our spirit's edification, v. 14. And since i haven't had my desire for the gift of interpretation granted, i also pray in my language that i understand. While i pray in tongues, which is what i usually do when walking the dog, my mind is still engaged, but like it is in a prayer meeting. it's like i'm in a prayer meeting with the Holy Spirit, and i'm listening to him pray. so sometimes i'm focused on the linguistics coming out of my mouth. is that a phrase? what's it mean? what are the common sounds? but i'm also looking at the stars, disentangling the dog from her leash, and thinking about putting the trash out when i get home. it's as normal as it is mysterious. i pursued God for over a year for this gift. i was prayed over several times before he gave it to me. it was a way he got me talking to him before and after.
this might approach what Yancey calls meditative prayer.
"Some have called meditative prayer a useless act, because we do it not for the sake of getting something, but spontaneously, as uselessly as a child at play. After an extended time with God, my urgent requests, which had seemed so significant, took on a new light. I began to ask for them for God's sake, not my own. Though my needs may drive me to prayer, it is there I come face to face with my greatest need: an encounter with God himself."
when i pray in tongues, i'm not aware of any communicating on my part for my needs. it's my spirit entwined with His Spirit talking to Him spiritually.
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