Pastor Barry's  "Chapter & Verse"  Day 91

April 1;   I Corinthians 14:18;   147/260(I);   ‘Tongues Are Vital’

1 Corinthians 14:18 I thank my God I speak with tongues more than you all;

Paul was incredibly faithful, committed and used by the Lord.  By the leading of the Holy Spirit, Paul wrote nearly half of the New Testament books.  He was zealous for the things of the Lord and in spite of tremendous persecution, he wrote that when the time of his death drew near, he had faithfully fulfilled the ministry the Lord called him to.  This Paul, one of the greatest men of the Bible, tells us that he thanks God he speaks in tongues more than anyone.  If he, one of the sharpest men spiritually in the Bible, thanks God for how much He spoke in tongues, how important must speaking in tongues be?  More than that, the Lord, who knows everything, instituted tongues.  Jesus told His disciples not to leave Jerusalem until they were baptized in the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:4-5).  He told them also that they would receive power when the Holy Spirit came upon them (Acts 1:8).  When the Holy Spirit came upon them, the first thing they did was pray in tongues. The Lord never does anything foolish or unimportant.  Two quick points about tongues.  When you pray in tongues, the words are coming out of your spirit (I Corinthians 14:14).  That means you can be quietly praying in tongues wherever you go, thus maximizing your time.  (Romans 8:26-27) teaches that when we pray in tongues, the Holy Spirit is helping you pray.  We almost never know all of the details of a situation when we are asked to pray.  The Holy Spirit knows all of the details and He will help you pray a perfect prayer for that situation when you pray in other tongues. Trust that the Lord knows what He is doing.  Tongues are vital.