Dearest Friend and Pray-er,
Do you know where we need to pray these days? Whether we’re at home alone in our prayer closet, at church, or someplace else, we need to pray “at all times (on every occasion, in every season) in the spirit” (Ephesians 6:19, AMPC).
In the spirit. “That’s where all the answers are, in the realm of the spirit,” my first mentor in prayer, Brother Philip Halverson, used to say. He knew that realm well. I’ll never forget when my husband and I first began praying with him in our early days of ministry. We’d all pray together in other tongues, and he’d get over into the spirit and pray out all kinds of mysteries.
As he did, I’d hear English words and phrases mixed in with his tongues. What in the world is he talking about? I’d think. I had no idea, but I’d write the words down anyway in the little notebook I always took to our prayer times.
Later, something would happen in the world, and I’d realize, That’s what we were praying about with Brother Halverson!
When he spoke those words out in English, he was interpreting our tongues. Although I hadn’t realized it at the time, we’d gotten over into the realm of the spirit and prayed out answers to things that hadn’t even happened yet.
Talk about effective prayer! The spirit realm is where we need to be praying more than ever these days. Increasingly it seems there just aren’t any natural answers to the problems the world is facing. Only supernatural answers will do.
And praying in other tongues is the door to the supernatural!
The moment I first walked through that door is one of the most wonderful of my life. I hadn’t been born again very long and I was so hungry for God I didn’t know what to do. For weeks, my soul sobbed; my spirit wept for more of Him. One night, the hunger got so intense, I got out of bed, went into our little sitting room and began to cry out, “Oh God, teach me to pray!”
I’d never heard of the baptism of the Holy Spirit or speaking in tongues. But the Lord knew what my heart was crying out for and answered. As His presence filled would the room, suddenly all that had been pent up inside me when trying to pray with my understanding was loosed and I began speaking in this beautiful language.
Finally, this struggling, bursting spirit of mine had found its voice!
From then on, speaking in tongues was very important to me. I had a hunger to learn more about it, and over time I did. But a few years ago, the Lord woke me up at 4:00 one morning and spoke this word to me about it. He said:
“Tongues is the language of heaven. It is downloaded in your spirit at the reception of the Holy Ghost. That language, when used, will change the world and change you because it is accompanied by the fire of God and is a carrier of the very essence and nature of God to any and every situation. The language of the Spirit is very personalized and individualized, marking each person with heaven’s label and tag.”
“There is much more to comprehend and understand about this gift, much more revelation to be had. As the Apostle Paul wrote, I would not have you be ignorant.”
“The more that you understand about speaking in tongues, the more you will give way to it and yield to it, growing exponentially. Speaking in other tongues is a sign to arrest, attract, and to indicate the presence of God is here. Your language is the gateway and the door to the supernatural for you. The Holy Ghost will bring the full expression of heaven through the believer.”
I was shocked when the Lord said He wouldn’t have me be ignorant. I’d been praying in tongues for decades. I certainly hadn’t thought I was ignorant about it. But the Lord said I was, so I just agreed and admitted it: I’m ignorant and need to learn!
One thing I’ve learned more about since then is the interpretation of tongues. I used to think of it just as what we do in church services—where one person gives a tongue and then somebody gives the interpretation. But I’ve come to realize it’s much bigger than that. First Corinthians 12:13 says every one of us when we pray in other tongues should “pray [for the power] to interpret.”
That means if you don’t expect to interpret when you pray in other tongues, you’ve only accomplished half your mission. You haven’t finished praying!
This is why you don’t want to do “machine gun” praying. You want to remember that you’re talking to a Person. When I talk to a friend, like Billye Brim for example, I don’t just talk on and on, without giving her any entrance. I pause and give her a chance to speak because I know she’ll have something to say.
Sometimes in prayer we forget to do that. We talk to the Lord nonstop, unaware that all the while He’s trying to wave us down. He’s like, “Wait! Hey! I’m trying to get the interpretation to you but you’re not listening.”
I don’t want to miss what the Lord has to say, when I’m praying in other tongues. So, after I talk to Him for a bit, I like to get quiet. Then, I’ll go on and talk to Him some more. (He loves that!)
The Holy Spirit always has something He’s wanting to get across to us. It may not come in an organized form, as interpretation comes in a church service. It may seem to come to us in pieces. But if we’ll keep praying and believing for interpretation, the puzzle will eventually come together.
Sometimes when you get over into the realm of the spirit, the interpretation of what you’re praying about in tongues may come to you in the form of pictures. Or maybe you’ll hear something with your spiritual ears or perceive something with another of your spiritual senses. The Lord works with me this way a lot.
I remember in the summer of 1991, for instance, while praying in other tongues, I kept seeing one particular man.
Looking at him with the eyes of my spirit, it seemed to me he was trapped in a box or prison of some kind. I felt his confinement and heard what sounded like screams of torture. It was most alarming. But I continued to pray for him and as I did, I heard myself calling out his name.
It was Guy Hunter.
I didn’t know exactly what his situation was. I didn’t associate it with a war because there was no war going on at the time. Six months later, however, the war in Kuwait started, and the U.S. sent soldiers over there to fight. One morning, my husband and I saw on the news that an American plane had gone down in the desert. One of the soldiers on it had been captured and taken prisoner.
The soldier’s name was Guy Hunter. When they showed his picture, I thought, Yes, that’s him! I knew immediately he’d make it home just fine, and he did.
In addition, I found out after the war was over that when his plane went down, he’d buried his wallet in the desert to keep the enemy from finding out about his family. Two years later, someone found it and returned it to him in perfect condition with everything still in it. That showed me if we will be obedient to pray and complete our assignment, the Holy Spirit can take care of things down to the smallest detail!
I’ve also found that when praying in tongues with a group, if I believe for interpretation, although I may not get it, somebody else in the group will.
I experienced this in a striking way the week after September 11, 2001, during a church service in another nation. I hadn’t even wanted to be at that service. With everything that was going on in the world right then, I wasn’t excited about a 10-hour flight overseas, nor about the fact that due to my arrival time, I’d have to go straight to the church from the airport (which I never do when I minister).
My husband and I had prayed about it though, and the Lord said, “Go.”
During the service that night, I noticed a man at the back of the church sitting next to the door. He slept through my entire message! When I started praying in tongues over the nation after I preached, however, he abruptly woke up. Looking startled, he suddenly grabbed a pen and paper, and began to write.
He left the meeting that night without saying anything to me. But the next night he came back. When the meeting was over, he introduced himself to me.
“I’m with the Central Intelligence Agency in this nation, over the Islamic terrorism division,” he said. “We’ve known for a long time that there’s a jihadist training camp in this city, but we’ve been unable to find it. Last night, as you prayed in tongues, you called out the name of the camp, over and over. Then you prayed out its exact location.”
I’d had no idea what I was saying in tongues that night. But he did! What’s more, he told me that the reason he’d been made head of the Islamic terrorism division of their C.I.A., was because he spoke Pashtu. (He’d learned it as a child when his parents were missionaries in Afghanistan.) “How you identified the camp’s location was a special sign to me,” he said, “because you spoke it out in Pashtu.”
The Lord wants to do more such things right now as we pray in other tongues. So, press in by faith more than ever for interpretation. Expect it and let Him lift you from where you are now to ever higher places in Him!
Precious praying friend, I treasure you so much, both as a fellow laborer in prayer and as a help to this ministry. Please know how much your faithfulness and support mean to me. Until I write again, keep praying and getting answers from the realm of the spirit. And as always, be sure to remember—
And until I write again, be sure to remember that—
P.S. I have a special CD I want to give you today as a thank you for any gift you give. It is my message entitled, Interpreting Your Tongues. You can give online here in the Prayer Fund designation or by calling toll-free 1-877-358-3327 and mentioning the Pastor Lynne letter and we’ll send one out to you.
P.P.S. Also, be sure to check out The Prayer Movement Facebook Group. It’s a great opportunity to share what you’re experiencing in prayer, ask questions, or connect with others who are a part of this growing community of pray-ers! For more information on The Prayer Movement and to request to be added to the Facebook page, visit our website here.