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 Can a Believer Speak in Tongues at Will? |
Old Time Country Preacher |
| Fer the tongue talkers amongst us, can a believer speak/pray in tongues at will, meanin, can ya just turn it on/off at ya own choosin? |
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4/2/08 11:01 pm
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Memory03 |
nope...
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Memory03
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4/2/08 11:06 pm
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Dave Dorsey |
This kind of boggles my mind. When you guys are deep in a time of prayer, you don't just kind of turn your mind off, in the sense that your understanding is unfruitful, and fellowship with and minister to the Lord in other tongues? 
I have never heard of a Spirit-filled believer who doesn't treasure and take advantage of the privilege and gift of praying in other tongues. Surely I am misunderstanding?
Last edited by Dave Dorsey on 4/2/08 11:11 pm; edited 2 times in total |
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4/2/08 11:08 pm
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J Ryan Herrington |
| I say no. I can't find any scripture that suggests we ever have control. |
Acts-celerater
Posts: 627
4/2/08 11:09 pm
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Memory03 |
if you can turn it on and off, where is the "As the Spirit gives the utterance"?
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4/2/08 11:15 pm
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SCFIRE |
You can't if you are a quart low. But if you are FULL of the Holy Ghost it don't take but a little bit of jostling and the river will flow.
When I'm a quart low or not FULL of the Spirit it takes priming to get it to the top.
I try to stay Full as I hope the rest of you do.
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Acts-celerater
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4/2/08 11:19 pm
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Dave Dorsey |
| SCFIRE wrote: | You can't if you are a quart low. But if you are FULL of the Holy Ghost it don't take but a little bit of jostling and the river will flow.
When I'm a quart low or not FULL of the Spirit it takes priming to get it to the top.
I try to stay Full as I hope the rest of you do. |
That's very true. I have found it exceptionally difficult to begin praying in the Spirit when I have gone more than a day or two without spending quality time with God. But in times like that, you pray in the understanding and worship and focus on the Lord and it isn't long at all before the river is flowing again. |
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4/2/08 11:21 pm
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| Yes and No |
Louis Morgan |
I actually think this is a great discussion.
I would say yes, a person can speak in tongues at will. But, for me personally, I do not feel comfortable with such a practice. Some people argue that once the Holy Spirit has given the utterance, it is a gift to be used at will. Some suggest this is what it means for the spirits of the prophets to be subject to the prophets-- having the ability to stop and start at will. Yet, others feel that one must be in an ecstatic state where they seemingly have no control over the tongues.
For me, I think there is a middle-ground somewhere. While I believe once can stop and start at will, I do not think that is proper use. I feel there is a connection between the spirit man (if you will) and God's Spirit where unity is reached and the Spirit moves on an individual and tongues are a natural outflow. Could I choose not to speak? Yes. Could I stop it at any time? Sure. But I believe there is a nudging of the Spirit (if you will) that lets us know the Spirit is prompting us to speak. (I also believe this is they way it is with a prophecy, message in tongues, or an interpretation of tongues).
I often go through my house singing, praying or praising the Lord. Just the other day I was doing this when making my bed, and at some point I just realized I was speaking in tongues. Did I have control to stop it? Yes. Are there other times when I know the Spirit is leading me to do so and I just begin to speak? Yes. But there are times when I'm so caught up in talking to God that I just find myself speaking in tongues. I don't know how to explain that.
This is one area where our church needs additional training. No, I'm not suggesting we tell people what to say-- but that we explain how to be sensitive to the Spirit of God in order to discern when tongues are in order. I believe there is much speaking in tongues that has no value at all-- it is just empty ritual. But I know there is a genuine experience when the soul is really in communion with the Holy Spirit. I believe that is the proper use of tongues-- personally and for the edification of the Church.
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4/2/08 11:27 pm
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Dave Dorsey |
| That's a great post, Louis!!! |
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4/2/08 11:29 pm
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| Re: Can a Believer Speak in Tongues at Will? |
Jason Adams |
| Old Time Country Preacher wrote: | | Fer the tongue talkers amongst us, can a believer speak/pray in tongues at will, meanin, can ya just turn it on/off at ya own choosin? |
Absolutely, yes, if you are as someone has previously said, "full of the Spirit."
Whenever you are willing to pray in tongues, the Holy Spirit is more than willing to give you the utterance! There is simply too much going on in this world that we really don't know about or, if we know about it, to fully understand the situation. We should always be ready and willing to pray in the Spirit.
Thankfully, I do so several times a day. I simply make myself available and I have yet to have the Holy Spirit fail to use me to pray about something.
The one way I know for sure that I am praying the will of God is to yield to the Holy Spirit and let Him pray through me. I would much rather do that then pray in English because I know I am praying as He wishes! |
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4/2/08 11:30 pm
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| Re: Can a Believer Speak in Tongues at Will? |
Dave Dorsey |
| Jason Adams wrote: | | Whenever you are willing to pray in tongues, the Holy Spirit is more than willing to give you the utterance! |
I think that's absolutely the key answer to this question. Are tongues possible only as the Holy Spirit gives utterance? Yes. But He isn't the hold up here! |
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4/2/08 11:35 pm
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Poimen |
One could just as easily ask...
Can you foretell the future (accurately) at will?
Can you perform healings or various other miracles at will?
Can you speak a word of wisdom or knowledge at will?
Can you speak a message in tongues (for interpretation) at will?
Can you interpret a message in tongues at will?
Can you raise the dead at will?
Can you drink something deadly (and not be harmed) at will?
Can you take up poisonous snakes (with no possibility for harm) at will?
When coupled with it's counter parts the answer to the original question becomes clear...
No.
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Singing: "Let us then be true and faithful -- trusting, serving, everyday. Just one glimpse of Him in glory will the toils of life repay." |
Hon. Dr. in Acts-celeratology
Posts: 5657
4/3/08 12:02 am
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| Great subject my friends |
a pastor |
I tend to agree with Louis.
The question was posed "Can a Believer Speak in Tongues at Will?" Or "our own choosin'". I think the choice of those words are the key to understanding this. My will and my choosing are in question because of my flesh. However, Gods will and Gods choosing are crystal clear---He wants to use me. I just have to get out of the way.
The standard CoG thing is to hold back until one is hysterically uncontrolled and then 'break loose'. Other churches and denominations that are accepted by the CoG practice a different kind of anointing. There seems to be a comfortableness in the Spirit and I want to be more like that! That word Comfort is a key here.
It is my belief that if we are filled with the Spirit, He is always ready to speak if I will only obey. Sometimes it is words, but most of the time it is actions.
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4/3/08 4:04 am
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| spin-off (L) |
Poimen |
Just wanted to mention this spin-off...
http://www.actscelerate.com/viewtopic.php?t=28667
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Poimen
Bro. Christopher
Singing: "Let us then be true and faithful -- trusting, serving, everyday. Just one glimpse of Him in glory will the toils of life repay." |
Hon. Dr. in Acts-celeratology
Posts: 5657
4/3/08 4:24 am
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DHDRabbi |
When Paul asks us to only have 3 tongues and interpretations in a service, am I to assume he's really telling the Holy Spirit what to do and not us? After all, if we don't control when to speak, how dare he ask the Holy Spirit not to speak?
There is a difference in when you speak and where the utterance comes from. |
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4/3/08 6:08 am
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John Stokes |
| DHDRabbi wrote: | When Paul asks us to only have 3 tongues and interpretations in a service, am I to assume he's really telling the Holy Spirit what to do and not us? After all, if we don't control when to speak, how dare he ask the Holy Spirit not to speak?
There is a difference in when you speak and where the utterance comes from. |
Maybe Paul had been to a few to many Campmeetings! 
I believe these instructions were to keep people from getting caught up in the actions and miss the message. We could debate here the difference between the gift of tongues and the gift of tongues with interpretation, but I think the same argument is to be made for both.
We do not control the Holy Spirit anymore than He controls us. For tongues to be genuine it must be a team effort between you and Him. You can chatter syllables and it not be the Holy Ghost. The Holy Ghost can desire to pray through you and not be able to because of your unwillingness.
Can you turn it off and on at will, yes but, that doesn't make it real.
I believe in the gift of tongues, but the trouble comes when we become so enamored by the gifts that we lose sight of why we receive them in the first place. They are not a status symbol. They are a gift from God to be used for HIS glory.
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4/3/08 7:00 am
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| The Spirit indwells us |
roughridercog |
I believe that we all too often have an Old Testament view of the Spirit where He moved on someone to do something and then jumped right off of them. We are to be indwelt by the Spirit. We are the temple of the Holy Spirit.
I can speak in tongues if I desire, but it's not always proper. The manifestations are subject to the prophet. Sometimes when I'm weary, I just bow my head and begin to worship and praise the Lord in an unknown tongue. I don't pray up to it, the Spirit is within me.
Do I go around talking to people in tongues all the time?
Nope
They might mistake me for Copeland and Brown.
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4/3/08 7:09 am
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Link |
| Memory03 wrote: | | if you can turn it on and off, where is the "As the Spirit gives the utterance"? |
'As the Spirit gave them utterance' and 'as the Spirit chooses when you will be able to speak' are two different things.
If there is no element of the will, how do you account for Paul telling the speaker in tongues to keep silence in the church if there is no interpreter, and all the rest of the instructions of I Corinthians to correct the Corinthians misuse of the genuine use of tongues.
It is clear from the passage that the speaker in tongues could use it in an out of order manner. Is the Spirit behind disorderly timing? No. Is the misuse passage about real or false tongues. Real tongues. So the passage is pretty clear that speakers in tongues can have control of the timing.
I can't prove that everyone can always speak in tongues any time they want. But it is clear that some people are able to speak in tongues when they want to whether or not the timing is from the Spirit (in a church context.) I Corinthians 14:28 indicates that the tongues used in church if uninterpreted are the same thing as prayer in tongues.
In my experience, the utterance has always been available whenever I want to pray. Paul says of the one who speaks in tongues without an interpreter 'Let him speak to himself and to God' and 'Let him wait around and if the Spirit gives the utterance, let him speak to himself and to God.'
I think this idea that you can only speak when the Spirit hits you at specific times, mixed with confusing feelinss (like the one you get when the music hits the high not in church) is responsible for some of the uninterpreted disorderly use of tongues in church.
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4/3/08 7:26 am
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Ichthus77 |
| DHDRabbi wrote: | When Paul asks us to only have 3 tongues and interpretations in a service, am I to assume he's really telling the Holy Spirit what to do and not us? After all, if we don't control when to speak, how dare he ask the Holy Spirit not to speak?
There is a difference in when you speak and where the utterance comes from. |
So true, LOL!
Or like when Paul says that if there is no interpreter present that they are to remain silent. Since it's "only the Holy Spirit talking and we have no control", Paul is having to tell the Holy Spirit when to be silent. Yeah, right. Or when he tells the prophets that if something is revealed to another, let the first hold his peace and be silent. Since all of these things are only "ecstatic, emotional utterances that are totally uncontrolable by the person" by old COG teaching, Paul is having to instruct the Holy Spirit when to keep silent.  |
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Posts: 1270
4/3/08 7:27 am
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Memory03 |
when someone turns it on and off like a spicket, it is just like that video with the two morons having a conversation in tongues on stage... nothing but embarrassment to the pentecostal church...
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Memory03
8233 post at the original Acts Board...
Real Men get their haircut in a Barber Shop... The rest go to beauty parlors... |
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4/3/08 7:35 am
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