Different ways of worshipping God may involve lighting candles, burning incense, or praying to certain statues; other forms of worship may vary depending on where one goes. In God’s Word, we read that God seeks for “true worshippers” to worship Him. How can we be true worshippers? As we will see in God’s Word, true worship involves speaking in tongues. We will look at how speaking in tongues is worship to God and some practical keys to speaking in tongues more.
John 4:23,24:
But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.
God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in [by] spirit and in truth.
Because God is Spirit, the way that we can truly worship Him is in, or by, the spirit, which is speaking in tongues. Jesus Christ prophesied of a time when believers would be able to worship God by the spirit—by the gift of holy spirit. When we become born again of God’s spirit, we are filled with the power of the holy spirit and we can worship the true God by the spirit. To worship God by the spirit, we must operate a manifestation of the holy spirit. On the day of Pentecost, the believers demonstrated this manifestation in operation (Acts 2:4). The first way they manifested the spirit and expressed their praise and worship to God was by speaking in tongues. When we speak in tongues in our own private life, we are worshipping God. Speaking in tongues is true worship.
Many of the benefits of speaking in tongues noted in God’s Word relate to worshipping God. We can magnify God (Acts 10:46), give thanks well (I Corinthians 14:16,17), pray perfectly (Romans 8:26,27), and open our hearts to the Father (Romans 8:15). The Apostle Paul knew about the benefits and power of speaking in tongues and spoke in tongues much in his private prayer life.
I Corinthians 14:18:
I thank my God, I speak with tongues more than ye all.
In our cultures, we live amid so many temptations to allow other things to come before God. We could get caught up with work, family, and pleasures or pressures that would distract us from keeping God first in our day-to-day worship. But as we remember the benefits and purposes of speaking in tongues, we will want to do it much in our private prayer life, just as the Apostle Paul did.
Here are some practical keys to help us remember to speak in tongues more:
BE WORD MINDED—The more we study God’s Word and build in our thinking what God has done for us through His Son, the more commitment we will have to worship God on a consistent basis.
CHOOSE TO WORSHIP EARLY—Mark 1:35 says, “And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he [Jesus] went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed.” Tomorrow morning before any distractions of the world begin, spend time with God. Get focused on all He’s done and how wonderful He is. Speak in tongues much.
SPEAK AND SING IN TONGUES—In I Corinthians 14:15 we read, “What is it then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will pray with the understanding also: I will sing with the spirit, and I will sing with the understanding also.” When we are by ourselves in the car on our commute to work or running errands, we can sing in tongues to the music we are listening to. Whenever we get songs stuck in our head, we can sing in tongues in our private prayer life to the tune of those songs too.
While some may use other means to worship God, we’ve seen from the Word that God’s desire is that we worship Him by the spirit. When we worship God by speaking in tongues, it blesses God’s heart and it will benefit our lives beyond what we can ask or think. We can worship God and remember to speak and sing in tongues much throughout the day in our private life. As we apply these truths from God’s Word, we will be those true worshippers, worshipping the Father by the spirit.