For all you tongues-speakers out there, can you speak in tongues at-will, or do you have to be in prayer for it to happen? In the days after I first received the Spirit, I had to be in prayer before I could speak in tongues again. But as time went on that was no longer the case. I could start and stop speaking in tongues at-will. But I know not everyone experiences this. What has your experience been?
January 15, 2008
Thinking to Believe 
January 15, 2008 at 10:05 am
For me, it tends to happen on its own whether I am praying, or praising and worshipping the Lord through exhortation…I can feel it coming perse, and then it just happens…I have never been able to do it at free will…one time I “tried” perse, but at the time, it felt counterfeit and of me and not as the Spirit gave utterance…maybe I was not truly focused at the time? I dont know…
Interestingly, related to the topic but a slight twist – I noticed that my tongues have changed…I remember what they sounded like when I first spoke…but then after a couple years, in prayer one day, they changed…and they felt stronger, and I sensed it more…ironically, this was around the same time that out of nowhere, the studying for who God was in regards to His strict monotheism arose…meaning, it was around that time that the Spirit of the Lord began to illuminate in me concerning seeking who Jesus was in perfected understanding…OOOH and NOW that I think about it, this was when I began to more perfectly understand salvation in regards to receiving the Spirit with the audible sigh of tongues and prophecy, and water baptism in Jesus’ name…
hmmm…
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January 15, 2008 at 10:51 am
I have, within the past ten years or so, noticed that I can essentially speak in tongues at will. It seems as though, if I think at any length about speaking in tongues, it just rolls out – like its always there ready to surface.
I noticed that this came to be the “norm” along the same time that I gave tongues in church and especially when I interpreted (only once to date).
I was filled with the Holy Ghost thirty-seven years ago (I was really young…go figure) and always felt a hindrance about just freely speaking in tongues, which I suppose was more to do with the fear of “making it up”. But since I’ve matured, I feel regretful for stunting that unction because it seems so edifying now (which what its supposed to do).
BTW, I tried to explain what it was like to give tongues once to a lady who didn’t know much about Pentecost. In trying to describe the exhilaration and adrenaline, I think I scared the wits out of her.
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January 15, 2008 at 11:20 am
Dale, you mentioned that this ability to speak at will came years after initially receiving…correct?
Jason, is it the same for you as well?
Maybe in time it will happen for me….I received the Holy Ghost in October 2003…when I mentioned about my tongues changing? that was in August 2006…so maybe as I continue on, speaking at will shall happen? Though I do know of people who speak at will consistently shortly after intially receiving…or so it seems…
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January 15, 2008 at 11:51 am
Michael,
I have also had my tongues change over the years. Many times in fact. I have heard my tongue change while in prayer. At times it sounded oriental. I think this may be part of what the gift of “diverse kinds of tongues” entails: different kinds of languages. We focus on the “for interpreation” bit, but I think it implies the presence of multiple languages as well.
No, it was different for me. It didn’t take years, but months. I think part of the delay was that I never thought to try it! I thought tongues should only be spoken while in prayer. I just assumed we should start praying in English, and then start praying in tongues. Over time, though, I changed my thinking on that. Tongues is prayer! It’s just in a different language. Now, I may just rattle off a few “sentences” in tongues in the elevator, or sing a short tune in tongues while walking to my car.
I think we spiritualize tongues too much. When I was in Bible college I wanted to make a tape that contained snippets of people speaking in tongues, mixed in with people speaking in known earthly languages. I would then play it for people who were skeptical of tongues to prove that tongues are not gibberish. I jokingly called it “name that tongue.” I would play a snippet, and then ask the person to tell me if what they heard was a known language or tongues. Most could not tell the difference (interestingly, many Pentecostals couldn’t either). But I digress. When I asked different people around campus to record themselves speaking in tongues, some looked at me like I was asking them some blasphemous thing. Others complied, but would only do so if allowed the privacy of praying in their room first. I was amazed at how tongues were viewed as something sacred. Granted, it is supernatural in origin, but it’s still just a language that we are speaking.
In fact, have you ever noticed how people change their voice when they speak in tongues? It has a whole different tone. We are louder, and more monotone. All of our “sentences” are the same length. That’s not the Spirit. That’s us. Try this sometime. Talk to God in tongues, but like you would in English. Sometimes when I pray in tongues, I am thinking in English, but speaking words in tongues. Therefore the inflection and tone of my voice changes. The length of my sentences in tongues vary. To a person who walked in the room, they would think I was talking on the cell phone in a foreign language. It would not sound “spiritual” at all. In fact, this is what I did on “name that tongue”, and invariably, everyone thought it was an earthly language.
Jason
Jason
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January 16, 2008 at 10:32 am
The idea of glossolalia becoming more “polished” has been shown under scientific examination:
A number of studies on American English-speaking glossolalists have recently been done… Some glossolalia is very poorly organized and consists of little more than grunts and barely-formed sounds, while other glossolalia is highly organized into a systematic series of vowels and consonants. Several language studies, including our own, suggest that glossolalists develop their speech from ill-formed structure to “practiced” and “polished” glossolalic speech. Thus the quality of glossolalia depends to some extent on the stage of development of glossolalia.
The following seem to be reasonable conclusions from these studies. Glossolalia, in English-speaking subjects, is composed of the basic speech elements of English. The major difference consists of a lack of organization of the basic vowels and consonants into the elements necessary for intelligible speech. The elements of speech such as pauses, breaths, intonations, etc., are greatly reduced or changed. Thus glossolalic speech tends to resemble the early speech qualities of young children before they organize all the various parts of the adult language. Further, there is a reduced number of vowels and consonants used. The conclusions of the linguists is that glossolalia has the characteristics of partially formed language, while lacking certain requirements of true language.
http://meta-religion.com/Linguistics/Glossolalia/glossolalia_today.htm
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January 16, 2008 at 11:03 am
Arthur, I asked this in the other post on tongues, but I am putting it here as well because I wanted to make sure you saw it…
In these studies, were the subjects producing glossolalia as the Spirit of Christ gave utterance, or were they under the influence of themselves or another spirit(s)?
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January 16, 2008 at 11:31 am
As for the quality of the tonguese, with some being sophisticated and some being grunts, the same could be said of earthly languages. I live in CA. We have every kind of nationality you can think of here. I have heard some languages being spoken that literally made me laugh because they sounded so ridiculous. It was a bunch of grunts, and a lot of it sounded the same. I thought to myself, “is this even a language, or are these people experiencing stomach pains?”
Besides, like I said, I think the gift of “diverse” kinds of tongues means just that: differnet languages. Many have reported having their tongues change. Sometimes it is permanent. Sometimes it is temporary. I have experienced both.
Jason
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January 16, 2008 at 1:02 pm
Michael,
I’m not sure I understand your question. I think the persons were claiming to be speaking in tongues through the Spirit of Christ, but the results were not consistent with speaking actual languages. You can make whatever conclusions you like from that.
Arthur
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January 17, 2008 at 7:01 am
I haven’t spoken in tongues since my initial infilling of the Spirit. There was no effort involved on my part when I first spoke in tongues. I’ve earnestly sought God with prayer and fasting but this gift has not been given to me.
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January 17, 2008 at 2:24 pm
Anonymous,
If my understanding of Scripture, and my experience is correct, there is a difference between the gift of diverse kinds of tongues, and the tongues one speaks in when they receive the Holy Spirit. The former is only for some, and is only excercised occassionally. The latter is for all, and can be exercised any time. I don’t claim to know why you haven’t spoken in tongues since your initial infilling, but I do believe you can.
Jason
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January 21, 2008 at 10:53 am
Jason,
a little late on my response. Sorry. On Jan 15 you left a comment addressed to me…a couple things I wanted to respond on…well first thanks for shaing more of your experience…very enlightening! Additionally,
You mentioned:
“I think we spiritualize tongues too much.”
YES! (I yelled this out in my house for emphasis, lol)- maaaan, ok, I will leave it alone. But yes, I agree. To be quite honest man, many times when I speak/pray in tongues, I “feel” the same way I do when speaking/praying in english. Yet I have witnessed others who would speak/pray in english, appearing quite calm, yet when the tongues come, here come some theatrics. I am just wondering why it is like that at times for some people…
You also mentioned:
“In fact, have you ever noticed how people change their voice when they speak in tongues? It has a whole different tone. We are louder, and more monotone. All of our “sentences” are the same length. That’s not the Spirit. That’s us.”
YES I have noticed that and I agree with your conclusion. I dont know if people want to seem dramatic or over zealous when speaking in tongues or what. Perhaps the Corinthians were like this as well.
But like you said, though it is of supernatural origin, it is still a language. Hmmm, you know, what about the gifts of the Spirit – they are of supernatural origin too, but many times I dont see people act so charismatically with those…like you said, sometimes we spiritualize tongues too much….
Lets get spiritual about that more excellent way of Love!! I am just saying…lol
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May 29, 2008 at 3:18 pm
I dunno… I’ve been practically raised in the UPCI. And I dont remember ever really receiving the Holy Ghost I just realized one day during prayer that I was speaking in tongues and I was like wHOAH cool! but I got baptized at age 9 so It was around there. I have always spoken in tongues during prayer and worship, now Im in bible college and Im at Christ for the Nations which is a Charismatic bible college affiliated with the Assemblies of God…well once they taught on Tongues and I remember him telling us to speak in tongues…just like that at will spontaneously! and at first I thought we were all gonna pray a bit then let the spirit take over BUT NO they just ranting on in tongues and my head got really hot! and I turned red and I bowed my head and I had a stomach ache! I tried to pray and speak in tongues but I couldn’t!! I felt guilty and like I was making it up! so I dunno about just up and talking in tongues like that. I think its sacred and bueatiful but i have noticed when I got closer to God that my tongues changed alot! they became more eloquent, and different sounds ALSO I can think in English and speak in tongues during prayer…and I have only gave tongues on interpretation ONCE and it was TOTAlLY different that the other kind! this one I had no control of what I was saying and it sounded like a language with good diction and well developed signs! it was pretty cool..but yeah..
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May 29, 2008 at 5:20 pm
I also can think in English and pray in tongues. In fact, I think that’s what sets true tongues apart from fake tongues. If one has to think about what they are saying before they say it in tongues, then they are making up the words themselves. Their mind, rather than their spirit, is praying.
As for speaking in tongues at will, I do that all the time. Many Christians I know do. It seems to me that those who can’t usually don’t pray in tongues very much on a daily basis (or don’t pray that much period). That’s not to say the only reason for one’s lack of ability to pray in tongues at the drop of a hat is due to general prayerlessness or a lack of regular tongues-speaking, but it seems to be the common cause.
My tongues have changed many times over the years too. Sometimes they change several times in the same prayer meeting.
Jason
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May 29, 2008 at 6:09 pm
I know this is off topic but I have a question for you! It has been a goal of mine to like witness to a Muslim, Mormon Jehovah’s witness and The J’sW has showed up I have a meeting with some on Tues… any tips?
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May 30, 2008 at 11:11 am
It would take a book to answer this. For starters, they will take you to John 1:1 and try to argue that the Greek should be translated as “a god” rather than “God” in reference to the Word. That’s not true, but if you don’t know Greek it will be hard to rebut their claim. It’s best to take them to John 1:3 where it speaks of Jesus being the uncreated Creator. They teach that Jesus was the first creation of God, and then Jesus created everything else, but it is clear in John 1:3 that everything that came into being, came into being by Jesus. But that would be false if Jesus came into being by the agency of the Father.
Other than that, don’t let them sidetrack you into discussions about eschatology and blood transfusions. Tell them that while these might be important topics, they are not as important as the identify of Christ and the means to salvation. Focus on Jesus’ deity, and the doctrine of salvation by faith alone.
Jason
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November 25, 2009 at 11:21 pm
I’m like over a year late on this discussion. 🙂
I can speak in tongues at will, however it feels unnatural. I sometimes think I’m making it up.
On the other hand, during moments of intense difficulty tongues seems natural whether it is conscious or not. For example, in moments of emergency (mine or someone else’s) I can access tongues easier. Another example has been when I’ve experience nightmares and I woke up speaking in tongues.
Perhaps my feeling of tongues being unnatural is the result of not consciously cultivating it.
Any thoughts?
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November 26, 2009 at 3:22 am
Better late than never Jose!
If you are not consciously cultivating tongues, I would think that would make you feel that they are (super)natural, not unnatural. For me, that’s how I know that tongues are a supernatural phenomenon: I don’t have to consciously think of what I’m going to say next. I hear it come out of my mouth, and only then do I think about it. Furthermore, there is variation in the sounds I make. I’m not repeating the same four or six sounds over and over again repetitively.
Jason
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February 2, 2012 at 5:19 pm
Wow, some of you people need to wake up. Anyone that can speak in tongues on cue have serious issues. What about “as the spirit gave the utterance” don’t you understand? Either the holy spirit is uttering something or you are. I don’t believe those disciples were operating their own tongues when the people who heard them outside were so amazed at how they knew their own language. I’ll pay anyone who can start speaking in a clear defined foreign language at their own will. (of course one that they’ve never learned). The bible says in the last days that people would have a form of godliness but deny the true power of God. By saying God does not control the tongue is denying his power to do so. Instead you have your own form of tongues that is detesible to me and certainly to God.
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February 6, 2012 at 10:46 am
Dawn,
Giving the utterance just means that God gave them what to say. It doesn’t mean that the person cannot control when to start speaking the words that God is giving them and when to stop. While speaking of prophecy, Paul said that the spirit of the prophets is subject to the prophets. While God gave them what to say, they had the ability to determine when they said it. The same is true of tongues. What is of our own will is when we speak in tongues. What is of God’s will is our ability to do so.
Jason
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April 20, 2013 at 8:07 am
really late on this thread, but are there any current threads on this topic id love to join them and get in on the discussions. ive really enjoyed reading other peoples experiences..
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March 5, 2014 at 8:46 pm
I received the initial infilling of the spirit when I was 14 as evidenced by speaking in tongues and it was a powerful experience to say the very least. That was over 50 years ago. I haven’t spoken in tongues since but the Holy Spirit has guided and taught me to this very day- that same Spirit that I received the day I spoke in tongues, alone in my room, all those years ago. He even taught me his name in recent years. I hope to be baptized in his mighty name soon. On Gods clock time is irrelevant. A thousand years is as a day and a day as a thousand years.
If you have never spoken in tongues , take heart and wait upon God. His timing is perfect and at the appropriate time you will! Speaking in tongues in itself isn’t the miracle but is the evidence of the miracle,whereby we are baptized in Gods spirit for the purpose of guiding and comforting us. Even before we receive the baptism of the spirit God is working out a certain plan for our lives. Trust in God and he will guide us into the promise land, salvation.
There is one baptism in 2 parts – baptism in the Spirit and in water for the forgiveness of sins in the name of the Messiah, Yahshua.
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December 21, 2014 at 3:09 am
I spoke in tongues one time during prayer. This was 15yrs ago and it just happened. It came from deep inside of me and my throat felt as though it expanded so the words would come out. I knew it was from God but it never happened again.
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April 14, 2015 at 2:05 pm
I to only spoke in tongues a lil now i can talk all day in the spirit. The Lord has not given me interpretations yet. He said the time is not yet. I would love to know what language i speak.
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April 14, 2015 at 8:30 pm
teresa:
The tongues interpreter communicates the message of the tongues speaker to everyone else, so all could understand and benefit from the truth being spoken. The tongues were known languages, not ecstatic utterances. According to the apostle Paul, and in agreement with the tongues described in Acts, speaking in tongues is valuable to the one hearing God’s message in his or her own language, but it is useless to everyone else unless it is interpreted/translated.
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September 9, 2015 at 1:14 pm
Hello my name is Alexa, 22 years old
I just wanna share my experience in speaking tongues.
I was born and raised in catholic faith by the way. I first attended Christian praise and worship 2 years ago because my aunt invited me, during praise and worship I sometimes hear people speak in tongues (I questioned if its true or not and found it funny) after 6 months I stopped attending because I didn’t feel anything there. For almost a year I went back to attend catholic mass.
Last month my cousin invited me to his church which focuses on youth. when I was there I didn’t know what happened but I felt the Lord’s presence… When our Pastor asked “who will receive Jesus?” I raised my hand without any questions. That was then the start of my christian walk. A day before my baptism I had doubts if I should be baptized or not. I was then invited to CLUB 300 its a youth praise and worship, I received the gift of tongues there. I cried and laugh all at the same time. after 2 weeks I spoke in tongues again but it was different from the last time..
I know that I cannot speak in tongues at will. So I researched on tongues in youtube to listen to it but I found some of them fake. It was monotone and it sounds like that they memorized it.
It’s still a question for me if we can speak in tongues whenever we want to. I’m really grateful for this forum 🙂
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September 10, 2015 at 9:59 am
Teresa:
When you speak in tongues “…..now I can talk all day in the spirit…..)
Record what you speak? Write what you speak? (phonetically if need be) If so then write down what you speak and perhaps someone can tell you what you are talking about and what language you are speaking.
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March 27, 2016 at 12:38 pm
Hello brother jason,
I remember you writing get an article on tongues, and you mentioned that there is no distinction between the gift of tongues and filling of tongues, but you said in this thread that there is… can you please explain?
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April 6, 2016 at 12:58 am
Hi Cynthia. Yes, the explanation is that this blog post is from 2008, and I changed my opinion on the matter since then. 🙂
Jason
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April 10, 2016 at 8:56 pm
Earlier today some leaders layed hands on me and prayed for me to receive the gift of tongues I’ve been attending this church without really any break throughs but this morning was unlike anything I’ve ever experienced… I’d tried speaking in tongues before but like others said it didn’t really feel authentic like compared to today am i saved? I tried speaking tongues after but didn’t seem authentic. And it kinda felt like a pressure in My stomach waiting to be released when it happened and after they stopped praying it seemed like i couldn’t speak in them anymore. I’m attending a retreat this month and receiving further revival. It feels like a huge weight has been lifted from my shoulders and that I’m on the right path!
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April 11, 2016 at 9:17 am
Anthony:
No, you are not saved by speaking in tongues that you have no idea what language you are speaking in; jabbering gibberish gobblygook just doesn’t cut it I’m afraid.
Do you think you might need some psych counseling? And those laying on of hands and praying with you, do you think they might need some too?
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April 13, 2016 at 9:40 pm
Anthony, if you are going to receive the gift of diverse kinds of tongues, God will give it in His own time. It doesn’t come through our efforts. If it happens, you’ll know it. It’s not something you feign or make up. It’s not something you have to think about. See https://theosophical.wordpress.com/2008/01/11/how-to-tell-the-difference-between-fake-and-authentic-tongues/ for how to tell the difference between real and fake tongues.
Jason
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December 8, 2016 at 1:47 pm
I can pray at anytime at will in the Spirit, question, is it the Holy Spirit praying the unknown tongue, or man’s own spirit praying?
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December 30, 2016 at 11:13 am
Can any of you who do speak in tongues record yourself for maybe a minute (doesn’t matter what you use to record yourself, voice recorder on a phone, tape recorder – whatever). Once recorded, transcribe it (i.e. write it down on paper) and post it?
Once written down, you’d need to add punctuation (when you listen to someone speak, you can usually guess where a comma or period goes). You’d also need to place an accent mark over the syllable that receives the main stress in a given ‘word’ or string of syllables.
It would be interesting to see what some of these look (and sound) like.
Below is an example taken right off of a YouTube video of a legitimate pastor speaking a ‘tongue’ – here’s a transcription of what the person is saying:
Káyntay háychee, háychee kéeho hóro. /kénte héči, héči kího hóro/
Máhcha keetáy lah mócho, /máča kité la móčo/
rána mahcháy nay keetáh lau. /rána mačé ne kitá lau/
Réhnah shay kée nah máhto. /rɛ’na še kí na máto/
Essentially you read the above left-hand side as if it were English – the only convention I have used is to put an accent over the syllable in the ‘word’ that receives the main stress. The ‘ay’ here is the ‘ay’ in “day”, and of course, don’t forget to trill your R’s. The ‘word’ divisions and punctuation written is an assumption only and is based solely on the speaker’s intonation and phrasing. The right-hand side (the words in between the slashes) is a basic IPA phonetic transcription.
If you’re transcribing your tongue, you do not need to include an IPA transcription (unless of course, you know how to).
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December 30, 2016 at 2:27 pm
Kavik:
For
Káyntay háychee, háychee kéeho hóro. /kénte héči, héči kího hóro/
Máhcha keetáy lah mócho, /máča kité la móčo/
rána mahcháy nay keetáh lau. /rána mačé ne kitá lau/
Réhnah shay kée nah máhto. /rɛ’na še kí na máto/
Google translate says Haitian Creole detected but to English translation it only gives:
Káyntay háychee, háychee kéeho hóro. / Kente héči, héči kího hóro /
Máhcha keetáy Lah Mocho, / Maca left the móčo /
Rana mahcháy nay keetáh lau. / Rana Mace node Kita lau /
Réhnah shay Kee nah máhto. / Rɛ’na is unmarked hammer /
Except for unmarked hammer it seems the google translation is gibberish as I suspect most transcription would be if there are any.
I have never heard any kind of speaking in tongues that were not fake or otherwise mere blabbering in a pre-nervous breakdown just prior to admission to the mental hospital.
The “gift of tongues” so called is really a mix between going bananas and going cuckoo, like the face of Jesus in a potato or a piece of pizza if not his mother Mary in a slab of tree trunk.
As children we layed on the grass looking skyward and watched the cloud formations stoke our imaginative fantasy of horses, butterflies and faces of gods, sometimes rivers and countrysides and long streams of mountainous terrain….aaah those were the days of common sense folly that, even as kids we knew were nothing more than what we wanted to see and laughed at each others dreamy figments of cumulous clouds.
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January 3, 2017 at 9:59 am
LOL – Haitian Creole, interesting – I never tried sticking any examples of glossolalia in Google Translate. There is definitely nothing Haitian Creole in this example.
I think it proves the point though that it is inevitable that a glossic string may contain a few words in a real language spoken somewhere.
I’ve never heard tongues come out as any real language. There was one example I saw on YouTube quite a while back that took place at some service where an individual from a delegation from Africa stood up and spoke in “tongues” which where then interpreted by someone else in the audience. What the guy was speaking was simply his native Cape Verdean creole (a creole with Portuguese as its base). The person’s interpretation was not even remotely close to what the guy was actually saying (my Cape Verde creole is poor, but I know enough Portuguese to get the general gist of it).
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September 30, 2020 at 7:00 pm
Anyone can speak jibberish that’s why the brain can read at the same time. Tongues means language that’s it .if you spend the time to study this out and be honest with yourself you will find that this jibberish has been practiced in most religions especially today and it’s all part of pegan practices .the gift of tongues was for specific purposes in establishing the early church .(tongues is for the unbelievers )
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November 22, 2022 at 9:01 am
All the time they tend to change every time…. sometimes am just amazed of sounds I have never heard at a times they sound Arabic…french ..well I don’t know …God is mysterious
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November 22, 2022 at 9:13 am
Well as a believer I pray that you be careful at posts like this since 90% of the time ppl criticize what they don’t understand and as you know spiritual things are decerned and they can’t be reasoned out so you can Imagine …. tongues are spiritual hidden deep things of God that the holy spirit can reveal to you and in the word judge every comment according to the word and not assumptions…. because our experiences are not similar since it’s a relationship.. which means God expresses differently to each and every one of us…so if you don’t experience what I have it doesn’t make me fake or false and you better….hey expect something new …he does knew things every day like I smell fragrance when I speak in tongues so be the judge
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February 14, 2024 at 7:07 am
[…] cultivate the practice of speaking in tongues at will, individuals can incorporate various techniques and disciplines into their spiritual routine, […]
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