Utterance Gifts ~ Divers Kinds of Tongues ~ Fire of Angels!

Tongues afire, tongues afire!  I don’t think there is another gift of the Holy Spirit that can cause such controversy and angst at times.  Why?  Because it is a mysterious gift; in addition, I think it is misunderstood.  And I include myself in this category of misinterpretation, too. 

Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them.  And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.  (Acts 2:3-4).

From my friend Pastor Patricia: “Paul walked in all of the gifts, and so did our Lord, we can do even greater works because He went to the Father to send the the Holy Spirit to us.

I believe Satan hates the gift of tongues, because he cannot understand them.  He understands our natural speaking. I believe he tries to divide the church regarding this gift of the Holy Spirit.  Satan hates the Baptism of the Spirit.  He could divide us by our doctrines and cause us not to be united.  He also could make us powerless so that we may not accomplish those things that are of the miraculous.  He does this by distracting us from believing that the gifts are available to us.

The Lord uses this gift so that the church be edified by it through interpretation.”

When I wrote my book, I included a section on how I received my tongue aka prayer language.  I know I am limited in my experience in this gift, and I want to grow into full maturity in it.  So, I am excited to prayerfully write this article letting the Holy Spirit guide my words.

The Lord and I have decided on the color of burnt orange for this gift.  Get it?  Tongues of Fire…Burnt Orange😊 It is similar in color to a Fire opal.  Who makes His angels spirits, His ministers a flame of fire.  (Psalm 104:4). 1 Corinthians 13:1 suggests we can speak with the tongues of angels (more on that later), my point being His angels AND His ministers (us, I believe) are flames of fire.  Also, I sense tongues are the tones of Heaven.

What is Divers Kinds of Tongues and why does the Lord use it?

The gift is a supernatural utterance or inspiration in languages not learned by the speaker nor understood.  A hearer of the tongue may not understand the language either.  Again, this Holy Spirit dialect has nothing to do with the mind of man but it is a vocal miracle.  Per Kenneth Hagin: The purposes of speaking in tongues include evidence of the Spirit’s indwelling; talking to and magnifying God supernaturally; provides teachable revelation; it edifies the believer by praying in the Spirit; and helps with spiritual warfare.

I found this explanation intriguing: TONGUES OF ANGELS – Apostolic Wonders Media

“The only place the Bible talks about tongues of angels is in 1 Corinthians 13:1 and it was where Paul the Apostle was comparing “spiritual gifts” with “having the love of God or charity”. This implies that “tongues of angels” has a lot to do with spiritual gifts especially the Gift of Divers Kinds of Tongues.”

Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal.

“When you have the Gift of Divers Kinds of Tongues, you can speak both the “tongues of men” and “tongues of angels” through the influence of the Holy Spirit. For instance, you can find yourself speaking Chinese language whereas you had never learnt Chinese before – That is an example of speaking “tongues of men” supernaturally. In the same vein, you can find yourself speaking tongues of angels through the inspiration and influence of the Holy Spirit.

Now, why do angels decide to share their tongues with Christians? It is because they want to get involved in our situations, they want to be involved in our callings and ministries, they want to ride on your prayers and do wonders as you pray in tongues. So, when you speak with the tongues of angels, you are connecting to the Angelic realm, and in that realm, there’s nothing called impossible, anything can happen (because there’s an unending flow of God’s Power) in that realm.”

How is this gift used by the Lord? 

Though the gift can be unsettling to those who have not heard it before, I find it comforting in prayer.  That is normally where I have encountered the gift, and all of my prayer partners have utilized this gift more extensively than I have.  I pray in my prayer language alone or if I’m with others who have the gift.  I know it is a joyful noise to Heaven!

If I am praying with someone who perhaps is less advanced in the gifts, then I pray in my tongue silently so I don’t offend or make them afraid.  I try to use wisdom when I’m praying with someone in the area of prayer.  We are to do all things in love with other believers.   

I know firsthand that the tongue I have been given sets fear in the enemy because when confronted in intercession or in my dreams he flees.  Though I do not know what I’m saying he seems to fear it…regardless, the outcome is what I want and that is for him to leave me alone!

For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds.  (2 Corinthians 10:4).

I am saying it is an extremely valuable and comforting gift when you have it.  So, ask the Holy Spirit for the Divers Kinds of Tongues and when it is His timing, He will gently lead you into the gift.  In addition, He will teach when and how to use it but above all, don’t be afraid of it.  We know God exists; we have faith in Him; and this particular gift is a wonderful supernatural experience of speaking a heavenly utterance to God…like a sweet aroma back to Him!

Remember His marvelous works which He has done, His wonders, and the judgments of His MOUTH.  (Psalm 105:5).

Just a note, if Divers Kinds of Tongues are spoken in a public setting, the Bible says seek interpretations for such, so all who hear it may be edified according to 1 Corinthians 14:5 “I wish you all spoke with tongues, but even more that you prophesied; for he who prophesies is greater than he who speaks with tongues, unless indeed he interprets, that the church may receive edification.”

For more study, read 1 Corinthians 14:7-22 explaining in depth the operation of the gift.

An Example of Divers Kinds of Tongues in practice

I thought I would give a few accounts of how people have received the gift of tongues.  In my case, I was told by my mentor and big sister to seek the gift after I received the Baptism of the Holy Spirit.  It took months of praying before I saw words in my head while I walked over a few days.  I learned to pronounce the words visually and practiced what I thought it sounded like.  Pretty uneventful!  Though my language does pop out in emergency situations or when I am afraid or joyous; most of the time it is controllable.

A humorous story occurred when my prayer language popped out during a very stressful event.  A stray dog got into our fenced yard and Titus was holding it at bay by clamping on its ear.  The stray was crying furiously, and I was trying to unclamp Titus’s teeth from its ear.  While doing so, the stray bit up and down my arm…and as it was biting me, I started shouting very loudly the words of my prayer language (the tongue).  Neighbors were watching and needless to say they were speechless but also probably thought I had lost it!  The stray was released and jumped over our 6-foot fence to escape.  I then ended up in the emergency room with a tetanus shot!

This is my mentor’s account of how she received tongues: “There was very little drama when I received my gift of tongues. I was having a little lay down in my bedroom, easy little prayer time. It was about one week after my Baptism of the Holy Spirit and I had been receiving teaching about the Gifts from my mentor. I was surprised that nothing very dramatic had happened and maybe even a little disappointed.

I knew many people began speaking in tongues right away but I had not been able to. I was worried that I wasn’t good enough to receive them. Others seemed so much more “holy” than I. So silly, I know. And it seemed there should be more to it and what if I tried and nothing happened? I’d be so sad, as I REALLY wanted to be able to do it. Maybe I wasn’t worthy.

Lying there, I finally decided to give it a go. I decided that if it didn’t work, I could always try again later after I had studied and learned better how to serve Him. I finally prayed a simple prayer and asked Him to please grant me this special gift. I sat up on my bed and began tentatively to speak out loud. I heard strange sounds immediately! I thought maybe I was just making the sounds up so I asked Him what the sounds meant and He told me!

It sounded like gibberish but had meaning to Him, and when I learned what I was saying, to me as well. I was euphoric! I was afraid to stop, fearing I wouldn’t be able to do it again, but I found that I could just speak it, stop and begin again at will. It was music to my own ears and surely to His, as well. My children were at school, my husband at work, so I spoke it happily off and on throughout the day.

I later learned the true power of this gift when praying in hard situations for others. I use the gift liberally when in danger, in pain, for clearing away evil, for blessing people, homes, churches, anything and everything. It is a powerful gift and I am eternally grateful for it, as for the others in my quiver.

I rarely speak it aloud when praying for others, as it cannot usually be understood by them and could alarm some if they are not knowledgeable or familiar with this gift. It is something to be used quietly, in my opinion, and not something to be used to impress anyone. It can be just as effective prayed under one’s breath, but there were times in my ministry when I needed to shout it out. Again, it is a very powerful gift.

As I mentioned, I could understand my language from the beginning and later learned that is another gift called Interpretation of Tongues.”

I will end this post with a more dramatic arrival of this gift to a sister.  A former prayer partner of mine was sitting at her church when see literally saw tongues of fire flying towards her.  She couldn’t believe what she was seeing, though they landed on her and she began to speak!  She still has this dramatic language today!

I will add here that I am from a Calvary Chapel background; my sister and my mentor are Presbyterians; and my former prayer partners were Pentecostal.  So, the Lord does not care about denominations, only that you want to receive all the gifts He has for you. 

I pray I have given you excitement and incentive to seek the gift of Divers Kinds of Tongues, the fire of men and angels!  Do not fear, God is near.

Visit the Archives to read my sister Sherry’s account of learning her given tongue through a dream called “Watch Me”.