It is important we understand that the effectiveness or efficacy of prayer doesn’t have much to do with it’s length, how often we pray, or the intensity of our shout but rather it is our faith in God and His word that matters (Hebrews 11:6). Importantly effective prayers must be in line with God’s will, plan and purpose for us
Praying in the Spirit is a key way of making supplication for the saints. And speaking in tongues is a way of praying in the Spirit. When we identify relevant scriptures for different situations, praying in tongues ensures we pray the perfect will of God; because the Spirit prays for us according to the Word and according to the Mind of God concerning a situation or circumstance.
Yes, I am born of God, God is love, and so I am love. The love of God has been poured abundantly in my heart, and pour from it to others.
The Sword of the Spirit is the Word of God. It should be drawn always, wielded by speaking it continually; in all times and seasons.
One of the benefits of praying in other tongues is that we speak mysteries, we pray things we know nothing about, the Holy Spirit prays them through us. Sometimes He provides the interpretations of our tongues and helps our understanding but even when that doesn’t happen, we’re confident that we pray aright.
“…every man heard them speak in his own language.” Acts 2: 6b
On the day of Pentecost, the Bible informs us that this momentous event was heard in all languages. No language was left out. The 21st Century is science and technology driven. Will it be right to ignore the language of science and technology when propagating the gospel?Before we answer the question, it is pertinent to look at the past.
The Bible was written in the agrarian age when society depended on agriculture as it primary means for support. The parable of the sower, The Parable of the Mustard seed, and the Parable of the Wicked Husbandman are just a few pointers to this. The imageries and language used were apt because they were concepts that people understood and identified with.
Biblical principles are timeless but it will be reasonable to say that if the Bible was penned in the 21st Century, a few technological parables may have been included. I believe that without using the language of science and technology, it will be difficult to connect to a certain population of people.
Many people believe that science and spirituality are polar opposite but from the Christian perspective they are not. From the biblical perspective, the spiritual realm is stable, predictable, certain, reliable. In Psalm 19:7 we are told that the law of the Lord is perfect. If the Biblical spiritual laws are not amorphous it therefore implies that it can be subjected to scientific scrutiny and expressed using the scientific language.
Science is like the Biblical doubting Thomas and does not believe anything without evidence. In other words, science does not have blind faith. Although Our Lord Jesus rebuked Thomas for his unbelief, nevertheless He spoke to him in a language that he understood.
In this era of wireless communication, I pray that the good Lord will give the church the boldness to speak with the new tongue of science which is part of the new tongues promised in Mark 16:17. A careful observer will not fail to recognize that communication with God is wireless!
Iniobong T. Ekpo is the author of the book “The Spirit Transplant – The Science of God Decoded“.
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Dear Iniobong (my brother and friend), thank you for your article. As always this is another ‘deep thinking stuff’. It is crisp, concise and deep.
I agree with you that for effectiveness in propagating the gospel and winning souls, it is to the Church’s advantage to speak in ‘the new age language’. As you cited in Acts 2, the observers that gathered on the Day of Pentecost marveled and were amazed on hearing their respective languages spoken by strangers.
“And when this sound occurred, the multitude came together, and were confused, because everyone heard them speak in his own language. Then they were all amazed and marveled, saying to one another, “Look, are not all these who speak Galileans? And how is it that we hear, each in our own language in which we were born?”
Acts 2:6-8 NKJV
Science is by default evidence based and it is never totally satisfied. And as you rightly pointed out, the Word of God is timeless, powerful and forever settled. As Christians, I believe our quest for knowledge and evidence as regards our belief can be guided by Luke 11:29 and James 1:6-8. This would be helpful to quickly recognize and clip even the smallest iota of doubt which may be subtly presenting as a quest for evidence.
“And while the crowds were thickly gathered together, He began to say, “This is an evil generation. It seeks a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah the prophet.”
Luke 11:29 NKJV
“But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.”
James 1:6-8 NKJV
The Word of God is powerful in and of itself. Such is the power that brought on another round of amazement and bewilderment on another group of observers as Peter, an uneducated unscientific fellow preached….
“Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled. And they realized that they had been with Jesus.”
Acts 4:13 NKJV
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Friends, remember you can now publish on Grace Obomanu Blog (under the Christian Life Saving Skills Category). Simply email your articles to graceobomanu@gmail.com. Together we are making known the Beauty and Benefits of our Belief, thereby giving others the opportunity to believe too. That is what the Father’s Business is all about.
Love Always❤
Grace Obomanu
