Prayer Language and Speaking in Tongues:
Do You Speak Holy Ghost?
By Mary Alice Isleib
The Holy Spirit has given us a powerful prayer language that we can use as a
weapon against the wiles of the enemy. Are you using all the weapons in your
spiritual arsenal? Many are adept at wielding the sword of the Spirit and pleading
the blood of Jesus against principalities and powers. Others do spiritual warfare
through walking in obedience and love. Still others dispatch ministering angels,
worship or prophesy against the enemy, declaring his ultimate doom. But
Scripture teaches of another weapon that Spirit-filled believers can include
in our artillery as we press in to do damage to enemy forces in the hostile clash
between the kingdom of darkness and the Kingdom of Light: praying in tongues.
Seeing prayer as a part of God’s war arsenal can be difficult for some believers to
grasp. Tradition teaches us that our prayers only touch God and that in order to be
holy we should be quiet and still. However, the Bible declares that effective fervent
prayer releases God’s power (James 5:16). When we pray, we are permitted by
Scripture to be fervent (passionate, bold, expressive, free, demonstrative, intense,
and the like). When we pray along these lines, God’s power is then made available
to work in three spiritual levels.
First of all, that prayer power works in the highest heaven where God is; it engages
all He is and all He has promised. Secondly, that power is released against the demonic
strongholds of the principalities and powers in the “second heaven” (the atmosphere from
terra firma to the starting place of God’s domain in the third heaven). Finally, the power of
God is released in the physical realm to work in and through human beings. The enemy can
and indeed does influence individuals. That’s why deliverance ministry and a prayer life set
people free and keep them free. We must deal with the enemy and all his tactics.
Perhaps one of the least used forms of prayer in our clash of the kingdoms is praying in the
Holy Ghost. While praying in tongues edifies us, it also allows the Holy Spirit to express Him-
self when we don’t know how to pray as we ought. When it comes to spiritual warfare,
despite spiritual discernment, we still see through a glass darkly. We still don’t see every-
thing that is coming against us in the realm of the spirit. Therefore, speaking in tongues is a
valuable weapon in our spiritual arsenal.
Notice that the Scripture says the Holy Spirit gave them “clear and loud expression” (Acts
2:4 AMP). In the world of tongues, there are clear expressions, different expressions, and
loud expressions. God is a God of personality and variety. He expresses His personality
through the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit will give you clear and loud expressions when you
speak in tongues; specific expressions and utterances that are supernatural, that are
divine in their origin and purpose, and that have different purposes before God in the
spiritual world.
Notice that the Bible says we speak in tongues. Speaking in tongues can be compared to
speaking a natural language with all the various tones and sounds of that language. It is
not just a form of monotone prayer, but a spiritual language and vocabulary that we use
to pray with.
When we begin to speak a language in the natural, many different things open to us:
experiences and avenues of expression that were formerly closed take on a whole new
meaning. This is so with the supernatural as well. When we begin to speak in tongues,
many new things and ideas open to us.
In the language of tongues there will be expression, purpose and communication in what
you are speaking in the spirit world. For example, you will find when you get into the spirit
realm that you can be before the Lord, but not necessarily speak directly to Him, although
that’s a part of it, too.
There is another side, where you can be before Him in the spirit, and speak in tongues by
the Holy Spirit as a form of spiritual warfare. You are not speaking to God, and you are not
praying against God; you are in the spirit world, before the throne of God. Away from that
place, when you use the language of tongues, you can correctly handle prayer requests
and needs in a spiritual way with the help of the Holy Spirit working in and through your
prayer language.
To be clear, you are not speaking directly to the devil in tongues. People sometimes ask,
“Does the devil under-stand tongues?” I don’t think the devil understands tongues. The
thing he does under-stand when we speak in tongues is the Holy Spirit and His power
behind the tongues. The source of the tongues is the Holy Spirit, whether we’re speaking
directly to God or we’re speaking out into the spirit realm, dealing with an enemy.
Whenever you deal with a supernatural enemy, God has supernatural weapons to over-
power that enemy. Tongues is one of those weapons. The force behind the tongues is the
Spirit of God, and He is a weapon! Jesus Himself said that He cast out devils by the Spirit
of God (Matthew 12:28 ). You have the same Holy Spirit within you.
As we engage in a spiritual face-to-face conflict we allow God to dominate as He
empowers our spiritual weapons and uses them to counter the enemy’s activities. Satan
may be legally defeated, but he is still the lord of this world and he is busy at work. God is
calling apostolic and prophetic believers to use each and every weapon at our disposal to
enforce Kingdom rule on earth. Pray in tongues, stir up the gift and weapons of God within
you, and let your most powerful prayer partner help you overcome the opposition.
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Sat Jan 24, 2009 6:34 pm