Most people continue to wonder if praying in the Spirit is the same as praying in tongues. What does it really mean to pray in the Spirit, and are we in the Spirit when praying in tongues? We know how confusing this can be. Therefore, this praying in the Spirit vs praying in tongues comparison will examine both concepts to help you learn if they’re the same. This article aims to help Christians learn their differences and similarities so we can live an effective Christian life; let’s take a look.
Is Praying in Tongues the Same as Praying in the Spirit?
Simply put, praying in the Spirit doesn’t mean praying in tongues. Though there are many more who interpret it thus, they’re entirely different. In John 4: 22-24, Jesus said that true worshippers worship in the Spirit and truth. This means that your worship and prayers need to generate from the heart. This is because God is Spirit, and to communicate with Him, we have to do so with our Spirit.
Therefore, praying in Spirit means praying with your entire being and depending on the Holy Spirit. So when we pray in the Spirit, we’re not just putting mere words together for effect; we’re praying from the heart and with the support of the Holy Spirit.
The differences between them
Praying in the Spirit is much more than praying tongues. Although when we pray in the Spirit, we might pray in the tongue in the process, that’s not all there is to it. Praying in tongues can also help you pray in the Spirit better because it fills a believer’s prayer with more power.
Praying in the Spirit can spur us to begin to speak in tongues as it could drive home our prayer more effectively. Praying in tongues helps you to pray in the Spirit correctly; it is a way of praying in and with the Spirit.
There are three parts to praying in the Spirit and in tongues.
First, it involves admitting that we can’t do it without God, enjoying a living communion with God, and pleading with the promises of God with an assurance that he will answer.
- Admit Our Inability: We must always begin with the confession that we can’t do without God. Then, we start praying in the Spirit, recognizing that prayer is a spiritual activity and that the flesh profits nothing at all. By doing this, we’re yielding ourselves to the Spirit and opening our hearts to prayerful anticipation.
- Enjoy a Living Communion with God: When praying in the Spirit and tongues, we enjoy communion with God. The Spirit brings you right into God’s presence, an act of fellowship and communion. Praying in the Spirit involves bowing before God as humbled children in awe of Him. There’s no need to rush our words when we pray in the Spirit; we are aware of God’s presence and bask in it.
- Plead with Holy Boldness and Assurance: When we bow before God’s presence in awe of Him, we are also aware of our intimacy with him. Therefore, the Spirit also breathes boldness and life into our prayers. This boldness pleads with the promises of God in the presence of God. We do not claim or demand; we simply let our requests be made known unto Him. As long as it comes from your heart, God will understand.
Scriptures To Ponder On
Praying in the Spirit is mentioned in these Bible verses
- Ephesians 6:18 “And pray in the spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests.”
- Jude 1:20 “But you, dear friends, by building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit.”
- Romans 8:26 “In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans.”
The Bible refers to speaking in tongues in these Bible verses.
- 1 Corinthians 14:2 “For one who speaks in a tongue speaks not to men but to God; for no one understands him but he utters mysteries in the Spirit.”
- Acts 2:4 “And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.”
- 1 Corinthians 14:4 “The one who speaks in a tongues builds up himself, but the one who prophesies builds up the church.”
There’s so much power that we have access to when we pray in the Spirit. Additionally, we tend to achieve more when we add praying in tongues to praying in the Spirit. The combination of both ensures you’re not praying amiss and brings about assurance and confidence that we’ve touched the throne of grace. This comparison of praying in the Spirit vs praying in tongues shows that when doing either of the two, the holy presence of God fills us in a way that nothing compares.
