Tongues

I have been taught from early days that tongues are
For those that are not quite all there,
For those that are weird and strange
For they cannot control their tongues.
They speak in languages that even they do not know,
Harsh clamming sounds that come from the Devil.
And they fall down and shake all over the place
Or run up and down the aisle like a madman
As if some great mystery has captured them
And bound their freewill and taken captive their bodies.
These tales come from those who fear the different
Those who are set in their traditions.
And sadly even some of those who speak talk as if it is not normal.
They are all lies the Devil’s spun to invoke fear
To hold people in bondage and powerless.

To a man dying of cancer
The thought of getting hands and oil on them
Seem a small price to pay for being healed. So he asks.
I had accepted Christ but saw no victory in my life.
I that believed those lie about tongues until one day
The thought of one more powerless day
One more day without joy or hope
Was more than I could take.
I realized that I did not even know what to pray
And I was missing part of His blessing.
Like the dying man, I asked for healing
And brace myself for what was to come.
Ready to be strange and peculiar if it brought relieve.
Ready to surrender every part of me to Jesus
Even my tongue and reputation.

Inside there was a stirring of my soul
A fire that set ablaze my longing for intimacy with God
The energy forced my heart to sing it praise.
Syllables came up from deep within my soul to my mouth
At first with help, and then one or two sounds on my own.
Soon words flowed to heaven on their own.
They were sweet and beautiful to my ear, a loving melody.
I did not know what they meant, I did not care, my chains were gone.
I did know the freedom that I felt,
As if a thousand pounds was lifted from my shoulders.
As praise went up the blessings came down
Peace filled my soul deep inside it core
And pushed out all fear from its hiding places.
A peace that can look at the storm as say, be still your safe.
A peace that knows without a doubt that everything will be all right.
A peace that starts at your head and flow down to your soul.
It was followed by power, not the power that I expected
For I looking for something to zap me and make miracles happen.
Instead it was a quite power, that built up faith in me.
One that said yes you can do it through Him. Get up.
You can believe and see your mountains move before you.
The joy that came was so wonderful, so sweet, so delightful.
Like the sun sings of a new and happy day and send forth it light.
Like the look on a mother the first time, she sees her child’s face.
Like that of a father that thought his child lost and dead
But now sees him running home to him.

If it had stopped there, I still would have been blessed
But I would have missed the best.
For it awoke in me the Holy Spirit.
Time and space seemed frozen for the moment
In that perfect knowledge and understanding.
I had felt God’s and Christ’s presences before
But somehow missed the person within me.
And yes I shook and trembled at that revelation
And if there had been an aisle to run, I might have.
I am still in awe of His presences inside this lowly vessel.
God has chosen to make his home in me.
So that I am never alone to face my fears
And always have someone to fight for my victory.
He is a friend closer than a brother is.
He speak quietly to my heart and mind
And teaches me how to pray and what to ask.
He tells me that whatever I need, He has it.
Tongues is an awesome wonderful gift from above,
It is quite natural if you let go of your fears.
The Holy Spirit is with you not controlling you against your will.
And you can call me crazy for wanting it,
But you are crazier if you do not and I pity you.
I know why Satan worked so hard to fan the fire of fears
For he knows that once we truly join with the Holy Spirit
He can never remove us from God
And he has lost forever his power and hold on us forever.

Kathy Barnes
Copyright 6-4-09