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God has a specific plan for your life. Do you know that? He has a destiny for every person that is as unique as their fingerprint. It is tailor-made to fit the special gifts and abilities God has given them.

Unfortunately, most Christians don't have a clue what that plan is, much less how to fulfill it. They'll hear a sermon about how vital it is to have a vision in life (and it surely is!); so they spend the next few weeks thinking...and thinking...and thinking...trying to figure out what their vision should be.

You may have done that yourself. If you have, you know what usually comes from that kind of mental figuring. One of two things: either an artificially contrived, fleshly "vision" that doesn't have an ounce of anointing on it; or nothing at all.

Why is that? It's because the plan of God isn't in your head! It's in your heart. It's a mystery of God that dwells inside you where the Holy Spirit lives. So it can't be figured out. It has to be prayed out.

You may think it's impossible to pray about something you don't know. But, praise God, you can do it if you're baptized in the Holy Ghost because Romans 8:26-27 says: "The Spirit...helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God."

In that scripture, the Greek word translated uttered refers to articulate speech, or a language we can understand. So when you need to pray about things you are unable to articulate with natural words, the Holy Spirit comes to your aid and helps you express those things with spiritual language and at times even with supernatural groanings.

The reason He does so is because we have an infirmity. Although in modern language we usually use that term in reference to sickness and disease, in the Greek it simply means an inability to produce results.

Not knowing is an "infirmity." It keeps you from producing the results you should be producing in life. But you don't have to struggle with that infirmity. All you have to do is simply rest in the Holy Spirit's ability. Just depend on Him as your helper, open your mouth and let Him pray through you in other tongues!

Praying Mysteries
First Corinthians 14:2 explains why it is so important for us to do that. There, Paul tells us, "He that speaketh in an unknown tongue speaketh not unto men, but unto God: for no man understandeth him: howbeit in the spirit he speaketh mysteries." The word mysteries in that verse actually means plans and purposes.

Some time ago, I was at the hospital while a friend of mine was having a baby. As I waited outside the delivery room I thought, Wouldn't it be nice if every baby came with a handbook that told all about God's plans for his life? Wouldn't it be wonderful if every time he needed guidance or direction, he could just open the handbook and find out which way to go?

Amazing as it might sound, every one of us actually has such a handbook. God has put it on the inside of us, down in our heart. And the Holy Ghost can search through it, find God's plan for us and then enable us to pray out that plan in other tongues. He can help us pray out our destiny!

Although you may feel like you're not destined for much of anything, I can assure you, you are! God has planned a course for you. (See Acts 20:22.) But you are not going to stumble onto that course by accident. You must pray about it so you'll be at the right place at the right time. You must speak it forth so God can bring it to pass.

You must purpose to reach down into you heart and hook into that mystery. Draw it out reverently and speak it out in tongues to God. Then release your faith believing that as you lift that mystery to Him in prayer, He will answer your prayer by working out His plan in your life.

I know of one particular couple who did that all the way through Bible college. They knew they were called of God to do something. They even sensed it was something big. But they had no idea what it was. So at times, when other students were relaxing or socializing, this couple set themselves to pray in tongues about the destiny God had planned for them. Today they pastor a tremendously successful church, have a nationwide radio ministry and are a blessing to many thousands of people. Because they prayed, they are right on course.

We live in the most critical time in history. This age is rapidly coming to a close. Each of us was born to help bring forth God's grand finale. We cannot afford to roam aimlessly through our lives without knowing and fulfilling our part in it all. So it's absolutely essential for every one of us to spend time praying out these mysteries for our own lives and for the church as a whole.

Interpreting Your Tongues
What's more, we shouldn't stop there. We shouldn't be content for God's plans to remain mysteries to us. We should go yet a step further, obeying the instructions given us in 1 Corinthians 14:13-14: "Wherefore let him that speaketh in an unknown tongue pray that he may interpret. For if I pray in an unknown tongue, my spirit prayeth, but my understanding is unfruitful."

God doesn't want to leave you in the dark. He isn't hiding His plans from you. He wants you to understand His plan for your life. He wants you to know His will and the things He has prepared for you. First Corinthians 2 makes that very clear:

...What we are setting forth is a wisdom of God once hidden [from the human understanding] and now revealed to us by God - [that wisdom] which God devised and decreed before the ages for our glorification [to lift us into the glory of His presence.... As the Scripture says, eye has not seen, and ear has not heard, and has not entered into the heart of man, [all that] God has prepared (made and keeps ready) for those who love Him....Yet to us God has unveiled and revealed them by and through His Spirit, for the [Holy] Spirit searches diligently, exploring and examining everything, even sounding the profound and bottomless things of God.... And we are setting these truths forth in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the [Holy] Spirit, combining and interpreting spiritual truths with spiritual language [to those who possess the Holy Spirit] (vv. 7,9,10,13, AMP).

Did you notice the last sentence? It says we are taught these truths as we interpret spiritual truths with spiritual language. In other words, the mysteries are unveiled as we receive the interpretation of our tongues!

Some people think interpreting their tongues is something so wildly supernatural that as an ordinary Christian they could never do it. Nonsense! The Corinthian church was full of not just ordinary, but downright immature believers. Yet Paul told them to pray that they might interpret their tongues and I don't believe he would have told them to pray for something beyond their spiritual reach.

Actually most people don't have a problem learning to interpret their tongues. They have a problem recognizing the interpretations when they receive them because they often come in such a quiet, unspectacular manner.

Interpretations rarely resound from your lips in King James English the moment you finish praying in tongues. Sometimes, they come hours or even days later. You might spend some time praying in tongues one day, then the next day you might find yourself praying things in English you've never prayed before. You may be speaking truths entirely new to you yet they just flow forth easily because they are coming by the Holy Spirit who is giving you the interpretation of the tongues you prayed the previous day.

At other times, you might be washing dishes or driving down the street when you have a flash of insight. Suddenly you just know something you didn't know before. Perhaps a puzzle piece of God's plan will slip into place and you'll think, Oh, I see now what God wants me to do in that area of my life!

What happened? You received the interpretation of those prayers you prayed in tongues.

In my prayer life, I often begin to receive the interpretation of my tongues while I'm actually praying but I usually don't get it all at once. Instead, as I pray in tongues, English words or phrases will come to me. They may not make any sense to me at first, but I'll speak them out in faith anyway, expecting God to further my understanding.

I don't sit there and try to put together an interpretation with those words. I just keep praying in tongues and waiting on God until a revealing comes to my spirit. Sometimes even after I receive that revealing, I may not be able to articulate it. So I just keep praying in tongues and often a few days later, the articulation will come and I'll be able to speak the mystery out clearly in English.

Right now, you may be thinking you could never do this. But, believe me, you can! We have little children at our church who can interpret their tongues. What's their secret? They simply believe.

As with every other aspect of prayer, your ability to interpret your tongues will increase as you develop your faith and continue to practice. You'll probably start by taking one small step at a time. You may get just a word of interpretation here and a word there.

When you do, just thank God for it. Ask Him to enable you to go further and then expect the Holy Ghost to help you as you continue to explore the glorious mysteries of God.

Working Out at God's Gym
If you'll do that, eventually God's plan for your life will start being revealed to you. When that happens, there is something very important you must do.

Keep right on praying in tongues. You'll have the spiritual muscle to do what you need to do!

First Corinthians 14:4 says, "He that speaketh in an unknown tongue edifieth himself." Edify means to build up, strengthen or fortify. Have you ever seen body builders who spend hour upon hour in the gym lifting weights to strengthen their muscles? It's amazing what they can accomplish even though their physical bodies have natural limitations.

Our spirits have no such limitations. Just think what we could accomplish if we'd spend more time in the Lord's gym, edifying ourselves by praying in other tongues!

It takes strength to walk in the plans and purposes of God. It takes spiritual might to lay hold of those things for which He has laid hold of us (Phil. 3:12). There are some people who know God has called them to a particular office of ministry. They have a clear vision of what He wants them to do. But they are too spiritually weak to do it.

Make up your mind right now not to let that happen to you. Determine to keep feeding on the Word and following the instructions in Jude 20.

"But you, beloved, build yourselves up [founded] on your most holy faith [make progress, rise like an edifice higher and higher], praying in the Holy Spirit" (AMP).

Don't wait until you feel spiritually weak to edify yourself, either. Do it all the time!

Personally, I find praying in tongues is especially helpful when I'm wanting to pray but don't seem to have a clear sense of direction. Quite often, after I've prayed in tongues to edify myself for a while, my heart will take hold of something and I'll know which way to go.

There are other times when I just sense the need to enlarge my spiritual capacity so I can rise to a higher level in prayer. At those times, I might decide to pray a set amount of time in other tongues for the purpose of edifying myself. I might do it for 30 minutes as a kind of spiritual exercise.

It's only fair to warn you though: if you've not spent much time praying this way, you'll probably be comfortable doing it for only a few minutes at first. Then your flesh will get restless and want to stop. One of the best ways to handle that is to train your spirit like a physical trainer would train an athlete. Set goals and make yourself stretch past your comfort zone. But keep them realistic enough to prevent discouragement.

If you're only comfortable praying in other tongues for 15 minutes, determine to pray for 20 minutes. When 20 minutes becomes comfortable, stretch yourself to 25 or 30 minutes, increasing your capacity a little at a time.

In my own prayer life, I've found that normally after 20 minutes or so of praying in tongues for edification, I'll experience an unction or an anointing. Instead of having to draw out those tongues like water from a well, they'll begin to bubble forth like a spring. That's when it becomes less of a discipline and more of a delight. So I encourage you to set your faith, believe for that unction, and keep praying until it comes.

Actually, when it comes to finding your destiny, that's the key: Keep on praying.

Keep praying until you know. Keep praying so you can grow. Keep praying so you can go forth and fulfill the glorious plan God has for you!

Author Biography

Lynne Hammond
Web site: Lynne Hammond Ministries
 
A teacher and an author, Lynne publishes a newsletter called Prayer Notes, has written numerous books, and currently serves as the national prayer director for Daughters for Zion. Her passion for inspiring and leading others into the life of Spirit-led prayer continues to take her around the world to minister to believers whose heart cry, like hers, is “Lord, teach me to pray!”
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