AN UNCOMMON COMMON LANGUAGE

MONDAY 6 SEPTEMBER
One very obvious and deliberate activity here on a daily basis is praying in tongues. This is one of the spiritual gifts mentioned in the New Testament and encouraged/expected as part of the spiritual lives of all in the House. If you have read Jackie Pullinger’s book, ‘Chasing the Dragon’ you’ll know that this has been a crucial part of her ministry with drug addicts from the start, although the first time it happened it greatly surprised her. When an addict receives Christ at one of the weekly outreach addicts meetings around Hong Kong they are invited to receive the gift of tongues and begin to use it straightaway as part of their new experience of Jesus Christ and as a key weapon in the battle they will be facing in the days, weeks, months, years ahead. When a new believer prays it is often hard to know what to say and what words to use in order to express their love for Jesus. Praying in tongues can allow them to encounter God spirit to Spirit as they begin to worship Him and allow His healing to begin.

As each Brother starts their journey in this way it is no surprise that the practice continues right at the heart of the everyday life in the House. So most days, before anything else happens, before breakfast, at 7.30am, the House gathers and prays together in tongues.

I admit that at first this was a little unusual for me, I usually start the day with cereal and fruit juice, but it soon became something beautiful with a rhythm and cadence that, despite 40 individuals praying together at the same time, there was a unity flowing through it. I felt that something deeply spiritual was taking place and a sense of God’s presence was tangible.

My first experience of ‘tongues’ was not a good one. In 1987 Kerry and I were staying with a lady we didn’t know (it’s a long story) and one evening she had a Bible Study at her house. The evening went well until it was time to ‘speak in tongues’ and having been brought up in a tradition that never mentioned it we were both ill equipped for it and quite confused by it. To make it worse, after the study had finished it was apparent that the group held the view that if you didn’t speak in tongues then you weren’t a Christian, which made us feel ‘great’!

Despite that start and initially becoming very resistant to it, as the years have gone on I have taken a much more relaxed view towards it as I have read and heard teaching about it from a more balanced, dare I say more biblical, perspective.
My time here has certainly brought it into the spotlight again but I think I understand the reason for it more now than ever. It is not the only way we have prayed, it certainly isn’t hyped up, it is just normal here. I have seen how powerful it is and how it is proving a valuable tool for the Brothers as they seek to encounter the Divine every day. When you become a Christian it is hard to know what to pray for and how to pray and it seems that tongues has opened the way for a relationship with God to start and flourish as spirit touches Spirit. It is part of the armoury in the fight against the enemy and many victories have been won in the Brothers’ lives as they seek God and find Him. Just as we stretch physically before breakfast, praying in tongues is the spiritual stretching that sets up the worship and prayer that punctuates the daily routine.

Paul says, 1 Corinthians 14:4, ‘He who speaks in a tongue edifies himself,’ builds himself up, and you can see that happening every morning as the battle of the next 24 hours begins. These are special moments.

It is a little crazy how an uncommon language can bring us all together every morning, but that is what happens as we recognise that we are all in need of God’s presence and His power each day. I can’t pretend to understand it all, to fathom all mysteries and all knowledge (1 Corinthians 13:2), but, ‘If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels’ (1 Corinthians 13:1) AND have love, I reckon that is a powerful combination for drug addicts and for me. Then the battle can be fought where it needs to be fought, in the heavenly realm, and we can together make sure that we win the battle.

Less certain. More curious.