The following excerpt is from the book Tongues: Beyond The Upper Room by Kenneth E. Hagin:
You can readily see how the Church as a whole has fallen so far short and so far behind in prayer. Many Christians have tried to get by on just mental praying, so it is no wonder they haven’t gotten any further in their spiritual progress. They’re trying to get by on one kind of praying when God has given His children the ability to pray with the spirit and pray with the understanding!
Praying only one way is like trying to ride a two-wheeled bicycle with just one wheel. If you do that, I guarantee you’re going to have a problem going very far!
We can apply that illustration to “the two wheels” (or two kinds) of prayer-Praying with the understanding and praying with tongues. These are the two wheels that propel prayer forward and produce long-lasting, spiritual results.
When the majority of the Church decided that praying in tongues (the “front wheel”) died with the apostles, believers were left with only one wheel of prayer and could no longer get very far spiritually. So most Christians put their one-wheeled bicycle (praying with the understanding) on a stationary bicycle stand and started pedaling. And as a result, those Christians have stayed in the same spot for years, never making much progress. They may think they are moving forward but compared to the destination God intended for them to reach, they haven’t gotten very far at all!
That’s why Paul said, “What is it then? I will pray WITH THE SPIRIT, and I will pray with the UNDERSTANDING also…” (1 Cor. 14:15). We need both “wheels” of prayer so we can fulfill God’s highest and best in our lives!
Many folks haven’t been taught what the Word says about this issue. Some will still try to tell you speaking with tongues is not for believers nowadays. But if it was necessary for believers to pray to God with their understanding back then, it stands to reason it is also necessary for us to do so now!
We need to pray with our understanding, but we can’t get by with only that kind of prayer for the simple reason that we wouldn’t know how to pray as we ought.
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