Speaking in Tongues
Once you have received the Holy Spirit, He lives inside you, partnering with you in prayer as he empowers your life, bringing you revelation in the Word of God which is the Bible.
We do not have the Holy Spirit because we are saved. Salvation in Jesus Christ is a separate act of faith from receiving the Holy Spirit. If we did receive the Spirit because are saved, the Apostle Paul would not have needed helped the disciples in Ephesus to receive the Spirit, they were already saved. In Acts 19:1-6 Paul found disciples (people who were saved, believers in Jesus Christ) who had not received water baptism nor spirit baptism, so he helped them to receive both.
It is God's will that all people who receive salvation by Jesus Christ, also receive the Spirit of God. Today this is not presented to people at that time they are saved, though it should be. The Apostle Paul always preached to people the gospel, showed them how to be saved, then laid hands on them and they were baptized in the Holy Spirit. It was never a choice to have salvation and do without filling of the Holy Spirit in the early church. People today are confused, thinking you have the spirit because you are saved. The devil has managed to convince people they should separate the new birth from the baptism of the Holy Spirit, or even eliminate being filled of the spirit all together; thus as a rule the two experiences rarely occur at the same time, like they did in Paul's day.
Apostle Paul's Teachings Concerning Speaking in Tongues
In 1Corinthians 14:1-40 he is teaching a church how to use speaking in tongues when they come together, see verses 26-28.
Tongues are usually misunderstood because it is a manifestation that confirms one has received the Spirit and not always a means for communication to other people. Acts 2:4; 10:46; 19:6.
Speaking in Tongues sounds like just sounds, utterances to the person doing it: 1Cor 14:6-10. Eph 6:19
Yet it is a spiritual language: 1Cor 14:6-10; Rom 8:26
Reasons for Speaking in Tongues:
1. To speak with God in your spirit verses 2,14,28; Eph 8:26-27.
2. To interpret prophesies so that the church be edified verses 5,12.
3. To speak mysteries that Satan cannot understand 1Cor 14:2; Eph 6:18-19; 1Cor2:14-16; Eph 2:1-2; 3:8-10. Satan has nothing in Christ, John 14:30.
How to Start Speaking in Tongues
A person is filled with Spirit by the Holy Spirit falling on them as the disciples in Acts 10:44; or by someone who has been filled by the Spirit laying hands on them, Acts 8:17 and 9:17.
The moment a person is filled by the Holy Spirit they may feel it is strange to start making sounds that is an evidence that they were filled with the spirit. Too often people will keep silent though they already are moving their lips, just not sounding out. Inside a person being filled of the spirit they feel the need to make sounds or form syllables with their lips. If you will speak out with your tongue to sound out what your lips are already trying to do; what comes out is just sounds, syllables that make no sense in your own language. These sounds are being formed by the Spirit of God in you, so just speak out. This supernatural desire is one of the evidences that the Holy Spirit now lives in you. So you either in praying or just speaking, make these utterances that God does not consider being without significance, 1st Corinthians 14:10; Ephesians 6:19. This is not just something that comes upon you as a seizure would, but it is purposed by the Holy Spirit and you choose to move your lips and tongue to make sounds. Once you understand this power in you, you can pray in tongues as often as you like, 1Corinthians 14:5a,18.
Tongues is given to the Church:
1. As Gifts of the Spirit - 1Cor 12:10.
2. As part of the Armor of God – Eph 6:18.
Do not forbid anyone to speak in tongues, 1Cor 14:39.
Praying in tongues is also for our ability to becoming prepared and qualified for our particular calling. As we pray in tongues, the Holy Spirit is able to build into our heart the understanding of God's will for our personal lives.
A last way tongues is used by the church, is to communicate with others when you do not have the knowledge and ability to speak to someone in their language. In Acts 2:7-11 people understood what the disciple were saying as they spoke in Hebrew. Many different language were present that day, yet they all understood what was being said. God can through the Holy Spirit be our interpreter by supernaturally changing our language to the listener's language as we speak. This does not happen a lot, but it can take place.
The pastor of my church, Life Church of Mobile, Alabama in the 1990's went to a country in South America to help them understand power in the Holy Spirit and speaking in tongues. His assigned interpreter for that day was delayed. As he stood in front of the congregation to teach, he could not speak Spanish and there was no one in the gathering who could speak English. All he knew to do was start praying in tongues out loud. As he stood there praying for several minutes, different people in the congregation started praying in tongues also. Soon the entire congregation was praying out loud in tongues. The interpreter finally got to the meeting and started asking the congregation what was happening? They said as the pastor started praying they were hearing what he was praying in Spanish. The pastor's prayer was instructions for them to pray in tongues and follow after him. The entire time the pastor was just praying in his spirit language, which sounded like utterances and syllables to the pastor. He was not aware the Holy Spirit interpreted to the people in Spanish instructions to follow the pastor.
God knows all languages. He can by the Holy Spirit interpret to any people what we are saying in our native language or our spiritual language.