Holy Spirit and Power #2 — The Language of the Spirit: Gift of Tongues and Prayer Language

Holy Spirit and power belong together. In this second message of the series, Dr. William P. Hohman teaches on the language of the Spirit: Jesus is the baptizer in the Holy Spirit, the Spirit is a person rather than a thing, and the gift of tongues is a different thing from the personal prayer language. One is God speaking to people; the other is your spirit speaking to God. This message builds on the first one in the series, Holy Spirit and Power #1: The Importance of the Holy Spirit and Jesus the Baptizer, which covered the importance of the Holy Spirit.

Below you will find the full video, a structured summary of the sermon, the Scripture behind each point (linked to the New King James Version on Bible Gateway), a timestamped outline, and practical steps for praying in tongues this week.

Sermon at a Glance

This is a full Sunday service from NTC Ministries, posted in July 2020, with worship, communion and announcements before the teaching. The sermon itself begins at about the forty-minute mark. Pastor Hohman explains why he teaches in series: Isaiah speaks of teaching line upon line, here a little and there a little (Isaiah 28:9–10), and systematic teaching builds a foundation that makes your understanding far more fruitful.

Last week’s title was the importance of the Holy Spirit. This week he turns to the language of the Spirit, because, as he puts it, most Christians do not understand all that the Bible says about the Holy Spirit, and the more you see in the Scriptures, the more intimate your relationship with Him becomes.

Holy Spirit and Power: Knowing the Person of the Spirit

Pastor Hohman starts with a problem he sees in many believers. They think of God the Father as a person, and they picture Jesus as a person who walked this earth, but they treat the Holy Spirit as a thing or a force. He is a person, the third person of the Godhead, no less God than the Father and the Son. Pastor Hohman calls Him the governor of our kingdom in this world.

He adds that God created a chamber within us purposefully for the person of the Holy Spirit, and that we all need to be continually filled with Him and grow aware of and intimate with Him. He says this matters especially now, because he believes we are living in the last of the last days.

That is why Jesus promised not to leave His disciples alone but to send the Holy Spirit (John 14:16–18). Pastor Hohman teaches that the person of the Holy Spirit was given not only for fortitude to get through hard times, but so that believers can grow, increase, prosper and establish the kingdom of God in this time. It is an empowerment from God, and he says most people do not yet understand it.

Jesus, the Baptizer in the Holy Spirit

All four Gospels introduce Jesus as the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit. Pastor Hohman calls them one gospel told from four perspectives. John the Baptist says Jesus will baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire in Matthew 3:11, and the same promise appears in Mark 1:8 and Luke 3:16. Each one is part of the official introduction to the ministry of Jesus.

He then reads John 1:29–34, where John sees Jesus and says, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” John was born six months before his cousin, yet he says Jesus was before him. Pastor Hohman explains that this is because Jesus is God, who always was and always will be, and by whom everything that exists was created.

He offers a simple picture of the Trinity. The Father is the architect who says what is going to happen. Jesus is the construction company who comes and does it, our redeemer and advocate who showed us the Father. The Holy Spirit is the one who brings life into all creation.

From John’s testimony he draws a threefold ministry of Jesus. He is the Lamb of God, our redeemer who forgives our sins. He is the Son of God, the Lord who rules and reigns at the right hand of the Father. And He is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit. Pastor Hohman says people who reject that third part usually do so because of misinformation; somebody told them wrong, and they simply need to read their own Bibles.

What Happened at Pentecost

After His resurrection, Jesus repeated the promise. In Acts 1:4–5 He commanded the apostles to wait in Jerusalem for the promise of the Father, because they would be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from then. Pastor Hohman notes that Pentecost means fifty: Jesus was seen for forty days, and the disciples waited ten more, so the promise came on the fiftieth day.

In Acts 2:1–4 he points out three things. First, it was a baptism: the sound of a rushing mighty wind filled the whole house, so they were immersed in the Spirit, not sprinkled. Second, each one was individually filled; it was not only a group experience. Third, there was a supernatural outflow, as they began to speak with other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.

That outflow, he says, fulfils the principle of Matthew 12:34: out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. You can tell what is inside people by what comes out of their mouths. When the heart is filled and overflowing with the Holy Spirit, speech becomes a heavenly language, and words become good, building, edifying things.

The previous week, Pastor Hohman walked through the Book of Acts and showed that again and again, when people were filled with the Holy Spirit, they began to speak in tongues. He therefore calls it a universal principle, not a one-time event and not something that belonged only to the early church.

The Gift of Tongues or the Prayer Language?

Here the new teaching on Holy Spirit and power begins. Pastor Hohman says people get confused because they do not discern by the Scriptures that there are two different things. The gift of tongues is God speaking to people. The prayer language is people speaking to God. He reads 1 Corinthians 12:7–11, where the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all, and different kinds of tongues and their interpretation are listed among the gifts.

He explains that the word manifestation is the word epiphany, which he defines as a shining up and over. The manifestation of the Spirit gets you up and over in life and gives you an advantage. Every gift in that list is profitable for everybody, so it is not something to fear. The table below summarizes the difference as he teaches it.

To illustrate the gift of tongues, he tells of speaking at an ecumenical conference at Michigan Technological University in Houghton. As he stood to speak, a woman shouted out a message in tongues and a pastor interpreted it; then a second pastor gave a message and a man came to the house mic to interpret. Pastor Hohman recognized the interpretations as Scripture.

That is the gift of tongues at work. Then a group of roughly sixty African students ran to the front. A young woman from Kenya asked for forgiveness. They had come to disrupt the meeting because they did not believe the baptism of the Holy Spirit was for today. But the first message was in her own dialect, interpreted word for word from Isaiah, and the second in her husband’s dialect, interpreted from Jeremiah. Every one of them wanted to be baptized in the Holy Spirit, and about a hundred people came forward before he had even preached.

Perfect Prayers That Build You Up

Turning to the prayer language, Pastor Hohman reads 1 Corinthians 14:2: “For he who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God, for no one understands him; however, in the spirit he speaks mysteries.” Since God is not speaking to us here, this verse is about the prayer language, not the gift of tongues. You do not have to understand it. “It’s perfect prayer from my spirit,” he says, not intellectual prayer out of our own understanding.

In 1 Corinthians 14:4, the one who speaks in a tongue edifies himself, while the one who prophesies edifies the church. Pastor Hohman teaches that tongues with interpretation together amount to prophecy. He says the Greek word for edify means to construct, like a house builder. When you pray in tongues, God is building in your life what He wants built, without having to fight your intellect or your reasoning.

1 Corinthians 14:14 says that if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my understanding is unfruitful. Pastor Hohman notes that Paul did not say this should not happen. He gives a small example of what the prayer language produces: a man from the Milwaukee area came through and offered thirty thousand dollars for a new message board, something no one had asked for. He calls such things a Holy Ghost surprise.

His larger example is a plane. The Lord told him to get a pilot’s license and buy a plane when he and his wife Pam had almost nothing. The day after he committed, a woman came to his office with two thousand dollars in cash because her husband had dreamed of him flying. Then at a Kenneth Copeland convention in Green Bay, they gave the forty-some dollars they had. On the way out, two pastors stopped him with offerings their churches had felt led to give him.

Together it was enough, he says, to buy the plane, pay for the commercial flight and an instructor, cover the ten hours of training he needed to be rated on it, and build a hangar at the airport. He tells it as an example of what happens when you pray in tongues and let God construct what He wants.

Praying With the Spirit and the Understanding

In 1 Corinthians 14:15, Paul concludes, “I will pray with the spirit, and I will also pray with the understanding.” Pastor Hohman explains that the Corinthian church only prayed in tongues when they came together, so Paul corrected them. Pray in the spirit, yes, but when you gather, also pray with the understanding so people can say amen. Some things you simply know from the Scriptures and can pray plainly.

He then shares an experience from his years in upper Michigan. The Lord woke him at eleven at night and said, “Pray, I need you to pray,” without saying what for. He prayed in tongues, and soon an urgency and a groaning came on him, and he travailed in tongues for almost an hour until peace, joy and satisfaction filled him. When he asked what he had been praying for, the Lord gave him a vision.

In the vision a man walked down a country road to an iron bridge over a flooded river and climbed onto the railing as if to jump. Pastor Hohman says he prayed with intensity as the man looked from the water to the road again and again. At last the man climbed down and walked back the way he came, and that was the moment the joy came. Pastor Hohman says God never gave him an interpretation; He showed him what he was praying for and its effect. Lives are saved, he says.

Paul himself said, “I thank my God I speak with tongues more than you all” (1 Corinthians 14:18). Pastor Hohman points out that this is the man God used to write about two-thirds of the New Testament, and that praying in tongues built him for that assignment. In 1 Corinthians 14:5 Paul says, “I wish you all spoke with tongues,” and Pastor Hohman shares that same desire for every person listening.

He also calls praying in the Spirit part of the armor of God. Ephesians 6:14–18 lists truth, righteousness, the gospel of peace, faith, salvation and the Word, and then adds praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit. It is both defense and offense in a wicked day.

Jude 1:20 speaks of building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit. Pastor Hohman gives another meaning of building up: to recharge. If you left your dome light on and drained your battery, someone with jumper cables would charge it from their full battery so you could go. Praying in tongues recharges you, he says, so that fear of the troubles of the day has no bearing on you. And Paul adds in 1 Corinthians 14:39: do not forbid to speak with tongues.

Living It Out: Receive and Practice

Pastor Hohman tells of taking a church member out to witness late one night. They found a young man walking alone, shared Jesus with him, and he was born again. When asked if he wanted to receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit, his face was glowing as he said, “I want to go for the gold.” That, Pastor Hohman says, is what every believer should say about the kingdom of heaven. He then led the congregation in prayer for salvation and for the baptism in the Holy Spirit.

Here are the practical steps drawn from this Holy Spirit and power message:

• Relate to the Holy Spirit as a person. Talk with Him and grow aware of Him, rather than treating Him as a force or a thing.
• Ask the Father for the Holy Spirit. Luke 11:13 promises that the heavenly Father will give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him.
• Pray in tongues every day. He closes by urging the church to practice their prayer language daily, because it builds and recharges you with Holy Spirit and power.
• Pray with the understanding too. When you gather with others, pray plainly so people can agree, as Paul instructs.
• Respond when the Lord prompts you to pray. Like the late-night call in upper Michigan, you do not need to know what you are praying for to obey.
• Watch your words. What comes out of your mouth shows what fills your heart, so let it be good and edifying.

Timestamped Outline

• 0:09 Welcome and opening worship
• 34:49 Communion: the cup of blessing
• 40:06 Why teach in a series: line upon line
• 42:05 This week: the language of the Spirit
• 43:10 The Holy Spirit is a person
• 46:15 Jesus the baptizer in all four Gospels
• 48:17 Architect, builder and life-giver
• 49:18 The threefold ministry of Jesus
• 51:25 Acts 1 and 2: the day of Pentecost
• 53:26 Baptized, filled and speaking
• 55:33 Gift of tongues versus prayer language
• 56:51 Manifestation means epiphany
• 59:01 The Michigan Tech conference story
• 1:06:06 1 Corinthians 14:2: speaking mysteries to God
• 1:08:07 Edify means to construct
• 1:10:28 My spirit prays: 1 Corinthians 14:14
• 1:11:38 How God provided a plane
• 1:17:18 Pray with the spirit and the understanding
• 1:19:17 An hour of travail and a vision
• 1:23:40 Paul spoke in tongues more than all
• 1:25:46 Tongues and the armor of God
• 1:28:02 Jude 20: recharging your battery
• 1:33:39 Go for the gold
• 1:35:22 Prayer to receive Jesus and the Holy Spirit

Holy Spirit and Power Series

This message is part of Dr. Hohman’s teaching series on the Holy Spirit. Go back to the previous message or continue to the next:

• Previous: Holy Spirit and Power #1: The Importance of the Holy Spirit and Jesus the Baptizer
• You are here: Holy Spirit and Power #2 — The Language of the Spirit: Gift of Tongues and Prayer Language
• Next: Holy Spirit and Power #3 — Born Again, Baptized, and the Evidence of a Pure Language

Frequently Asked Questions

Can someone who is not born again receive the Holy Spirit?

Pastor Hohman says no. He points to John 14:17, where Jesus says the world cannot receive the Spirit of truth. Once a person is born again, though, they can receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit right away. That is why, when he leads people to Jesus in crusades, he prays with them to be baptized in the Holy Spirit immediately, before other people fill their heads with doubts.

What if I have been waiting years to speak in tongues?

Pastor Hohman says you should not be waiting at all. He tells of someone who said they had waited fifteen years, and answers that they had been told wrong. God is not going to make you do anything. Paul said “I will,” and you must choose to speak as well. When you begin, the Spirit gives the unction, and you will start saying words you have never heard before.

What if my prayer language sounds simple or childlike?

That is normal, he says. His wife Pam spoke only a few syllables for months after she was baptized in the Holy Spirit, until he jokingly asked the Lord to give her more language. Everyone starts like a baby. He compares it to his own children’s first sounds: he had no clue what they were saying, but he was thrilled they were starting to talk, and God feels the same way.

Scripture References

All passages open in the New King James Version on Bible Gateway:

• 1 Corinthians 14:2 and 14:4 — speaking mysteries and building yourself up
• 1 Corinthians 14:14 and 14:15 — praying with the spirit and the understanding
• 1 Corinthians 12:7–11 — the manifestation of the Spirit
• John 1:29–34 — the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit
• Matthew 3:11 — the Holy Spirit and fire
• Acts 2:1–4 — the day of Pentecost
• Ephesians 6:14–18 — praying in the Spirit as armor
• Jude 1:20 — building yourselves up
• Luke 11:13 — the Father gives the Holy Spirit

How this summary was made: written with AI assistance from the sermon’s own transcript and checked against the Scriptures listed above.

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