At a "Full Gospel Business Men’s Fellowship" (F.G. B. M. F. I.) meeting in Toronto, Ontario, a man named Joe came for prayer. He explained, “I'm a Christian, baptized with the Holy Spirit, and when I was saved, the Lord took away my drinking problem, but I still have a smoking problem... And I just can’t stop.” “Do you speak in tongues everyday?" I asked. “No, not really,” he answered.
I explained to him that the reason he was having this problem was that it was an attempt by his physical body (flesh), to quench his "hunger and thirst for righteousness" (Matt. 5:6). This desire is in all of us, and is meant to be satisfied with a "right-relationship" with Jesus (Mark 16:16-17).
I instructed him on a sure-fire "holy spirit remedy" that would eliminate his bad habit. I explained that whenever he felt the desire to smoke, he was to pray in tongues for the same length of time that it takes him to smoke a cigarette. He responded by saying, “I've got the desire to smoke right now!”
Without hesitation, we began the process by asking Jesus to "stir up the gift of the Holy Spirit" (2 Tim. 1:6) within him. As we prayed, he became limp and fell to the floor speaking in tongues. He remained there quietly, praying in his tongues until the Holy Spirit completed His work on him.
After ministry time, we spoke again, and I told him that when he got the urge, to continue to pray in tongues until the desire to smoke was completely gone. This could most likely amount to about 120 minutes in total, (which is the equivalent of 3 packages of 20 cigarettes) to fully break the habit.
I also pointed out that two things will result from praying in tongues - first, the habit would be broken, and second, he would clearly hear the Holy Spirit's voice.
The quality of our lives depend on hearing the Holy Spirit speak to us. He tells us how to live a life of victory as God intended for each one of us (Jer. 29:11).
Later, he called me from his home to say, "I've been praying in tongues each time I've had the urge for a cigarette, and I've discovered that 'smoking in tongues' really does work!" "Yes, this is true," I chuckled as we both rejoiced over his new found freedom.
When we participate with the Holy Spirit, and pray in our tongues language, our "hunger for thirst and righteousness" will be satisfied, and our "bad habits" (such as smoking, over-eating and excessive drinking) will no longer have power over us. Amen!
If you would like to receive Salvation, the baptism of the Holy Spirit, gifts of the Holy Spirit, healing or encouragement, I invite you come to one of our house meetings or contact me and I would be happy to pray with you. Together lets testify about Jesus' grace to our family, friends, co-workers, acquaintances - anyone and everyone! Be God's witnesses about the "signs, wonders and miracles" that He has done in our lives!
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