Dimensions of Tongues

ISBN 981-00-9652-6

105 pages
Published 1997
By Rev Jedidiah Tham

EXTRACTS From The Book . . . .

• Foreword by Sadhu Sundar Selvaraj
• Foreword by Rev. Dr. Daniel O.C
• Chapter 1 - Depths And Dimension
• Chapter 2 - A Fresh Look at Spirit Baptism
• Chapter 3- The Value of Tongues

FOREWORD

By Sadhu Sundar Selvaraj

I am honoured to write the Foreword for my dear brother Rev. Jedidiah Tham's second book, Dimensions of Tongues.

The subject, doctrine or science of unknown tongues is very intriguing. It has also caused lots of confusion in Christendom. Evangelical Christianity has largely either abandoned or written off tongues as unnecessary. How could a subject that is unnecessary merit an entire chapter in 1 Corinthians 14 and James 3? Surely the apostle Paul and James did not devote their precious epistles to write on a subject that is trivial?

Why is tongues confusing and difficult to understand? Because it does not belong to this earthly realm. It is of heavenly origin! The gift of tongues is one of the greatest gifts that God in His mercy has granted to the Church. In my ministry around the world these past 18 years, I have found these misgivings and misconceptions regarding tongues a common contentious issue among Christians.

This is a very timely book on this subject. And I highly endorse it. I pray that the contents of this book will be a great eye-opener to critics and a spiritual boost to spirit-filled believers.

Sadhu Sundar Selvaraj 
Jesus Ministries

By Rev. Dr. Daniel O.C.

Dimensions of Tongues by Rev. Jedidiah Tham is inspiring, convicting, thought-provoking and spirit-enriching. In this book, the author talks about the ultimate value, blessings and importance of praying in the spirit or speaking in tongues. Having gone through and still living by praying in the spirit as the Holy Spirit teaches me in my daily devotional life, I can identify with the facts of the merits as stated in this book. The author succinctly reveals the wisdom of praying in tongues and also elucidates the insecurity, dangers and inadequacies faced by the prayerless skeptics.

Church, remember that "prayer is the oil that makes the spiritual life engine run smoothly". A man of prayer is a man of the great God. Ministers of the Most High God, do not forget that "a praying pulpit begets praying pews". Believers in general, consider your ways and judge your prayerless life, for if you do not pray, you will be a "prey to the devil and his hosts". Ministers of God and believers of Jesus Christ, as you go through this book, stop and pause a while and ask yourself these questions: am I guilty of prayerlessness? Since I became a full-time minister, what has been my maximum time spent in prayer? How much time do I spend in prayer before I go for a mission trip abroad or a local meeting? How much time do I spend in prayer before preaching my sermon to the sheep under my care? As the heat of the battle gets intense, it is time for every minister of the gospel to come out of himself/herself in the prayer closet. It takes a godly man to produce a godly generation, just as it takes a prayerful minister to produce a prayerful people for God.

This book can be aptly described as "a convicting and provocative book on prayer". It will actually convince you of your prayer level and also convict you of your prayer weaknesses. As you read this book, I pray that you will be inspired and motivated to pray as never before and to receive the blessings of prayer in Jesus' name. Amen! Beloved saints of God, remember that Almighty God has called us to be "prayer warriors and not problem worriers".

REMAIN BLESSED AND RAPTURABLE IN JESUS' NAME. AMEN!

Rev. Dr. Daniel O. C.
Senior Pastor - Deeper Life Christian Centre, Singapore
President of Charis Global Vision Ministries, Singapore

CHAPTER 1 - The Root of Favour

"Deep calls unto the deep." Psalm 42:7

While I was praying one late afternoon, I saw in a vision a strong, mighty wind blowing across the land of Indonesia. I asked the LORD, "What is this wind?" He replied, "It is the wind of miracles and it shall be twice as powerful as the wind that sparked off the revival in the island of Timor in the 1960's. Son, tell my people to prevail in prayer till I open the heavens and send down this mighty wind."

Every great move of God has always been preceded by a great move of prayer. In the coming last move of God's glory, we are going to first witness the Spirit of prayer sweeping through every church, every city and every nation.

One of the most important foundations of a believer's life is to master the art of prayer. A victorious believer is one who succeeds in prayer. A lack of endurance is one of the greatest causes of defeat, especially in prayer. The measure of our success in life and the ministry crucially depends on our prayer life. A strong Christian has the foundation of prayer deeply rooted in their devotional life. 

When we have attained a depth in our prayer life, we shall be the instruments in the hands of God to travail for revival in our nations. William Seymour, the key figure of the historic Azusa Street revival in Los Angeles in 1906, was a man of fervent prayer. At the time when he met Charles Parham, he had been praying for five hours each day for two and a half years. When he saw the mighty workings of the Holy Spirit upon Charles Parham's Bible School students, he longed for it in his own personal life. He asked God, "I want what you gave to Charles Parham's school." The Holy Spirit replied, "If you want that kind of blessing, pray more!" There are better things for us to receive in this spiritual life. But they must be sought after with faith and prayer. So he prayed even more earnestly for seven hours each day for another one and a half years! Altogether, he prayed marathon prayers for four long years before revival broke out. This was the first Holy Spirit renewal in America in August 1, 1906. The cost of revival has always been prayer. The depth of prayer will always correspond to the depth of our desire and hunger for God. "Prayer is the acid test of devotion," said Samuel Chadwick.

Someone asked Evan Roberts, the key figure of the 1904 Welsh revival, what the secret of the revival was. He replied, "It is nothing. There is no secret. It is only 'ask and receive'." But this matter of asking was not a simple one for him. Evan Roberts had been praying for revival for 13 years. Evan's intercessory prayers was always "Bend the church, and save the world." (' Bend' here means to remove the human resistance to God's will and obey God in love and liberty).

Once he preached, "But let no one pray for a mighty baptism of power who is not prepared for deep heart searchings and confession of sin...uselessness of praying for the fire of heaven to descend when the altar was unbuilt and the sacrifice unprepared..." The depths of prayer is found in the depths of contriteness in the heart of a believer. This is the true pathway to receive the 'baptism of power'.

Consider the sobering thoughts of Leonard Ravenhill: "Yet ministers who do not spend two hours a day in prayer are not worth a dime a dozen, degrees or no degrees... with all thy getting--get unction, lest barren altars be the badge of our unctionless intellectualism...we are dogmatic but not dynamic! We have a cold church in a cold world because the preachers are cold. Therefore, 'Lord, send the fire.'"

The saintly Andrew Bonar used to soak his pillow with tears every Saturday night in Scotland as people below trampled the streets returning from the taverns and shows. He would cry from the depths of his agonizing heart, "Oh! They perish, they perish!"

David Livingstone, a missionary in Africa, often prayed, "Lord, when will the wounds of the world's sins be healed?" Livingstone lived in prayer and literally died upon his knees in prayer. Dear friends, we have yet to reach a depth in prayer whereby our soul begins to be deeply moved in agony before God to allow a deeper working of the Spirit upon our indifferent soul for a great awakening to arise in our mortal consciousness...

CHAPTER 2 - A Fresh Look at Spirit Baptism

"Others mocking said, 'They are full of new wine.'" Acts 2:13

The controversy and confusion over the doctrine of the baptism in the Holy Spirit is indeed a sensitive subject for many years. One of the grave errors was the belief that the doctrine of the baptism in the Holy Spirit is the doctrine of the baptism into the Body. The graphic illustration of a well in John 4 symbolises the salvation measure of the Holy Spirit whereas the illustration of the river in John 7 symbolises a greater baptism in the Holy Spirit. Many are taught and misled into believing that once a person has received the born-again experience, he has automatically received the baptism in the Holy Spirit. This is a serious contradiction to evidence in the Bible. It is not an automatic experience...

CHAPTER 3 - The Value of Tongues

"Blessed of the Lord is his land..." Deut. 33:13

The purposes or reasons for tongues is an important consideration in understanding the significance of tongues. Many believers, after experiencing the baptism in the Holy Spirit, do not continue exercising this grace of praying in tongues because they are not taught the benefits.

One precious truth that revolutionised my understanding of tongues is that praying in tongues is praying in the spirit (1 Cor. 14:14). When we pray in an unknown tongue, we are spending time in the spirit realm and, therefore, are growing more sensitive to the spiritual world.

Before 1985, I did not know the benefits of speaking in tongues until I had several spiritual experiences in the spiritual realm with regard to tongues. One day after praying in tongues for several hours, I could perceive evil spirits standing outside the door of my room and even heard their eerie cries. It was a scary new experience for me and I did not know that the discerning of spirits was in operation. On another occasion, I was shocked to perceive words in the spirit realm by the spiritual senses. I did not know then that it was the word of knowledge in operation. Later, one Sunday service, I happened to turn around to look for any new visitor in our church. I was shocked to see words of a particular sin written all over a lady. It was a remarkable word of knowledge in operation.

Once while praying in tongues, I perceived a misty cloud entering my bedroom. The anointing was so strong that I was sweating and trembling in His presence. At another time, I felt so light and free that my spirit was slowly being lifted up from my being. I perceived that I was moving deeply into the spiritual realm. Indeed, praying in the Spirit is the key into the spiritual realm.

From those early experiences, I began to seriously pray long hours in tongues. I observed that when I pray long hours in tongues, there is a moment when my mind will suddenly become still. Our soul will experience a deep silence. When we reach that breakthrough point, the awareness of the presence of God in our lives is greatly heightened. Initially, it may take us six to eight hours of marathon prayer to reach that stage but with constant practice we will take a progressively shorter time to abide there. In this state of quietness of mind, the inner voice of God becomes loud and clear. If you have never experienced this stillness of mind, take time off to spend a whole day in prayer in tongues.

The Prophetic Zone

"They spoke with tongues and prophesied" Acts 9:6

Praying in tongues is a vital key to the prophetic realm. Several years ago, while meditating on John 7:38, "...out of his heart will flow rivers of living water", my mind was drawn towards the word flow. The Greek word for 'flow' is rheo. It means to 'utter, say or speak'. The English term, rhetoric (elaborate eloquence), is similar to this Greek word. The word rhema also comes from this root word, rheo. I came to realise that when we pray much in tongues, the flow of rhema will be like spontaneous thoughts impressed upon our soul.

On many occasions in prayer, I perceived the beautiful sounds of running waters...