A year and a half ago, TheFlowage team got an opportunity to spend some extended time with a house church sharing our passion about the baptism/filling of the Holy Spirit. Although TheFlowage team does not believe that the only and exclusive way to be filled/baptized in the Holy Spirit is the gift of tongues, we tend to “lead off” with ministering tongues for a number of reasons.

Early on in our recurring meetings, one of the gals in the church—”Michelle”—pulled me aside. She said that she had talked to God in prayer that month about tongues and felt like God told her, “Yes, I want you to have this gift and to speak in tongues, but just not right now.”

Now before I could think about a response, I immediately felt my mouth open up and heard myself say in response, “Sounds like God to me.”

But here’s the deal folks—I come from a charismatic, Word-of-Faith background that had always put forward that if a person really wants to be baptized in the Spirit, they can be filled and speak in tongues RIGHT NOW. They don’t need to wait…and if they don’t need to wait, then God wouldn’t want somene to wait either, right? From many charismatic, Word-of-Faith pulpits I often heard, “You can leave the meeting today speaking in tongues.” And I too have never shied away from being that confident when I share about the tangibility of the Holy Spirit with others—gently, lovingly, and jovial of course, with no pressure—but always confident that God’s heart and will is to be filled RIGHT NOW.

Therefore, when I heard those words come out of my mouth, I thought, “Huh? What did I just say?”

Yes, I totally believed (along with her) that God had told her that He wanted her to have this gift—of course He did! But afterwards I thought, “Maybe I was just too overeager in encouraging her on the first part, and shouldn’t have affirmed that second part. Why didn’t I tell her that she did not need to wait? Instead, why did something leap up in my heart so fast to affirm everything so quickly?”

Well, a few months later our team came to the end of that time of ministry with this house church, and as far as I had heard, Michelle did not come into experiencing any tongues speech while we were there—BUMMER!

I walked away feeling like we definitely planted a seed, but admittedly, I was kind of disappointed that I didn’t “close the deal” with Michelle. My theology was saying, “She didn’t have to wait. That probably wasn’t God saying that. Oh well. My bad. A missed opportunity that I screwed up. I’ll try to get it right next time.”

But it turns out the joke was on me after all.

A year and a half later, Michelle and I ran into each other at a larger church gathering. I had not seen her since those handful of meetings at the house church.

The FIRST thing she said to me was, “Vinnie…I got the gift of tongues!”

OMG—I nearly fell off my rocker. “What???” I said. “No way? This is awesome! How did that happen??”

Michelle then texted me the whole story of how this went down, explaining that her initial experience happened over a year after we ministered to her. Her story is one of the most beautiful, raw, and intimate stories I have EVER HEARD about someone’s first experiences with tongues, and she gave me permission to share it with you all (below).

Let this be a lesson to us—God does not need to work within the theological limits or methodologies that we put around Him. TRUST that the Holy Spirit is glad to accommodate and work with us wherever WE (ministers) are at. Be open to letting God stretch you. We have no idea what is up His sleeve. I repent, and boy-oh-boy, does this story BLESS ME!

Michelle’s beautiful story of receiving the gift of tongues is shared in her own poetic style, as she journaled the intimate dialogue she experienced with God during that process.

Nov 19, 2025:

I just talked to God and asked; “Is there anything else?”

GOD: “You want to hear about the gift of tongues.”

ME: “Yes.”

GOD: “You have it.”

I was so shocked, I felt it in my chest.

 

ME: “What?!”

GOD: “You have it.”

ME: “Was that what those sounds were?”

GOD: “That was something else. But you have it.”

Stunned silence.

 

ME: “You’re not just telling me what some part of me wants to hear or what I think I should hear?

GOD: “No. Try it.”

So I did. Words happened in my head. I don’t know what they were or where they were coming from, but my soul or heart seemed to swell with warmth.

ME: “What is this?! What’s happening?!”

GOD: (Soothing tone) “It’s okay, it’s okay. You’ve never experienced this before, so it doesn’t feel natural yet.”

ME: “Are you sure this is real?”

GOD: (Loving chuckle); “Yes, it’s real.”

ME: “What do I do with this?”

GOD: “Just talk to me. It’s something special between us.”

ME: “Your double extra sure this isn’t something else to trick me?”

GOD: (Soothing) “Hey.” (Hands on my shoulders, eyes looking into mine) “It’s okay. You can trust this because it’s me. Do you trust me?”

ME:  “Yes. As much as I can right now.”

GOD: (Loving smile) “That’s all I want.”( Warm embrace)

I’m still shocked.

 

The words [in tongues] felt like love, they communicate love.

I keep questioning if this is really happening.

 

ME: “Just like that? Really? Why? Are you sure?”

GOD: “Because I want to share this with you. And you’re ready. Before it would’ve scared you. You’re anxious because this is new and unknown territory, like what you’ve been dealing with. I promise I won’t give you anything that will hurt you.”

To help further convince me this is safe, He says I can use it against demons.

It sounds Asian. Or maybe a mix between Asian and middle eastern? No idea what it is. But it feels like I’m saying “This is my home. You are my home and I am your home.” The love seems to sometimes jumps out at animals or people.

My mouth wants it. I did it during my entire drive to work

God wanted me to try again to show me it won’t hurt me.

It already feels like a response to my feeling of “it’s just words.” And how I learned not to trust the consistency of what people say. This feels different; more secure and meaningful than just words.

Is it usually this sudden?

I’ve been speaking in tongues under my breath all day. It feels so calming and yet quietly passionate. I even sang something just now. No idea what, but it was singing.

THE END

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