For many Christians, praying in tongues feels distant, inconsistent or even confusing. Some experience only a few repeated syllables, while others seem to flow freely. Scripture makes it clear this gift is meant to build us up, yet many never move beyond the starting point.
Pastor Vlad Savchuk of HungryGen Ministries lays out a clear, practical path rooted in the Word of God. His teaching cuts through the confusion and brings the focus back to what actually produces growth in a believer’s prayer life.
1. Start with Scripture so your faith has a foundation
Savchuk emphasizes that growth begins with the Word. “If you want to grow in your prayer language, feed your faith with what God already said.”
He points to passages like 1 Corinthians 14 and Jude 20, explaining that faith becomes active when Scripture moves from concept to conviction. Before trying to feel anything, we must choose to believe what God has already spoken.
2. Create a private place and a predictable time
Consistency is not optional. “If the only time you practice your prayer language is at church, it will be inconsistent.”
Savchuk urges believers to build a daily rhythm, even if it starts with just five minutes. A repeated time and place trains both the spirit and the habits, turning something occasional into something steady.
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3. Begin with worship, then shift into tongues
Many struggle because they jump in cold. Savchuk offers a simple pattern. “Worship in your language that you understand for 60 seconds… and then shift praying into tongues.”
Worship stirs the spirit, creating a natural flow into tongues. He also highlights that tongues can magnify God, even becoming a form of singing.
4. Yield your mouth
One of the biggest misunderstandings is passivity. “The Holy Spirit gives us the utterance, but we have to speak.”
Savchuk challenges believers to stop waiting for a dramatic takeover. Whether it begins with a few syllables or a soft flow, the key is yielding your voice in faith and letting it grow from there.
5. Pray in tongues through pressure, not just peace
Tongues are not reserved for calm moments. They are most powerful in the middle of pressure. “Your weakness… is not a disqualifier, it’s an invitation.”
When the mind is overwhelmed, Savchuk says to keep praying. Instead of retreating into anxious thoughts, we step into the Spirit and allow prayer to stabilize what feels chaotic.
6. Mix tongues with understanding
Savchuk follows Paul’s model of balance. “I will pray with the spirit and I will also pray with the understanding.”
Rather than separating the two, he encourages a rhythm. Pray in tongues, then pray in your known language, then return again. This keeps both the spirit and the mind engaged in a healthy, active prayer life.
7. Ask God for interpretation and write what comes
Growth deepens when we listen as well as speak. “Let him who prays in a tongue pray that he may interpret.”
Savchuk teaches believers to pause after praying in tongues and ask the Holy Spirit what is being emphasized. Writing down impressions, Scriptures or names helps develop sensitivity to God’s leading.
Savchuk’s message is deeply needed. Tongues are not a performance or a spiritual badge. They are a gift meant to build us from the inside out. When we stop treating this as something occasional and begin to cultivate it in the secret place, everything changes.
What feels small and uncertain at first can grow into a steady, powerful current that shapes how we pray, how we think and how we walk with God every day.
James Lasher, a seasoned writer and editor at Charisma Media, combines faith and storytelling with a background in journalism from Otterbein University and ministry experience in Guatemala and the LA Dream Center. A Marine Corps and Air Force veteran, he is the author of The Revelation of Jesus: A Common Man’s Commentary and a contributor to Charisma magazine. For interviews and media inquiries, please contact [email protected].
