Sometimes there'll be a direct spirit resistance, and when you pray you feel those words are barely getting out of your mouth. In fact it's a huge amount of energy just to get anything out. That is actually spiritual resistance to you. That's a demon stepping up, right in your face.
You know what it's like when you've got your eyes closed, you go up near a wall and you can feel the wall near you? Okay, you know that feeling? Okay, well a demon can come up, and do exactly the same to you; and come up and get right in your face, and when you try and pray in tongues, inside you're going: [prays loudly in tongues]; and what's coming out is: [prays quietly in tongues]; very little coming out, and you're exhausted after about two minutes. You think oh, this is just too hard.
What's happened is, there's a spirit is pushing against you. You just decide that's what it is, and I'm going to get stronger! Push against me will ya? Okay - ooh, we'll see who's stronger here! You just push and push - you just keep praying in tongues; and what happens is, it just backs away, and the flow comes. Once the flow goes, there's no awareness of any resistance there at all.
I found for example, that week after week after week, in congregations over New Zealand, people come in, and there's a spirit resistance around the corporate body. Why is that? Because individuals in the corporate body have not sustained a prayer life to keep themselves free, so when they gather, the same resistance is there in the corporate body. That's why we have to play some very fast songs and energise you, get you clapping.
Now if you really think about it, all we're doing is just the very things I just said you just need to do in your private life; make your body move! So the purpose of getting everyone to clap is - and you may not be a clapper. It's a shame, because the Bible says: clap your hands, ALL you people! So you could write that one out of your Bible if you like - but clap your hands. There's a reason for it.
Clap your hands, ALL you people; shout to God with a voice of triumph! So the Bible tells us how to break through the atmosphere around us: clap strongly; and shout! About 30 seconds is all it takes, and you've broken through! That's all it takes.
Why does it take so long? Why don't we come every week and we're fired up? Why don't you spend five minutes before you get here, on the way in your car; instead of having an argument with your wife, why don't you just pray in tongues? It'll do you much better, do her much better as well, and pray STRONGLY in tongues!
You come in there - oh, come on! Let's get into it! Don't delay! Let's start straight away! See, rather than carrying heaviness - don't have to carry heaviness because we've been given our Holy Ghost to fill us with life!
And you know what happens is, the overflow; when you start praying strongly in tongues, your body comes alive, it gets full of energy, it gets pumped up with life! Your soul clears, your head gets clear.
Sometimes I get praying in tongues, try to go to sleep, I can't sleep. I'm lying there - just like that you just can't sleep, so I KNOW it energises you. Just get going, see? Energise yourself.
Okay, here we go, fourth benefit of it - it brings forth the purposes of God. 1 Corinthians 14:2 - He that speaks in tongues, doesn't speak to men, but speaks to God, for no one understands him. However, in the spirit he speaks mysteries.
A mystery is something concealed, something you don't know, something that's hidden, something someone's sort of covered over, so you can't tell what it is. You think: well what's the purpose of that? Well when the Bible's talking about mysteries, it's inevitably talking about the mysteries of the kingdom of God, things that God knows.