Praying in other tongues has helped me change my life
“Praying in other tongues helps me edify myself, strengthen myself and helps me live life the way Jesus wants me to live.”
Pencil Makgate
- An entrepreneur and pastor
- From Burgersfort, South Africa
Let’s begin at the beginning. Did you grow up in a Christian household? Yes, I grow up in a Christian household. I grew up as a Catholic and I was basically forced to attend church every Sunday. But even though I didn’t like it at first, it eventually grew on me. Church in a way kept me from getting up to mischief on the streets.
What was growing up in a Catholic church like? It was a very good experience because as a child I wanted to become involved in as many activities as possible. And there was an organisation called Holy Childhood which focused on the singing and acting out of dramas. The environment created by Holy Childhood was very nurturing for me because it taught me a lot about love. As kids, we didn’t care whether you came from a wealthy family. All that mattered was playing together, laughing together, and singing our lungs out.
Did you learn about Jesus, His character and what He did on the cross? Not really. We talked a lot more about Marry the mother of Jesus than we did about Jesus. Of course, we talked about God, but everything was mostly centered around Mary.
So how did you come to discover Christ and the gospel of grace? It started when I was 19 years old and I was about to leave for Varsity. Around that same time was when my father accepted Jesus Christ into his life. I remember him calling us together as a family and he began to explain and teach us about Jesus Christ and what He did on the cross. It was actually the first time I had ever been taught about Jesus because the Jesus that I learned about in the Catholic church was more about Jesus being the son of Marry, and not about Him being our Lord and Savior. So as my father began teaching us about Jesus, he also helped us accept Him as our Lord and Savior. At that moment I became born-again in Christ. I knew that I was saved and that my name is written in the book of life, but I still didn’t understand completely what it meant to accept Jesus Christ as my personal Lord and Savior. So, unfortunately, my life continued as normal. Soon after that I went to Varsity and because I had no form of authority to report to, I stopped attending church and I started to do the things young people tend do. I began drinking a lot. Going to parties a lot. And messing around with girls a lot. I don’t want to lie, I actually enjoyed the freedom and that type of lifestyle. But at times, I would often ask myself,
“If truly I’m born-again in Christ, why is it that my life hasn’t changed?”
So what led to your total surrender in Christ? By reflecting on my father’s life. My mother passed away when I was 13 years old, and for some reason, my father never took another wife. When I was a kid, it didn’t seem weird, but the older I got the weirder it seemed. I started to realize that my father had the option to take another wife, but he chose not to do so. This made me question what gave him the strength to stay single. At that time, I was still busy chasing girls, sex, and alcohol. So this made me curious. How could my father live his life without all this ‘fun’, when I and my friends could hardly go a week without any of it? I became very intrigued by my father’s life. How could he always be reading the bible and praying? How could he always be joyful without having a wife? There was even a period when he lost his job and he had no income, but instead of becoming depressed, he became even more joyful and loving. I started to believe that there must be some sought of secret that he knew of. Some sought of strength. But unfortunately for me, during that period of time, I was heavily influenced by my friends, and I never took the time to sit down with my father and ask him all these questions. My father passed away four years ago. To this day, not spending more time with him is one of my biggest regrets. But anyway, I know that everything happens for a reason.
Everything that happens in this world happens at the time God chooses. — Ecclesiastes 3:1 GNT
My father’s life made me realize that I had to seek God for myself. That I shouldn’t just receive Him from other people. His life made me want to pursue a personal relationship with God. So I started to attend a born-again Christian church. But every time the pastor preached, I still felt empty. I kept on attending, but the emptiness never left. I knew in my heart that what I wanted was Jesus, and because I was seeking Him with all my heart, He eventually revealed Himself to me through a man of God named apostle Phakula. This man of God started to share his testimonies with me. And with each and every one of them, I started to understand God’s heart a little bit better. Apostle Phakula taught me many things, but the most important thing that he taught me, was how to pray in other tongues. He taught me that praying in other tongues would help me, as a born-again believer in Christ, to build myself up. To strengthen myself and gain the strength to live life as Jesus wants me to live it.
So through praying in tongues, I gained the strength to eventually quit the partying, girls and the alcohol. It wasn’t easy, believe me. It was a commitment I had to make. And once I made that commitment, God gave me the strength and faith to quit.
“Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to Me. Get away with Me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with Me and work with Me — watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with Me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.” — Matthew 11:28, THE MESSAGE
Out of the three areas of partying, girls and alcohol, which one was the hardest for you to let go of? It was girls. I was considered to be a bit of a ladies man, and at the time I had a girlfriend whom I really cared about and loved. I would wake up each and every morning, text her and think about her. It was our thing, but as I began praying in other tongues, I started to get revelations that the time I’m spending with her is the time I should be spending with God. I realized that I had to break up with her and dedicate my time to God. It wasn’t easy because I firstly didn’t want to hurt her, and secondly, I didn’t want to loose her. So it took me a very long time to finally let go of her. What helped me was praying in other tongues. This helped me gain the strength to do it.
In the same way, the spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the (Holy) Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. — Romans 8:26 NIV
Today, the time I used to spent thinking about her and texting her in the morning, is time spent in the word of God. I’m experiencing a rest, a peace, that I have never felt before.
Would you say that the temptations in your life increased once you started to seek the Lord with all your heart? Yes. The reason I’m saying so is because when I got born-again I was born-again in my mind and not really in my heart. My heart was not yet transformed. So I kept on living my life as I did before. But when I finally surrendered my life and gave my heart to Jesus, I stopped doing the things I did before. And that’s when the temptations began to get harder because what really matters is my heart. Once I began changing my heart and giving it to Christ, that’s when the devil got devastated. Most believers in Christ are born again but are still living their lives in the kingdom of darkness. This is not a threat to the devil. But when you finally say that you surrender your life to Jesus. Meaning that you’re giving your all to the Lord and you’re forgetting yourself, then you start to become a threat to the devil and the kingdom of darkness. But it’s good to know that the light will never be overpowered by the darkness.
The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not overcome it. — John 1:5
Are there any relationships in your life that helped you go through your period of transition? My relationship with my younger brother helped me out a lot. Ever since we were young we did everything together. My mom used to dress us up in matching clothes when we were kids. And I guess this has stuck with us to this day. Not the matching clothes part, but the doing everything together part. When I used to go to parties and chase after girls, we did it together. So even when I surrendered my life to Christ, we did that together.
This relationship was crucial because whenever I didn’t feel like reading my bible, I would see him reading his bible and I would also do the same. Whenever I didn’t feel like praying, I would hear him pray in his room, and I would also start to do the same. It’s an interesting bit of psychology that the Lord has used in our lives to help us grow our faith in Him. This just shows how much the Lord really knows each and every one of us, and what we need.
As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another. — Proverbs 24:31
What are you most grateful for in life? My relationship with God. It’s greater than anything I’ve ever had in my life, or anything I could ever dream of. Before I used to think that having a lot of money, cars, a beautiful girlfriend and to become accepted by people would make me happy. But I now know that was just a lie from the devil. Once I began having a relationship with God, I wanted nothing else. He was enough. When God began speaking to me and having encounters with me, I experienced a joy beyond any amount of money. A joy that can never be bought with money.
On to the last question. What legacy do you wanna leave behind when you die? I want to bring as many people to Christ as possible. I’ve discovered that God wants to use me to help people change the negative connotations they have about Him — especially the youth. So I want to do that through preaching the gospel and ministry. Plus I’m also currently involve in a couple of business ventures that God has led me to. Through that, I hope to be a blessing to those around me.
Thanks for Reading!
And God Bless You!
Lessons learned from Pencil’s testimony:
- Once you are born again in Christ, you still need to surrender your heart to Jesus and make Him the number one thing in your heart.
- Praying in other tongues will help you gain the strength to overcome your weaknesses, no matter what they are.
- There are patterns and relationships from your past that Jesus will use to help you to draw nearer to Him.
- The future Jesus has for you, is better than any future you can dream up yourself.
Article Info & Credits:
- Interview by Tertius Ledwaba
- Images taken from Unsplash
