Stay Encouraged!

Discouragement fills the environment you live in. People at times promise much, but do not deliver. Heartache, tragedy, trauma and anxiety easily turn into depression. The world you live in is a far cry from the place where God dwells; in never ending peace and everlasting joy.
So what do you do? Do you cope with life and keep your expectation at a minimum to stop from being let down?

Undoubtedly, the greatest weapon against discouragement is overlooked by most believers. When I say MOST, we're talking about 99 percent of Christians!
Out of all the Gifts that you receive from God, the most important gift that will keep you encouraged is the Gift of Tongues - also called 'Praying in the Spirit'.
Traditional ideas about the gift of Tongues somehow being 'outdated' cannot change the reality that this biblical gift operates in the lives of multiplied millions of believers today.

The gift of tongues is often labeled as being 'the least' of the nine gifts of the Spirit mentioned in 1Corinthians 12. This is only true when we are in a meeting with others. Obviously, tongues without being interpreted will not benefit anyone who hears it. When a gift is used incorrectly, it won't fulfil the purpose for which it is given in the first place.
If you use your car to take it for a swim in the ocean, you won't enjoy the benefits for which it is designed. In the same way, tongues are given for personal benefit; and how great that benefit is!

The late Oral Roberts recounts the time when God spoke to him about what would later become the ORU Campus in Tulsa, OK. He remembers standing on this large vacant property with zero dollars in the bank. It all looked so impossible. The Holy Spirit whispered in his heart. "Pray in tongues." With some reservation, he began to speak in that heavenly language. Then... something happened. Oral began to see building after building as he looked around the vacant property he stood on. Every single building he saw  while praying in the Spirit, is reality today. It came out of his spirit-man, as he prayed in the Spirit.

For personal encouragement, maintaining passion and having a joyful spirit, there is no gift so great as praying in the Spirit. The apostle Paul said he spoke in tongues more than any Corinthian. He knew the value in his personal life of the gift of tongues. Less people would burn out, quit the ministry and settle for a mediocre vision for their lives if they regularly and for extended periods pray in the Spirit.