The Edification Process
Are you beginning to grasp just how wide and deep and high this subject of tongues really
is? Well, there is much more territory to explore! Let me take you further now into the edifi-
cation process that occurs as you allow the Holy Spirit to pray through you.
What Does It Mean To Edify Your Spirit?
First Corinthians 14:4 tells us what happens when we pray in tongues for any amount of
time:
He that speaketh in an unknown tongue EDIFIETH HIMSELF; but he that proph-
esieth edifieth the church.
The word “edification” is derived from the word “edifice,” which means a massive, magnif-
icent building. So when you pray in tongues, you are actually erecting a superstructure, a
divine operation, on the inside of your spirit to house the anointing of God and to qualify you
for your divine calling.
Most of the time when ministers preach on the subject of tongues, they emphasize the fact that
when you pray in tongues, you charge up your spirit the way you would charge up a battery in the
natural. They tell you that your spirit is actually receiving a spiritual charge, a tangible force or
anointing something like electricity. Then later when you lay hands on someone, that tangible
force goes “pow!” and the power of God goes into that person to heal, deliver, and set free.
Well, that’s true as far as it goes. However, before that tangible anointing is manifested
through a person, he must go through the edification process that causes it to manifest. Not
many Christians seem to know anything about that process. Often they think that they receive
some kind of “magical” charge from praying in tongues that will immediately begin to operate
through them.
I used to believe like that. I thought God would anoint me just as I was. Little did I know
that He wasn’t at all intending to leave me in my carnal state! That isn’t what edification is all
about.
I remember what a surprise it was to me when the Lord started to use me after I had spent
several months praying in my prayer closet. The second meeting I ever held, the Holy Spirit
prompted me to call a woman out of the audience. I was scared; this was all new to me. I told
the woman, “Ma’am, you have something wrong with your body, and God wants to heal you.”
Then I laid my hands on both sides of her face, closed my eyes, and began to pray my hard-
est prayer. But in the middle of my prayer, this lady left! Talk about humiliating! I was too
embarrassed to open my eyes. Here I was, standing in front of a crowd of people, and the
woman I was praying for had just left!
When I had exhausted everything I could think of to pray and finally got brave enough to
open my eyes, I looked around to see where the woman had gone — and there she was lying
on the floor! I thought, Oh, Lord, look at that! That must be what it means to receive a charge
from praying in the Holy Ghost! I didn’t know what to do. But when the woman got back on
her feet, she was healed!
For a long time, that was all I thought being edified in the Holy Ghost meant — God was
charging up my spirit, pouring a powerful anointing into me to use when ministering to oth-
ers. But as I kept praying in tongues, I began to realize that there was much, much more to
this edification process than anyone had ever told me.
The Devil Can’t Understand the Mysteries
Some people wonder what effect we are having on the devil and his plans when we pray in
tongues for edification. One thing we are not doing is ordering the devil around. He doesn’t
even understand what we are saying.
The Word says that when a man prays in an unknown tongue, he isn’t talking to men; he
is speaking with God (1 Cor. 14:2). If I don’t understand what I am praying, why would it be
the devil’s business to know? Why would God allow him to have the upper hand on me? If the
devil understands the mysteries and I don’t, then he has an edge on me.
That’s why I can’t accept the idea that the devil can understand us when we pray in
tongues. When we begin to pray in tongues for personal edification, we enter into a holy “clos-
et,” and our born-again, recreated, seated-in-heavenly-places-with
in a divine communication with God Himself. It is a personal communication, a holy commu-
nion, and the devil cannot enter there.
If I were to call the President of the United States and he personally answered the tele-
phone, you would find me passed out on the floor from shock! The President is much too busy
of a man to talk to me.
On the other hand, my Heavenly Father is continually administrating over the life of every
believer both in Heaven and on earth. Yet when I speak with tongues, I immediately enter into
divine communication with God Himself. He picks up the “red telephone” on the other end and
says, “I know that’s you, Roberson, and I know what you want. And because the Holy Ghost
in His wisdom is praying this prayer in your stead, I want you to know that the answer is on
its way — and there is nothing the devil can do about it!”
That’s why the devil hates praying in tongues — because he has absolutely no idea what
we’re saying to God, and it makes him nervous!
Why doesn’t he understand? Well, look back at the temple built under the Old Covenant.
Within the temple was the outer court, where the people sacrificed to God; the inner court,
where the priest offered sacrifices to God on behalf of the people; and finally, the Holy of
Holies, where God’s Presence dwelt. Only the high priest was allowed in the Holy of Holies
once a year to present the blood sacrifice for the Israelite people.
If the devil had ever had the audacity to try to break through that veil and penetrate the
Holy of Holies, he never would have made it. It was completely out of his jurisdiction; he had
no access there.
The temple is a shadow or type of the believer. As a believer, my body is the temple of God
because the Holy Spirit has come and made His abode on the inside of me. My flesh is the outer
court; my soul the inner court. But my born-again, recreated spirit is a type of the Holy of
Holies — and nobody, but nobody except my High Priest is allowed inside there.
So when I pray in tongues, Satan has no idea what God is saying to me. Why? Because the
Holy Spirit creates that supernatural language within my Holy of Holies, and it is outside of
all satanic jurisdiction.
I know a man whose sister was in a car accident. She was transported to the hospital, her
life hanging by a thread. This man was a faith man. As he headed for the hospital as fast as
he could drive, he confessed over and over, “My sister will live and not die; she will live and
not die!”
But every time this man would make his confession, “She’ll live and not die,” something
would shatter his emotions so badly that it just shook him up from the top of his head to the
bottom of his feet. Then the thought would hit, She’ll die! This happened again and again as
the man sped toward the hospital. It was really shaking him up.
Then suddenly through the gift of the discerning of spirits, God opened this man’s spiritu-
al eyes. (The discerning of spirits allows you to see into the realm of the spirit, whether angels
or demons.)
When God opened this man’s eyes, he saw two demons — one sitting on his left shoulder,
the other on his right. Every time the man would make his confession, “She’ll live and not die,”
one demon would scream through his ear to the other demon, “She’ll die! She’ll die!”
Then the Lord spoke to the man in his spirit: “Make your confession, and then begin to pray
in tongues.” So the man made his confession one more time and began to pray in tongues. After
a while, one of the demons looked around the back of the man’s head at the other demon and
said, “What do you think he’s saying?”
The other devil said, “I don’t know, but is it burning you the way it’s burning me?”
“Yes,” the other demon answered. “Do you think we should leave?” So they left. And you
may as well know, the man’s sister lived and did not die!
Building Yourself Up
On Your Most Holy Faith
So what happens when I pray in tongues for personal edification, which I can do at will,
anytime I desire? Why is this, the most “foolish” of all gifts to the natural mind, so important
and so powerful?
Let’s look at Jude 20 and 21 to discover more of our answer:
But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the
Holy Ghost,
Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ
unto eternal life.
We know that God is only pleased by and only moves in response to our faith. In Romans
10:17, Paul tells us, So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
But we also know that we can hear and hear and hear the Word and yet not see any change
in our lives. We still have to get that Word planted in our spirits and then find some way to
release the faith that the Word has produced.
Thousands of people around the world are filled to overflowing with God’s Word. Yet still,
for the most part, the Church does not experience the miraculous results found in the Book of
Acts. So there must be a missing ingredient most believers are unaware of.
The truth is, any minister, no matter how anointed and full of the Word he may be, can
only tell you what he has learned through experience and as the Holy Ghost has taught him
in his own times of meditation on the Word. But that teaching will not profit you if you don’t
find some way to mix faith with it. You must personally get that Word into your spirit and
then let the Holy Spirit teach you.
That’s why Jude says we are to build ourselves up on our most holy faith by praying always
in the Holy Ghost. It is only as we willingly and freely present our bodies as a living sacrifice
and take the time to endure in prayer that the Holy Ghost can begin to reveal to us the mys-
teries of Christ. Only then can He release the faith in our hearts that is needed for God’s power
to operate in our lives.
Hungry for God’s Power
Ever since I was born again, I’ve been so hungry to know God in His power. At first, I
thought there was something wrong with me because I encountered so many groups of believ-
ers who just didn’t seem to be hungry. They just didn’t seem to care that they lived such pow-
erless lives.
I would wonder, Lord, why aren’t more people hungry for Your power like I am? Is it the call
You have on my life to operate in miracles that makes me different?
I was so hungry for God’s power when I was first born again that I would try anything that
I was told would help me walk in more power. If it promised to satisfy the hunger on the inside
of me, I would do it.
One person said to me, “No wonder you’re not walking in the power of God.”
I asked, “Why not?”
“Because of the jewelry you’re wearing.”
“You mean, if I take this jewelry off, I will walk in God’s power?”
“That’s right.”
So I took off my jewelry. What happened? Well, before I took off my jewelry, I was a pow-
erless jewelry wearer. And after I took it off, I became a powerless non-jewelry wearer! It did-
n’t make a bit of difference.
Then later when I moved to Oregon and hooked up with another group of believers, some-
one told me, “No wonder you don’t walk in the power of God.”
“Why not?”
“Well, how were you baptized?”
“I was baptized in water in the Name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost.”
“Well, no wonder!” the person exclaimed. “You were baptized in the name of three Gods,
and there is only one God!” (This particular group believed there is only one God, whose Name
is Jesus.)
Well, then,” I said, “I’ll just get rebaptized!” (As I said, at that point in my Christian walk,
if I thought something meant more power in my life, I was all for it. Get rebaptized? Just name
the place!)
We were in the middle of an Oregon winter at an elevation of 4,800 feet. It was snowing,
the ground was frozen, and the two ponds were covered with a thick layer of ice. After build-
ing a bonfire beside the upper pond, a group of us were baptized in the freezing water that
flowed through the flume (an artificial channel built to transport logs by water) between the
two ponds. The preacher and I were first to step down into the frigid water. (I was too igno-
rant to know that I could have been baptized in a warm bathtub!)
It was so cold, my legs started to turn blue. I felt like I was freezing to death — but I was
determined to go under the water and get rebaptized so I could have more power in my life!
The preacher asked me, “Are you ready?”
With chattering teeth, I stammered, “Okay, baptize me.” So he dunked me in the icy water,
baptizing me in the Name of Jesus.
Well, in the months that followed, I came to realize that before I was immersed in that
freezing water, I was a powerless Pentecostal boy supposedly baptized in the name of three
Gods. Then that preacher shoved me under the icy water and baptized me in the Name of Jesus
— and I became a powerless Pentecostal boy baptized in the name of one God! Once again, it
didn’t make one bit of difference.
It wasn’t until later — the day I discovered I had “uncovered a spiritual law” — that I
learned a vital key to releasing God’s power in my life.
“Oh, Brother Roberson, can you teach me to walk in power?” Oh, yes, I can. And I don’t care
if your name is Susie Wallpaper or Joe Public either. This key isn’t reserved for an elect few.
Just keep on reading this book, and I’ll teach you how to walk out of everything that Jesus
said you’ve been delivered from. I’ll also teach you how to walk into everything He said you
could be in your life — on purpose, just because you want to go there! The answer is just as
available to you who want it as the air you breathe.
Contending for the Faith
When the Holy Ghost began to reveal to me the treasures hidden in the Book of Jude, I
realized I had discovered an important key in my search to know God in His power. First, I
latched onto verse 3:
Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it
was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should EARNESTLY
CONTEND FOR THE FAITH which was once delivered unto the saints.
I was so excited when I read that we should earnestly contend for the devil-stomping,
mountain-moving kind of faith that was once delivered to the saints. Why was I so excited?
Well, one thing I had learned about God’s Word was this: God wouldn’t tell me to contend for
the faith without then going on in minute detail to teach me how to contend. I was on the right
trail, tracking down my answer!
You see, it wasn’t enough to know I should contend for the faith. The cry of my heart was,
“For God’s sake, can someone teach me how? Don’t wave a delicious steak in front of my face
and then not give it to me!”
Once I was discussing this passage of Scripture with another minister, and he asked me,
“What is your background on the subject of faith?”
I answered, “I am a faith man. I received most of my training in the camp of Kenneth
Hagin, Kenneth Copeland, and other good faith teachers. I take God’s Word for what it says.
I’m not moved by what I see, hear, or feel. I’m not moved by disease or financial lack. Only one
standard controls my life, and that’s what the Word of God says about my problem — not the
devil, not the circumstances, only the Word of God. “
“Well, then,” the man said, “if you believe all that, you already have more faith than the
Early Church had.”
“I beg your pardon,” I replied. “If I’m going to have more faith than the Early Church had,
it seems to me I am first going to have at least as much! If I remember correctly, during one
of Peter’s revivals, people lay the sick and dying in the streets near the meeting because those
on whom Peter’s shadow fell were getting healed!
“Now, correct me if I’m wrong,” I continued, “but I didn’t notice anyone laying the sick on
the street near this meeting in the hope that our shadow would fall on them and heal them!
It seems to me that we need to contend for that kind of powerful faith that was once delivered
to those early saints!”
Then in verse 4, Jude tells us what happened to the mountain-moving faith in which the
Early Church operated:
For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to
this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness,
and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ.
Certain men had crept into the Church unawares. Whoever these men were, to a large
extent they stole the faith of the Early Church.
So I conducted a study on these men from the Book of Jude, if for no other reason than to
find out what path I should not take. I didn’t want my faith to suffer the same fate as the early
believers — stolen from me by dead religion.
Jude compared these ungodly men to raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own
shame... (v. 13). What was he talking about? Well, a wave rises out of the ocean, and for a
moment, puts on a display of foaming glory. But just as quickly as it appears, it disappears
back into the sea.
Jude also compared these men to “wandering stars.” You and I know these phenomena in
the heavens as shooting stars. All of a sudden, a shooting star will flash in the night sky in a
spectacular blaze of glory and then quickly disappear back into the darkness from which it
came. Similarly, these wandering stars, after appearing as bright lights of truth for a short
season, would slink back into the “blackness of darkness” that was reserved for them forever.
These men are also called “clouds without water” (v. 12). Throughout the Bible, water is
used as a type of the Holy Ghost. For instance, we saw earlier that Jesus likened the Holy
Spirit to rivers of living waters, flowing from our innermost being (John 7:38).
So these clouds without water were men who stole the power of God from the Early Church.
They crept in unawares, using doctrines of men to steal the faith of believers until there was
no faith left — until the Church plunged into the Dark Ages, having lost her faith to a large
extent for hundreds of years. No wonder Jude compared these men to clouds without water!
In a drought, a cloud without water may come over the horizon looking promising. It may
put on a good show as it drifts overhead. But when it comes to producing needed rain, that
cloud is powerless to do so because it has no water.
So the first criterion to walking in the power of God is that I must be a cloud with water.
In other words, I must be filled with the Holy Spirit. But evidently, just having the Holy Spirit
isn’t enough.
I used to think that the baptism in the Holy Ghost was all I needed to automatically see
God’s power released in my life. Wrong. I know people who have been baptized in the Holy
Ghost for forty years. But if you measured the power of the Holy Spirit by the fruit of their
lives, you would come to the conclusion that the Holy Spirit had no power at all!
I finally came to the conclusion that even though I was a cloud with water — even though
I had been filled with the Holy Spirit — there still must be something I had to do to walk in
God’s power. Just having the Holy Spirit wasn’t enough. There had to be a way to release Him
on the inside of me. There had to be a way to get all that Holy Ghost power out of my spirit
and onto the problems that needed to be overcome.
At times as I sat in a service listening to a minister preaching the Gospel, I wanted to raise
my hand and say, “Excuse me, Mister Evangelist, but the Holy Spirit you’re talking about —
the One who moved on the face of the deep — is He the same One who now abides on the inside
of me?”
“Why, yes, Son,” he would say.
“Well, then, Mister Preacher, could you please tell me how to get all that power out of my
spirit and loosed on the problem? Because until now, the common cold has whipped me!”
I knew there had to be a way to release the power on the inside of me — and later, I found
out there is! And it is just as deliberate and as power-releasing as you want it to be in your
life!
Rising Above a Carnal,
Sense-Ruled Walk
Jude had more to say in verse 19 about those “clouds without water” who had crept into the
Church unawares:
These be they who separate themselves, sensual, having not the Spirit.
These ungodly men were sensual, or sense-ruled. That means they were dominated more
by the carnal appetites of the flesh than they were by the Word of God. It goes on to say that
they “had not the Spirit.” These men did not have the Holy Ghost in operation in their lives.
Therefore, they were separated from truth by the devil and by carnality and the lusts of the
flesh.
So, evidently, being filled with the Holy Spirit must have something to do with not being
dominated by the flesh. It must have something to do with whether disease stops me or I stop
the disease. Somehow there must be a way to release the Holy Spirit in my life so that instead
of poverty paralyzing my progress, I can turn around and stop financial lack in its tracks.
I’m not a cloud without water. I’ve been baptized in the Holy Ghost. I’m a tongue-talking,
devil-stomping, mountain-moving, faith-filled believer! I don’t have to be like those who sepa-
rated themselves.
Why don’t I? The next verse follows the same line of thought as verse 19, and it tells me
why: “But, you, beloved — you who do have the Holy Ghost — build yourselves up on your
most holy faith. Build yourself up above a walk that is dominated by the senses by praying in
the Holy Ghost!”
This edification process of Jude 20 delivers us from the strife-filled, carnal condition
described in Jude 19 and enables us to live continually in Jude 21: KEEP YOURSELVES IN
THE LOVE OF GOD, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal
life. In other words, praying in tongues is the bridge between a state of strife and sensuality
and the love of God.
Oh, how much we have sought God for that elusive increase of the faith God deposited on
the inside of us — and here was this verse all along, giving us in black and white an ironclad
guarantee that we can build ourselves up! Up where? Up above a walk where disease brings
us to a standstill. Up above a walk where poverty reigns in our lives. Up above a walk where
our children are lost to the world forever. Up above this sense-dominated realm where we are
more moved by what we see, hear, and feel than we are by the Word of God.
We can release the power of the Holy Ghost in our lives as we build ourselves up on our
most holy faith. How? By praying in the Holy Ghost!
Pray Until the Power Comes!
Mark 11:23 says that I can say to a mountain in my life, “Be removed and be cast into the
sea,” and if I don’t doubt in my heart, I’ll have what I say with my mouth. The condition that
must be met here is that I do not doubt in my heart.
Then in verse 24, Jesus states that I shall have whatever I desire when I pray believing that
I have received my answer. So once again, the only stipulation — other than that my prayer must
be according to the will of God — is that I must not doubt in my heart.
Well, that makes this fact very significant: I’ve found something I can do on purpose, as
much and as long as I want to, that carries God’s guarantee to edify me and to build me up on
my most holy faith within the part of me where He said I must not doubt.
Therefore, when I speak to the mountain, the only question left between me and a walk of
devil-stomping, mountain-moving power is this: Do I have the guts to pray until the power
comes? Because it’s not a question of whether or not the power will come. It will come. The
only question is, do I have the guts to stay in there until it does?
“But, Brother Roberson, I’m a businessman.” Then the Holy Spirit will come in power to
your business. “I’m a preacher.” Then He will come in power to your ministry.
The question is not “Will the power come?” When Jesus inspired these words in Jude 20,
He took it out of all golden-tongued, speculative theology and put it into the realm of fact. And
if Jesus said it, it is so whether you believe it or not. This isn’t a democracy. Jesus didn’t ask
you for your vote. Your job is not to change God’s truth, but to find it.
Jesus inspired Jude to write verses 19 and 20. So Jesus is saying there is a key that, when
acted upon, will build you up above a sense-dominated walk where everything you’ve been
delivered from defeats you. Instead, this key will cause you to walk in power on your most holy
faith. What is the key? Using that supernatural language called tongues.
Why Are We Edified?
So we know from First Corinthians 14:4 and Jude 19 that we are edified when we pray in
tongues. But my question to God is this: “Why are we edified?” I mean, if I’m going to spend
three or four hours praying in the Holy Ghost, I want to know why it edifies me.
To know that you should pray in tongues isn’t enough. If you really believed it edifies you
and qualifies you to fulfill God’s call on your life — the very thing you desire most in your heart
— no one could keep you out of your prayer closet!
Many Christians know what First Corinthians 14:4 says, but they still spend most of their
time starting man-made programs and trying to figure out God’s plan for their lives in their
heads. So, obviously, they don’t really believe that their answer lies in stopping long enough
to edify themselves by praying in an unknown tongue.
Therefore, knowing I should pray in tongues isn’t enough. I want to know why I am edified.
Why am I built up on my most holy faith when I speak a bunch of syllables in the air for two
or three hours that I don’t understand with my natural mind?
I told God, “Maybe if You could help me understand why, I could help Your people under-
stand it too. Then they could also enter into a walk of the Spirit in power.” You can imagine
how I felt when one day the Lord opened up the Scriptures to me and showed me the why
behind the edification process of tongues. He took me back to First Corinthians 14:2-4:
For he that speaketh in an unknown tongue speaketh not unto men, but unto God:
for no man understandeth him; howbeit in the spirit he speaketh mysteries.
But he that prophesieth speaketh unto men to edification, and exhortation, and
comfort.
He that speaketh in an unknown tongue edifieth himself; but he that prophesieth
edifieth the church.
Notice that Paul says in verse 4 that he who prophesies edifies the church. Why? Because
through the simple gift of prophecy (which is equivalent to the gift of tongues and interpreta-
tion operating together), suddenly the mind of Christ for that day and hour is made known to
that particular public assembly.
A person who prophesies speaks to men unto edification, exhortation, and comfort (v. 3).
But all exhortation has to be based on a scriptural foundation, or there is nothing to exhort
about. For instance, I can’t exhort on Jesus stopping off at the moon to have breakfast on His
way down to earth, because that’s not in the Scriptures! Therefore, sometimes the Holy Spirit
will unveil a mystery through prophecy, illuminating the mind of Christ regarding a scripture
that hasn’t been understood.
And after the Holy Ghost prophesies through someone unto edification and exhortation, a
divine comfort comes to the body of believers that is different than an emotional high. They
are comforted in a way that is stronger than emotions. The prophecy picks them up in the
Spirit and gives them a sense of “Everything is going to be okay” that can stay with them for
days.
So when a person prophesies, it edifies the church collectively, and when he prays in
tongues, it edifies him individually. However, the reasons why either the body of believers or
the individual is edified are the same: In both cases, the mind of Christ is revealed.
Prophecy causes the mind of Christ to be manifested collectively to the church. On the other
hand, praying in tongues causes the mind of Christ to be manifested in you as an individual,
for the Holy Spirit will begin to take the mysteries you’ve been praying before the throne of
God and communicate them back to you by revelation. That’s why you are edified through
praying in tongues!
Therefore, spending three hours praying in the Holy Ghost would be one of the wisest
moves you’ve ever made. And if you do it every day — look out, devil! You’re building yourself
up on your most holy faith, receiving greater and greater revelation of the mind of Christ —
and the devil has no idea what you’re saying. He just has to watch it happen!
Are you beginning to grasp just how wide and deep and high this subject of tongues really
is? Well, there is much more territory to explore! Let me take you further now into the edifi-
cation process that occurs as you allow the Holy Spirit to pray through you.
What Does It Mean To Edify Your Spirit?
First Corinthians 14:4 tells us what happens when we pray in tongues for any amount of
time:
He that speaketh in an unknown tongue EDIFIETH HIMSELF; but he that proph-
esieth edifieth the church.
The word “edification” is derived from the word “edifice,” which means a massive, magnif-
icent building. So when you pray in tongues, you are actually erecting a superstructure, a
divine operation, on the inside of your spirit to house the anointing of God and to qualify you
for your divine calling.
Most of the time when ministers preach on the subject of tongues, they emphasize the fact that
when you pray in tongues, you charge up your spirit the way you would charge up a battery in the
natural. They tell you that your spirit is actually receiving a spiritual charge, a tangible force or
anointing something like electricity. Then later when you lay hands on someone, that tangible
force goes “pow!” and the power of God goes into that person to heal, deliver, and set free.
Well, that’s true as far as it goes. However, before that tangible anointing is manifested
through a person, he must go through the edification process that causes it to manifest. Not
many Christians seem to know anything about that process. Often they think that they receive
some kind of “magical” charge from praying in tongues that will immediately begin to operate
through them.
I used to believe like that. I thought God would anoint me just as I was. Little did I know
that He wasn’t at all intending to leave me in my carnal state! That isn’t what edification is all
about.
I remember what a surprise it was to me when the Lord started to use me after I had spent
several months praying in my prayer closet. The second meeting I ever held, the Holy Spirit
prompted me to call a woman out of the audience. I was scared; this was all new to me. I told
the woman, “Ma’am, you have something wrong with your body, and God wants to heal you.”
Then I laid my hands on both sides of her face, closed my eyes, and began to pray my hard-
est prayer. But in the middle of my prayer, this lady left! Talk about humiliating! I was too
embarrassed to open my eyes. Here I was, standing in front of a crowd of people, and the
woman I was praying for had just left!
When I had exhausted everything I could think of to pray and finally got brave enough to
open my eyes, I looked around to see where the woman had gone — and there she was lying
on the floor! I thought, Oh, Lord, look at that! That must be what it means to receive a charge
from praying in the Holy Ghost! I didn’t know what to do. But when the woman got back on
her feet, she was healed!
For a long time, that was all I thought being edified in the Holy Ghost meant — God was
charging up my spirit, pouring a powerful anointing into me to use when ministering to oth-
ers. But as I kept praying in tongues, I began to realize that there was much, much more to
this edification process than anyone had ever told me.
The Devil Can’t Understand the Mysteries
Some people wonder what effect we are having on the devil and his plans when we pray in
tongues for edification. One thing we are not doing is ordering the devil around. He doesn’t
even understand what we are saying.
The Word says that when a man prays in an unknown tongue, he isn’t talking to men; he
is speaking with God (1 Cor. 14:2). If I don’t understand what I am praying, why would it be
the devil’s business to know? Why would God allow him to have the upper hand on me? If the
devil understands the mysteries and I don’t, then he has an edge on me.
That’s why I can’t accept the idea that the devil can understand us when we pray in
tongues. When we begin to pray in tongues for personal edification, we enter into a holy “clos-
et,” and our born-again, recreated, seated-in-heavenly-places-with
in a divine communication with God Himself. It is a personal communication, a holy commu-
nion, and the devil cannot enter there.
If I were to call the President of the United States and he personally answered the tele-
phone, you would find me passed out on the floor from shock! The President is much too busy
of a man to talk to me.
On the other hand, my Heavenly Father is continually administrating over the life of every
believer both in Heaven and on earth. Yet when I speak with tongues, I immediately enter into
divine communication with God Himself. He picks up the “red telephone” on the other end and
says, “I know that’s you, Roberson, and I know what you want. And because the Holy Ghost
in His wisdom is praying this prayer in your stead, I want you to know that the answer is on
its way — and there is nothing the devil can do about it!”
That’s why the devil hates praying in tongues — because he has absolutely no idea what
we’re saying to God, and it makes him nervous!
Why doesn’t he understand? Well, look back at the temple built under the Old Covenant.
Within the temple was the outer court, where the people sacrificed to God; the inner court,
where the priest offered sacrifices to God on behalf of the people; and finally, the Holy of
Holies, where God’s Presence dwelt. Only the high priest was allowed in the Holy of Holies
once a year to present the blood sacrifice for the Israelite people.
If the devil had ever had the audacity to try to break through that veil and penetrate the
Holy of Holies, he never would have made it. It was completely out of his jurisdiction; he had
no access there.
The temple is a shadow or type of the believer. As a believer, my body is the temple of God
because the Holy Spirit has come and made His abode on the inside of me. My flesh is the outer
court; my soul the inner court. But my born-again, recreated spirit is a type of the Holy of
Holies — and nobody, but nobody except my High Priest is allowed inside there.
So when I pray in tongues, Satan has no idea what God is saying to me. Why? Because the
Holy Spirit creates that supernatural language within my Holy of Holies, and it is outside of
all satanic jurisdiction.
I know a man whose sister was in a car accident. She was transported to the hospital, her
life hanging by a thread. This man was a faith man. As he headed for the hospital as fast as
he could drive, he confessed over and over, “My sister will live and not die; she will live and
not die!”
But every time this man would make his confession, “She’ll live and not die,” something
would shatter his emotions so badly that it just shook him up from the top of his head to the
bottom of his feet. Then the thought would hit, She’ll die! This happened again and again as
the man sped toward the hospital. It was really shaking him up.
Then suddenly through the gift of the discerning of spirits, God opened this man’s spiritu-
al eyes. (The discerning of spirits allows you to see into the realm of the spirit, whether angels
or demons.)
When God opened this man’s eyes, he saw two demons — one sitting on his left shoulder,
the other on his right. Every time the man would make his confession, “She’ll live and not die,”
one demon would scream through his ear to the other demon, “She’ll die! She’ll die!”
Then the Lord spoke to the man in his spirit: “Make your confession, and then begin to pray
in tongues.” So the man made his confession one more time and began to pray in tongues. After
a while, one of the demons looked around the back of the man’s head at the other demon and
said, “What do you think he’s saying?”
The other devil said, “I don’t know, but is it burning you the way it’s burning me?”
“Yes,” the other demon answered. “Do you think we should leave?” So they left. And you
may as well know, the man’s sister lived and did not die!
Building Yourself Up
On Your Most Holy Faith
So what happens when I pray in tongues for personal edification, which I can do at will,
anytime I desire? Why is this, the most “foolish” of all gifts to the natural mind, so important
and so powerful?
Let’s look at Jude 20 and 21 to discover more of our answer:
But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the
Holy Ghost,
Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ
unto eternal life.
We know that God is only pleased by and only moves in response to our faith. In Romans
10:17, Paul tells us, So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
But we also know that we can hear and hear and hear the Word and yet not see any change
in our lives. We still have to get that Word planted in our spirits and then find some way to
release the faith that the Word has produced.
Thousands of people around the world are filled to overflowing with God’s Word. Yet still,
for the most part, the Church does not experience the miraculous results found in the Book of
Acts. So there must be a missing ingredient most believers are unaware of.
The truth is, any minister, no matter how anointed and full of the Word he may be, can
only tell you what he has learned through experience and as the Holy Ghost has taught him
in his own times of meditation on the Word. But that teaching will not profit you if you don’t
find some way to mix faith with it. You must personally get that Word into your spirit and
then let the Holy Spirit teach you.
That’s why Jude says we are to build ourselves up on our most holy faith by praying always
in the Holy Ghost. It is only as we willingly and freely present our bodies as a living sacrifice
and take the time to endure in prayer that the Holy Ghost can begin to reveal to us the mys-
teries of Christ. Only then can He release the faith in our hearts that is needed for God’s power
to operate in our lives.
Hungry for God’s Power
Ever since I was born again, I’ve been so hungry to know God in His power. At first, I
thought there was something wrong with me because I encountered so many groups of believ-
ers who just didn’t seem to be hungry. They just didn’t seem to care that they lived such pow-
erless lives.
I would wonder, Lord, why aren’t more people hungry for Your power like I am? Is it the call
You have on my life to operate in miracles that makes me different?
I was so hungry for God’s power when I was first born again that I would try anything that
I was told would help me walk in more power. If it promised to satisfy the hunger on the inside
of me, I would do it.
One person said to me, “No wonder you’re not walking in the power of God.”
I asked, “Why not?”
“Because of the jewelry you’re wearing.”
“You mean, if I take this jewelry off, I will walk in God’s power?”
“That’s right.”
So I took off my jewelry. What happened? Well, before I took off my jewelry, I was a pow-
erless jewelry wearer. And after I took it off, I became a powerless non-jewelry wearer! It did-
n’t make a bit of difference.
Then later when I moved to Oregon and hooked up with another group of believers, some-
one told me, “No wonder you don’t walk in the power of God.”
“Why not?”
“Well, how were you baptized?”
“I was baptized in water in the Name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost.”
“Well, no wonder!” the person exclaimed. “You were baptized in the name of three Gods,
and there is only one God!” (This particular group believed there is only one God, whose Name
is Jesus.)
Well, then,” I said, “I’ll just get rebaptized!” (As I said, at that point in my Christian walk,
if I thought something meant more power in my life, I was all for it. Get rebaptized? Just name
the place!)
We were in the middle of an Oregon winter at an elevation of 4,800 feet. It was snowing,
the ground was frozen, and the two ponds were covered with a thick layer of ice. After build-
ing a bonfire beside the upper pond, a group of us were baptized in the freezing water that
flowed through the flume (an artificial channel built to transport logs by water) between the
two ponds. The preacher and I were first to step down into the frigid water. (I was too igno-
rant to know that I could have been baptized in a warm bathtub!)
It was so cold, my legs started to turn blue. I felt like I was freezing to death — but I was
determined to go under the water and get rebaptized so I could have more power in my life!
The preacher asked me, “Are you ready?”
With chattering teeth, I stammered, “Okay, baptize me.” So he dunked me in the icy water,
baptizing me in the Name of Jesus.
Well, in the months that followed, I came to realize that before I was immersed in that
freezing water, I was a powerless Pentecostal boy supposedly baptized in the name of three
Gods. Then that preacher shoved me under the icy water and baptized me in the Name of Jesus
— and I became a powerless Pentecostal boy baptized in the name of one God! Once again, it
didn’t make one bit of difference.
It wasn’t until later — the day I discovered I had “uncovered a spiritual law” — that I
learned a vital key to releasing God’s power in my life.
“Oh, Brother Roberson, can you teach me to walk in power?” Oh, yes, I can. And I don’t care
if your name is Susie Wallpaper or Joe Public either. This key isn’t reserved for an elect few.
Just keep on reading this book, and I’ll teach you how to walk out of everything that Jesus
said you’ve been delivered from. I’ll also teach you how to walk into everything He said you
could be in your life — on purpose, just because you want to go there! The answer is just as
available to you who want it as the air you breathe.
Contending for the Faith
When the Holy Ghost began to reveal to me the treasures hidden in the Book of Jude, I
realized I had discovered an important key in my search to know God in His power. First, I
latched onto verse 3:
Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it
was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should EARNESTLY
CONTEND FOR THE FAITH which was once delivered unto the saints.
I was so excited when I read that we should earnestly contend for the devil-stomping,
mountain-moving kind of faith that was once delivered to the saints. Why was I so excited?
Well, one thing I had learned about God’s Word was this: God wouldn’t tell me to contend for
the faith without then going on in minute detail to teach me how to contend. I was on the right
trail, tracking down my answer!
You see, it wasn’t enough to know I should contend for the faith. The cry of my heart was,
“For God’s sake, can someone teach me how? Don’t wave a delicious steak in front of my face
and then not give it to me!”
Once I was discussing this passage of Scripture with another minister, and he asked me,
“What is your background on the subject of faith?”
I answered, “I am a faith man. I received most of my training in the camp of Kenneth
Hagin, Kenneth Copeland, and other good faith teachers. I take God’s Word for what it says.
I’m not moved by what I see, hear, or feel. I’m not moved by disease or financial lack. Only one
standard controls my life, and that’s what the Word of God says about my problem — not the
devil, not the circumstances, only the Word of God. “
“Well, then,” the man said, “if you believe all that, you already have more faith than the
Early Church had.”
“I beg your pardon,” I replied. “If I’m going to have more faith than the Early Church had,
it seems to me I am first going to have at least as much! If I remember correctly, during one
of Peter’s revivals, people lay the sick and dying in the streets near the meeting because those
on whom Peter’s shadow fell were getting healed!
“Now, correct me if I’m wrong,” I continued, “but I didn’t notice anyone laying the sick on
the street near this meeting in the hope that our shadow would fall on them and heal them!
It seems to me that we need to contend for that kind of powerful faith that was once delivered
to those early saints!”
Then in verse 4, Jude tells us what happened to the mountain-moving faith in which the
Early Church operated:
For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to
this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness,
and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ.
Certain men had crept into the Church unawares. Whoever these men were, to a large
extent they stole the faith of the Early Church.
So I conducted a study on these men from the Book of Jude, if for no other reason than to
find out what path I should not take. I didn’t want my faith to suffer the same fate as the early
believers — stolen from me by dead religion.
Jude compared these ungodly men to raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own
shame... (v. 13). What was he talking about? Well, a wave rises out of the ocean, and for a
moment, puts on a display of foaming glory. But just as quickly as it appears, it disappears
back into the sea.
Jude also compared these men to “wandering stars.” You and I know these phenomena in
the heavens as shooting stars. All of a sudden, a shooting star will flash in the night sky in a
spectacular blaze of glory and then quickly disappear back into the darkness from which it
came. Similarly, these wandering stars, after appearing as bright lights of truth for a short
season, would slink back into the “blackness of darkness” that was reserved for them forever.
These men are also called “clouds without water” (v. 12). Throughout the Bible, water is
used as a type of the Holy Ghost. For instance, we saw earlier that Jesus likened the Holy
Spirit to rivers of living waters, flowing from our innermost being (John 7:38).
So these clouds without water were men who stole the power of God from the Early Church.
They crept in unawares, using doctrines of men to steal the faith of believers until there was
no faith left — until the Church plunged into the Dark Ages, having lost her faith to a large
extent for hundreds of years. No wonder Jude compared these men to clouds without water!
In a drought, a cloud without water may come over the horizon looking promising. It may
put on a good show as it drifts overhead. But when it comes to producing needed rain, that
cloud is powerless to do so because it has no water.
So the first criterion to walking in the power of God is that I must be a cloud with water.
In other words, I must be filled with the Holy Spirit. But evidently, just having the Holy Spirit
isn’t enough.
I used to think that the baptism in the Holy Ghost was all I needed to automatically see
God’s power released in my life. Wrong. I know people who have been baptized in the Holy
Ghost for forty years. But if you measured the power of the Holy Spirit by the fruit of their
lives, you would come to the conclusion that the Holy Spirit had no power at all!
I finally came to the conclusion that even though I was a cloud with water — even though
I had been filled with the Holy Spirit — there still must be something I had to do to walk in
God’s power. Just having the Holy Spirit wasn’t enough. There had to be a way to release Him
on the inside of me. There had to be a way to get all that Holy Ghost power out of my spirit
and onto the problems that needed to be overcome.
At times as I sat in a service listening to a minister preaching the Gospel, I wanted to raise
my hand and say, “Excuse me, Mister Evangelist, but the Holy Spirit you’re talking about —
the One who moved on the face of the deep — is He the same One who now abides on the inside
of me?”
“Why, yes, Son,” he would say.
“Well, then, Mister Preacher, could you please tell me how to get all that power out of my
spirit and loosed on the problem? Because until now, the common cold has whipped me!”
I knew there had to be a way to release the power on the inside of me — and later, I found
out there is! And it is just as deliberate and as power-releasing as you want it to be in your
life!
Rising Above a Carnal,
Sense-Ruled Walk
Jude had more to say in verse 19 about those “clouds without water” who had crept into the
Church unawares:
These be they who separate themselves, sensual, having not the Spirit.
These ungodly men were sensual, or sense-ruled. That means they were dominated more
by the carnal appetites of the flesh than they were by the Word of God. It goes on to say that
they “had not the Spirit.” These men did not have the Holy Ghost in operation in their lives.
Therefore, they were separated from truth by the devil and by carnality and the lusts of the
flesh.
So, evidently, being filled with the Holy Spirit must have something to do with not being
dominated by the flesh. It must have something to do with whether disease stops me or I stop
the disease. Somehow there must be a way to release the Holy Spirit in my life so that instead
of poverty paralyzing my progress, I can turn around and stop financial lack in its tracks.
I’m not a cloud without water. I’ve been baptized in the Holy Ghost. I’m a tongue-talking,
devil-stomping, mountain-moving, faith-filled believer! I don’t have to be like those who sepa-
rated themselves.
Why don’t I? The next verse follows the same line of thought as verse 19, and it tells me
why: “But, you, beloved — you who do have the Holy Ghost — build yourselves up on your
most holy faith. Build yourself up above a walk that is dominated by the senses by praying in
the Holy Ghost!”
This edification process of Jude 20 delivers us from the strife-filled, carnal condition
described in Jude 19 and enables us to live continually in Jude 21: KEEP YOURSELVES IN
THE LOVE OF GOD, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal
life. In other words, praying in tongues is the bridge between a state of strife and sensuality
and the love of God.
Oh, how much we have sought God for that elusive increase of the faith God deposited on
the inside of us — and here was this verse all along, giving us in black and white an ironclad
guarantee that we can build ourselves up! Up where? Up above a walk where disease brings
us to a standstill. Up above a walk where poverty reigns in our lives. Up above a walk where
our children are lost to the world forever. Up above this sense-dominated realm where we are
more moved by what we see, hear, and feel than we are by the Word of God.
We can release the power of the Holy Ghost in our lives as we build ourselves up on our
most holy faith. How? By praying in the Holy Ghost!
Pray Until the Power Comes!
Mark 11:23 says that I can say to a mountain in my life, “Be removed and be cast into the
sea,” and if I don’t doubt in my heart, I’ll have what I say with my mouth. The condition that
must be met here is that I do not doubt in my heart.
Then in verse 24, Jesus states that I shall have whatever I desire when I pray believing that
I have received my answer. So once again, the only stipulation — other than that my prayer must
be according to the will of God — is that I must not doubt in my heart.
Well, that makes this fact very significant: I’ve found something I can do on purpose, as
much and as long as I want to, that carries God’s guarantee to edify me and to build me up on
my most holy faith within the part of me where He said I must not doubt.
Therefore, when I speak to the mountain, the only question left between me and a walk of
devil-stomping, mountain-moving power is this: Do I have the guts to pray until the power
comes? Because it’s not a question of whether or not the power will come. It will come. The
only question is, do I have the guts to stay in there until it does?
“But, Brother Roberson, I’m a businessman.” Then the Holy Spirit will come in power to
your business. “I’m a preacher.” Then He will come in power to your ministry.
The question is not “Will the power come?” When Jesus inspired these words in Jude 20,
He took it out of all golden-tongued, speculative theology and put it into the realm of fact. And
if Jesus said it, it is so whether you believe it or not. This isn’t a democracy. Jesus didn’t ask
you for your vote. Your job is not to change God’s truth, but to find it.
Jesus inspired Jude to write verses 19 and 20. So Jesus is saying there is a key that, when
acted upon, will build you up above a sense-dominated walk where everything you’ve been
delivered from defeats you. Instead, this key will cause you to walk in power on your most holy
faith. What is the key? Using that supernatural language called tongues.
Why Are We Edified?
So we know from First Corinthians 14:4 and Jude 19 that we are edified when we pray in
tongues. But my question to God is this: “Why are we edified?” I mean, if I’m going to spend
three or four hours praying in the Holy Ghost, I want to know why it edifies me.
To know that you should pray in tongues isn’t enough. If you really believed it edifies you
and qualifies you to fulfill God’s call on your life — the very thing you desire most in your heart
— no one could keep you out of your prayer closet!
Many Christians know what First Corinthians 14:4 says, but they still spend most of their
time starting man-made programs and trying to figure out God’s plan for their lives in their
heads. So, obviously, they don’t really believe that their answer lies in stopping long enough
to edify themselves by praying in an unknown tongue.
Therefore, knowing I should pray in tongues isn’t enough. I want to know why I am edified.
Why am I built up on my most holy faith when I speak a bunch of syllables in the air for two
or three hours that I don’t understand with my natural mind?
I told God, “Maybe if You could help me understand why, I could help Your people under-
stand it too. Then they could also enter into a walk of the Spirit in power.” You can imagine
how I felt when one day the Lord opened up the Scriptures to me and showed me the why
behind the edification process of tongues. He took me back to First Corinthians 14:2-4:
For he that speaketh in an unknown tongue speaketh not unto men, but unto God:
for no man understandeth him; howbeit in the spirit he speaketh mysteries.
But he that prophesieth speaketh unto men to edification, and exhortation, and
comfort.
He that speaketh in an unknown tongue edifieth himself; but he that prophesieth
edifieth the church.
Notice that Paul says in verse 4 that he who prophesies edifies the church. Why? Because
through the simple gift of prophecy (which is equivalent to the gift of tongues and interpreta-
tion operating together), suddenly the mind of Christ for that day and hour is made known to
that particular public assembly.
A person who prophesies speaks to men unto edification, exhortation, and comfort (v. 3).
But all exhortation has to be based on a scriptural foundation, or there is nothing to exhort
about. For instance, I can’t exhort on Jesus stopping off at the moon to have breakfast on His
way down to earth, because that’s not in the Scriptures! Therefore, sometimes the Holy Spirit
will unveil a mystery through prophecy, illuminating the mind of Christ regarding a scripture
that hasn’t been understood.
And after the Holy Ghost prophesies through someone unto edification and exhortation, a
divine comfort comes to the body of believers that is different than an emotional high. They
are comforted in a way that is stronger than emotions. The prophecy picks them up in the
Spirit and gives them a sense of “Everything is going to be okay” that can stay with them for
days.
So when a person prophesies, it edifies the church collectively, and when he prays in
tongues, it edifies him individually. However, the reasons why either the body of believers or
the individual is edified are the same: In both cases, the mind of Christ is revealed.
Prophecy causes the mind of Christ to be manifested collectively to the church. On the other
hand, praying in tongues causes the mind of Christ to be manifested in you as an individual,
for the Holy Spirit will begin to take the mysteries you’ve been praying before the throne of
God and communicate them back to you by revelation. That’s why you are edified through
praying in tongues!
Therefore, spending three hours praying in the Holy Ghost would be one of the wisest
moves you’ve ever made. And if you do it every day — look out, devil! You’re building yourself
up on your most holy faith, receiving greater and greater revelation of the mind of Christ —
and the devil has no idea what you’re saying. He just has to watch it happen!
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