CS Heinz | Passionate About Prayer

Praying in Tongues is one of the 12 prayer types I cover in “Made To Pray.” It’s also probably the most controversial.

When I was writing the book, I was told by an industry expert that publishers and bookstores would reject it because tongues was in it. Some have and some will. But I decided to include tongues anyway because I believe it’s as valid a prayer type as say, praise or petition. No one would dream of removing those.

Plus the Apostle Paul wrote, “I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you” (1 Corinthians 14:18). If it was good enough for Paul, shouldn’t it be good enough for us?

There’s a lot of confusion about tongues.

One of the most popular articles on my website is “Ten Myths About Speaking in Tongues.” Web searches are done almost daily on the topic. When I’ve spoken on the subject of tongues in churches, there’s a wave of bewilderment when I say there are three types of tongues in the New Testament.

Well, we can’t cover everything about tongues, but here’s a start.

In this video interview, I talk with Becky Spencer about how praying in tongues is helping her in the tragic loss of her grandson, Honor.

We cover these questions:

How is praying in tongues helping you in this challenging season?
When did you start praying in tongues?
Why do you think this type of prayer is so controversial?

If you’d like to learn more about tongues, I encourage you to order Made To Pray.

What do you think about praying in tongues? You can comment by clicking here.

About Becky Spencer

Becky is a homeschooling mom of eight kids, wife of husband Tracy of 36 years, author, speaker, worship leader, and co-founder of Grand Staff Ministries, which ministers to children in Swaziland, Africa.

Her books are “When Prince Charming Falls off His Horse…and you’ve become his nag,” “Leapin’ Lizards…another other leaps of faith,” and “Bigger than Me: Finding a Strong Enough Reason to Eat Right for Life.” Her musical albums are “Empty” and “Tears of a Clown.”

Learn more about Becky’s ministry, books, and music at www.BeckySpencerMinistries.com.

How to Make the Best of Waiting (for Asher)

CS Heinz — June 12, 2013 — 3 Comments

We’re waiting for Asher. We’ve been waiting for three years.

Asher is a boy in the Philippines. He’s our boy, we’re adopting him. In August Asher turns four. We should hear soon that we can schedule our trip. Then we’ll wait another four or five weeks until we can go.

It’s not easy to wait, would you agree?

Asher’s picture is on my phone and when I look at him, my heart hurts. We haven’t met yet, but we love him already. He’ll share a room with Rex, our other son. We just want him here.

Waiting is a fact of life. Sure, none of us wake up and hope to wait today. We don’t pray, “God, let me wait extra long.” If we get into waiting, we look for a way out. Waiting is painful.

But since we can’t avoid waiting, let’s make the best of it.

Here are some thoughts on how to wait well.

In Adoption, Philippines, Power

What Mary Can Teach You About Listening Prayer

CS Heinz — June 6, 2013 — 2 Comments

Note: I’ve heard from two readers of Made to Pray that the listening prayer chapter really impacted them. There was Khadija, who was going through a very rough time of family illness. As she read listening prayer, God drew close, and she recorded a video testimony because she was so touched.

And then Jack, who emailed me to say he has returned to his prayer room to wait on God every morning after being away from it. Praise God! So I decided to provide an excerpt from the chapter. May God use it in your life!

Luke 10:38–42 tells the story of Mary and Martha of Bethany.

Jesus was a guest in their home, probably along with the other disciples. As guests, they were persons of honor. Hospitality was very important, a cultural responsibility. So Martha set herself to preparing the home for Jesus and the other guests.

But not Mary. No, Mary sat at Jesus’ feet and listened.

Martha acted like a host, but Mary acted like a guest.

In Prayer

8 Steps To Inspiring Change (And Increasing Prayer) In Your Organization

CS Heinz — May 30, 2013 — 2 Comments

Note: A few months ago, a college ministry approached me for help. It wanted to inspire its people to pray more. This post is based on the advice I gave.

Let’s say you’re the director of prayer for a college ministry.

One of your goals is to motivate your people to pray more. But this isn’t easy. Everyone seems to be as busy as ever. They have endless choices for spending their time. And “praying more” doesn’t seem to be a pressing concern. To be successful, you have to change their behaviors.

According to Harvard Medical School, change is a process, not an event. Lasting change doesn’t happen quickly or haphazardly. Sure, you can try to change—do something different for a little while—but unless you plan the change process, it will probably fail.

So what can you do? Here are 8 steps to inspiring change–and increasing prayer–in your organization.

In Prayer

Surviving Marks and Scars

CS Heinz — May 26, 2013 — 3 Comments

I look down at my hand and see the mark. It’s a reminder of my depression.

I couldn’t manage the emotions driving me down, driving me deep. I needed something to stop them or stunt them, if just for a moment.

So I took the cigarette from my mouth and pressed it against my skin. My once-soft-and-perfect baby skin, free from scar, free from scratch, buckled beneath the heat. The skin crumbled; it folded inward on itself. A sign of what was happening to me.

Today I’m years away from that season, but I still bear the mark. I suppose I always will.

Life marks us in ways we do not deserve or expect. It did for Sherry.

In Other

Nothing in your life is stronger than the love of God–not lust, pride, bitterness, sin, nothing. From CS Heinz, author of “Made to Pray” at the Chaplain’s Breakfast of the EnergyCAP Catalyst Conference.

Posted by CS Heinz onMay 22, 2013 In Presence of God, Videos

7 Ways to Make A Fight With Your Spouse Even Worse

CS Heinz — May 15, 2013 — 3 Comments

This past weekend, Colette and I had a fight. We usually don’t argue, but this one stayed alive for 20 hours.

Sometimes I see newlyweds, and they’re all starry and smiley, and they could never dream of having mean thoughts toward the other. But one day they will. Welcome to marriage! (By the way, congratulations Gerald and Janice on your engagement!)

The question is not if you will fight, but rather how you will. Here are 7 ways to make a fight with your spouse even worse. I’m happy to say Colette and I avoided all of them (this time).

In Power

Pink gift wrapped present with rosy satin ribbon bow isolated on white

Great Mother’s Day Gift Idea (Hint: It’s Not My Book)

CS Heinz — May 9, 2013 — Leave a comment

If you’re looking for a great Mother’s Day gift idea, try this one: Create a Bible mash-up prayer.

A song mash-up is a combination of songs that are laid seamlessly together. An example is this song mash-up of Whitney Houston’s “I Wanna Dance With Somebody” paired with Cindy Lauper’s “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun.”

You can do the same with Bible verses. For your mama, stitch together related Bible verses to form a Bible mash-up prayer.

In Prayer

Stuff Christians Shouldn’t Say to Someone Who’s Depressed

CS Heinz — May 2, 2013 — 17 Comments

When I was a senior in college, I entered a depression.

It started as a deep gray feeling, then widened and darkened into a black abyss. I lived with five of my college friends, but felt all alone. It got so bad I dropped out of school and entered treatment.

The doctors said I had suffered from low grade depression for years. I don’t know if this was true, but it’s what they said. Apparently I had a knack for coping. But this current season of depression, this slick and slippery downward spiral that threatened my entire world, was beyond coping. I wanted to kill myself.

I’m better now. It’s 14 years later. In the course of my depression, lots of people tried to help. I know their heart was right. But sometimes, their words were not. Following is stuff that Christians shouldn’t say to someone who’s depressed. (No blame here—I said some of these things to others myself.)

But here they are…

In Power