The purpose of speaking in tongues? The Lord empowers believers who ask for the gift of speaking in tongues in two ways – they are empowered to bless and encourage themselves and they are able to bless and encourage the body of believers. In these two ways, the wonderful gift of tongues brings great glory to the Lord Jesus Christ and empowers believers to speak, teach and live the Word of God in the world. When a believer uses tongues to bless themselves, tongues are spoken devotionally. We use tongues devotionally for at least three reasons: The Mission Kingdom Church exists to proclaim the good news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ with power, passion and purpose. (Acts 1:8, 4:33; I Cor. 1:18; Phil 2:2; & II Tim. 1:7) The History The prophet Habakkuk tells us to: “Write down the revelation and make it plain on tablets so that a herald may run with it.” (Hab. 2:2 - NIV). This is the revelation that the Lord gave to the Pastor of Kingdom Church: After being an ordained Elder in the Church of God in Christ for ten years and working in the office of Evangelist, Rev. Alexander D. Hurt went to the Lord in the early months of 2000 to seek the Lord’s direction for his life and ministry. The Lord sent him on a series of fasts of varying lengths and told him to draw nearer to him in his faith walk by increasing the time he spent alone with the Lord in prayer and Bible study. Rev. Hurt responded to the Lord’s command by sanctifying one hour and a half every morning to speak and hear from the Lord in prayer and for in-depth Bible study, and a 40-day (6:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.) liquid only fast. After following this regime for one full year (nearly to the day), the Lord woke Rev. Hurt up during the early morning hours of February 15, 2001 and told him to prepare to enter the Pastoral ministry. This was the “What,” but the “When, where, and How” had not yet been provided.