The Language of Wonder
The Language of Wonder
“But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.” 1 Corinthians 2:9
Language is elemental. Nothing is more central to our human experience than the experience of language. We speak, even think in words. It is not only how we communicate with others, it is how we communicate with ourselves.
We reason with language. We plan with language. It may not be out loud, but inside our thoughts are in a room with unspoken words.
Often times when trying to communicate we reach a point where we can’t find the word.
The english language has its’ limitations.
A contrast to demonstrate this is something I have learned in studying the Bible.
The greek used in the New Testament has many different words that are translated into the english word love.
Eros, Phileo, Agape are three significant greek words translated into English as love. They speak of erotic, friendship and a divine love.
In English we have one word.
“I love puppies.”
“I love chicken.”
“I love vacation.”
“I love my wife.”
“I love Jesus.”
We know that these are not the same, but we only have one word to communicate that feeling, affection and emotion.
I was listening to an NPR podcast on my iPhone titled “What happened to wonder.”
It was an interview with a man who had written a book. He relates that in his endeavor to learn a new language, it opened a world of wonder in his life.
"Studying a foreign language, the sheer feeling of not understanding, you are reduced to a child. You become a three year old again. Language opens a door to another world. When you are in the stretch to learn another language, you rediscover everything again."
When I heard this, something sparked in my spirit relating to praying in the spirit, speaking in tongues.
We learn in the writings of Paul concerning many different aspects of praying in the Spirit. We know Paul said of himself that he prayed constantly in tongues. In First Corinthians chapter fourteen, he breaks prayer down into two categories, to pray in words you understand and pray in words you do not understand. He summarized this praying in the spirit, speaking in tongues, to be personally edifying, praying directly to God and to be speaking things too great for our understanding.
Paul again speaks of this in Romans 8.
“Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.” Romans 8:26
Praying in the Spirit, through the Spirit God supplies the language. All the limitations we find in looking for words to describe and explain what we are trying to say to God are supplied by the Spirit. It goes so far to say that the spirit itself prays through us and for us the Will of God.
The language of wonder for the believer is this unexplainable, indescribable, unspeakable joy that leads us to the very edge of the Glory world.
Scripture describes it as the rest. We find it is further described as the earnest of our inheritance. I would describe it as the golden thread that connects us in this temporary into that eternal world of endless wonder.
Scripture declares that which is to come as
“But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.”
The language of wonder we are introduced to when we are born again of the water and the spirit as described by Jesus in John 3. Jesus makes some very specifics statements about this experience. Except we be born again we can not enter, yea or even see the Kingdom of God.
Dead and Dying Languages
There was an effort by a Canadian group to study the linguistics of a dying language. They went and studied the Dani Tribe in Papua New Guinee. They found that this small and shrinking group of people worshipped the sun. While they studied them they were intrigued to find that they had in thier language 27 different words for the color yellow. While they surveyed that, they found that these people had an uncanny ability to discern the minor differences in the color of yellow. It was determined that their ability to see the differences was directly related to thier having a word to describe it.
When we are born again, we are given a whole new vocabulary.
Scripture says that the natural man cannot receive the things of God because they are foolishness to him. When we are Born again, we gain a living language that grows with us as we grow in our understanding and faith.
Bible Translators
I read a story about the difficulty they had in translating the Bible to the Intuit language, the language of the Eskimos.
In the language of the Eskimos there is no word for Palm tree. There was no word, so they had to use many words to describe what one word would do in another language.
At this point, I could write more, but I think the most fitting thing for me to do is go pray until I pray in the Spirit. If you will go and pray until you do the same, we can both identify with this wonder I speak of.
It is Joy unspeakable and full of Glory!
In Him, By Him, Through Him,
Scott A. Phillips