Two fears keep people from this, so let me take both head on.
"Didn't the gifts stop with the apostles?"
Some say the gifts, tongues included, ended when the twelve apostles died. Whoever taught you that had not read the book of Acts very carefully. The gifts were never limited to the twelve:
- On the day of Pentecost it was about 120 people who were filled and spoke in tongues, not twelve (Acts 1:15; 2:1-4).
- Paul was an apostle (1 Cor. 1:1), worked miracles (Acts 13:7-12; 14:8-10), and spoke in tongues more than anyone (1 Cor. 14:18) — and he was not one of the original twelve.
- Stephen and Philip were among the seven deacons, not apostles, and both worked signs and wonders (Acts 6:8; 8:5-13).
- At Antioch there were prophets and teachers with no apostle from the twelve in sight (Acts 13:1).
That is the weak version of the argument, and it falls apart on contact with the text. A stronger version points to one verse: "where there are tongues, they will be stilled... but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears" (1 Cor. 13:8-10). When does completeness come? Read two verses on: "now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known" (1 Cor. 13:12). That is not a finished book. That is seeing God face to face. Nobody yet knows as fully as they are known — so that day has not come, and the gifts are still running.
There is a subtler form of the argument still. Some say the gifts were scaffolding — given to authenticate the apostles and lay the foundation of the church (Eph. 2:20) — and once the foundation was set, the scaffolding came down. But look at what Paul says the gifts are for: the ministries of Ephesians 4 were given "to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith... and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ" (Eph. 4:12-13). Until. That is the finish line — a church grown up into the full stature of Christ, without spot or wrinkle. Has that arrived? Look around you. If the gifts were withdrawn before that day, they were withdrawn before their work was done. Either the church is already perfect, or the gifts are still needed — and it is plainly not the first.
And there is the plainest evidence of all: people speak in tongues today. I do. The burden is on anyone who says it stopped to show it from the text — and the text will not give it to them.
"What if I open myself to something dark?"
This fear is real, and Jesus answered it directly:
"Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? ... If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!" — Luke 11:11-13
Read that and let the fear go. When you come to your Father and ask for His Spirit, He does not hand you a serpent. Yes, there are people in bondage who can imitate tongues — but if you have not been speaking in tongues, you are plainly not in that category, and you can ask in confidence. The one condition is faith: "without faith it is impossible to please God" (Heb. 11:6), and "when you ask, you must believe and not doubt" (James 1:6). Ask your Father, believing, and receive what He promised.
And here is your safeguard, so you never have to move in fear: you are told to test things, not swallow them whole. "Test the spirits to see whether they are from God" (1 John 4:1). "Test everything; hold on to what is good" (1 Thess. 5:21). The Bereans were commended for checking even the apostle Paul against the Scriptures (Acts 17:11). Walking in the Spirit was never meant to switch your mind off — it is your experience and the Word together, each keeping the other honest. That is not doubt; that is how you go deep and stay safe at the same time.
I asked Him for this myself, years ago, and I received the Spirit — not a counterfeit. He is a good Father. He will do the same for you.
In short: The gifts did not stop — not with the twelve (it was 120, and Paul, and Stephen, and Philip), and not with "completeness," which is seeing God face to face, still ahead of us. And you need not fear the dark: the Father gives the Holy Spirit, not a snake, to the child who asks Him in faith — and you never walk blind, because you test everything and keep what is good.
