GLOSSA by ESTHER OBELE- Book Review
By Miryam C. Atsagba-Dekor
April 30, 2025
“…even when you’re too heartbroken to say anything coherent, your spirit still knows what to say.”
MIRYAM DEKOR
There are books you read. Then there are books that read you. GLOSSA is one of the latter. I didn’t approach this book as a curious reader or even a hungry student. I came to it shattered, silenced by grief.
Two days after my mom passed, PE sent me a book, GLOSSA. Her WhatsApp message was brief, but it carried an urgency that pierced through my fog of grief: “Read this. It is urgent.‼️”
After checking in to ask how I was doing, I gave the polite, automatic answer we often give when we don’t have the strength to unravel our pain. “I’m okay,” I said.
But I wasn’t.
I was not doing okay.
At all.
I was in a state of shock and numbness that I had never experienced before. The kind that locks up your ability to speak, think, or even breathe with clarity. I couldn’t cry properly. I couldn’t pray. I couldn’t even gather the strength to whisper, “Help me, Lord.”
I had prayed, believe me, I had. First, for healing. Then, when that didn’t come, I shifted my faith and started praying for a successful kidney transplant. I fasted. I decreed. I declared. I did everything I knew how to do. Then she died. And I was left not just grieving her death but questioning the entire structure of my faith.
What is there to pray for when the prayer you poured your soul into didn’t “work”? What do you say to a God you trusted with everything, only to be left holding the pieces? I didn’t even know how to start a prayer. I didn’t have language for the sorrow I was feeling.
And then, God sent me GLOSSA.
It felt like the book was ferried to me on angel’s wings.
PE wrote to me, “I’m glad you are doing good. I’m ok. Just burdened in my spirit. Please start reading this book👆.”
With trembling hands and tears clouding my eyes, I started reading GLOSSA. It wasn’t just a book about speaking in tongues, it was a spiritual excavation. It dug into the foundation of what it means to communicate with God when our earthly language collapses.
I cried through the first chapter, but it was the second chapter “Spirit Prayer” that undid me.
That chapter broke something open.
I heard the Lord say to me gently and audibly: “Miryam, I want you to speak to me, spirit to spirit.”.
That’s when everything shifted.
I dropped the book and started to sob uncontrollably. I was crying in full blown tongues without premeditation and without effort. Agonizing, aching tongues. It was raw. It was guttural. It was ugly. It was real.
For the first time since my mom died, I was praying. Not with my mind—but with my spirit. That chapter rescued me. It reminded me that even when my mind fails and my emotions betray me, my spirit still knows how to speak. When I can’t frame the pain, the Spirit groans through me with clarity and power.
That moment reminded me of 1 Corinthians 14:14:
“For if I pray in tongues, my spirit is praying, but I don’t understand what I am saying.”
There’s something deeply liberating about that scripture. It means that prayer doesn’t always have to make sense to you for it to make sense to God. It means that even when you’re too heartbroken to say anything coherent, your spirit still knows what to say.
That day, I stopped trying to form a perfect prayer. I stopped trying to be strong for God. I just let my spirit do what my mind could no longer handle. And in doing so, I discovered the kind of peace that surpasses understanding. Not because anything changed on the outside, but because something had shifted deep within.
GLOSSA didn’t just teach me about tongues. It reminded me that my spirit is never silenced, not even by grief.
Why am I sharing this?
Because grief can make you feel spiritually paralyzed.
Because you might be someone who’s prayed every prayer you know how to pray.
Because maybe your hope has taken a beating.
But I want to tell you: There’s still a voice in you that heaven understands. It’s your spirit. And when your soul is too heavy to speak, your spirit can take over through the language of tongues, through groans too deep for words, through Spirit-to-Spirit communion.
Don’t be afraid to sound “messy” before God.
Don’t be afraid if your prayers don’t have structure.
If all you can do is cry in tongues, cry. If all you can do is whisper His name, whisper. God understands.
If you’re grieving, here’s my prayer for you:
That the Holy Spirit meets you right in the middle of your wordless pain.
That you allow your spirit to speak even when your soul cannot.
That you find peace, not in answered questions, but in the presence of the One who understands you beyond language.
Grief may silence your mouth, but it cannot silence your spirit.
And that, dear friend, is why we pray in tongues.
About the Book:
GLOSSA is more than a study on the gift of tongues; it is a spiritual manual for those who desire a deeper, unfiltered connection with God. The author unpacks the mystery and theology of speaking in tongues with clarity and urgency. But what sets this book apart is its ability to meet the reader not just intellectually, but spiritually particularly in places where language fails and emotions overwhelm.
What This Book Offers:
* A scriptural foundation for the gift of tongues
* Clarity on why tongues is not optional for the believer, it’s essential
* Practical steps for activating and strengthening your spirit-led prayer life
* A call to intimacy with the Holy Spirit that transcends emotion or intellect
* Encouragement for broken believers who feel spiritually mute
Why You Should Read It:
If you’ve ever felt like your words were too shallow for the depth of your pain…
If you’ve ever needed to pray but didn’t know where to begin…
If you hunger for a richer spiritual language that bypasses the mind and touches the heart of God. GLOSSA is your book.
It will challenge you, stretch your understanding of prayer, and most importantly, give your spirit permission to speak when your soul cannot.
Final Verdict:
GLOSSA is not just a book, it’s a lifeline for the weary, a tool for the hungry, and a prophetic call to those who need to remember that their spirit still has a voice. This is a book to read, re-read, gift, and keep close during the silent seasons of your life.
Have you ever experienced a moment when words failed you? What carried you through? Let me know in the comments. And if you know someone who needs this, forward it with love.