Speaking in Tongues

[Kixa]

I'm doing a Bible study and was wondering, what are your opinions on speaking in tongues?

1 Corinthians 14:13-19 (ESV)

"Therefore, one who speaks in a tongue should pray for the power to interpret. For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays but my mind is unfruitful. What am I to do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will pray with my mind also; I will sing praise with my spirit, but I will sing with my mind also. Otherwise, if you give thanks with your spirit, how can anyone in the position of an outsider[a] say "Amen" to your thanksgiving when he does not know what you are saying? For you may be giving thanks well enough, but the other person is not being built up. I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you. Nevertheless, in church I would rather speak five words with my mind in order to instruct others, than ten thousand words in a tongue."

 

[Girder of Loins]

Everyone can speak in tongues. Not everyone can speak in tongues to others. Everyone has a prayer language(a form of "tongues") that is his own language with God. Some have said it shields our words from the Devil since he can't interpret them, but that is just reasoning. Others have a "gift of tongues", meaning they can speak to others in their prayer language, and other humans will understand it. Others have been given a gift to interpret tongues, so any tongue language can be interpreted. Its all a balance of gifts among believers.

 

[Kixa]

Indeed it is,
I do wonder though why it's seldom discussed in Churches, even solid Bible-believing Churches. Churches seem to either dance around the subject, or have a huge auditorium filled with people speaking gibberish.
There is a language between just us and God, and when just our Spirit is talking to God, I can see that is a gift from God, but if it's forced, then people might feel obligated to speak random vowels just because everyone else is and they don't want to feel like a "baby Christian."

My youth pastor has a story about a time that he visited one of there Churches that highly emphasize speaking in tongues. He said he intentionally repeated a Bible verse he knew in another language, and an interpreter told him he was speaking something entirely different!

I know these are real gifts God gives, but there are many ways to approach it, and I'm trying to figure out what is the most Biblical way to approach the subject.

 

[Girder of Loins]

Indeed it is,
I do wonder though why it's seldom discussed in Churches, even solid Bible-believing Churches. Churches seem to either dance around the subject, or have a huge auditorium filled with people speaking gibberish.
There is a language between just us and God, and when just our Spirit is talking to God, I can see that is a gift from God, but if it's forced, then people might feel obligated to speak random vowels just because everyone else is and they don't want to feel like a "baby Christian."

My youth pastor has a story about a time that he visited one of there Churches that highly emphasize speaking in tongues. He said he intentionally repeated a Bible verse he knew in another language, and an interpreter told him he was speaking something entirely different!

I know these are real gifts God gives, but there are many ways to approach it, and I'm trying to figure out what is the most Biblical way to approach the subject.

Churches don't talk about it because they are afraid to(for whatever reason). Other churches become obsessed with it and can focus only on spiritual gifts. To me, tongues is an essential part of a Christian's walk, but shouldn't be too overplayed. I only speak in tongues during worship or when praying. And I try to not use it too much while with others. Its a touchy subject, but that doesn't mean we ignore it.

 

[RisingSpirit]

How To Speak In Tongues - YouTube