What is praying in tongues?
Here's the answer:
Praying in tongues means praying in a different language by the work of the Holy Spirit.
Praying in tongues was done during the days of the apostles. During the days of the apostles, a person could pray in a tongue in order to help someone who spoke a different language understand the Gospel message. Just think of “tongues” as another word for languages.
Some people have taught that praying in tongues is a “secret” language. This is not true. The Bible teaches us that tongues are real, knowable languages. Praying in a tongue does not mean a person is praying in a made-up language. In the Bible, the prayed in a true language that someone knew and could understand.
You may know people who believe they can pray in tongues. You should be kind to them, but you should also point them to the truth of the Bible. Praying in tongues may have play an important role in the past, but believers cannot pray in tongues today.
Bible Truth
"A crowd came together when they heard the sound. They were bewildered because each of them heard their own language being spoken. The crowd was really amazed. They asked, “Aren’t all these people who are speaking Galileans? Then why do we each hear them speaking in our own native language?" (Acts 2:6-8).
"If I pray in another language, my spirit prays. But my mind does not pray. So what should I do? I will pray with my spirit. But I will also pray with my understanding. I will sing with my spirit. But I will also sing with my understanding" (1 Corinthians 14:14-15).
"Suppose I speak in the languages of human beings or of angels. If I don’t have love, I am only a loud gong or a noisy cymbal" (1 Corinthians 13:1).
