Question: Is speaking in tongues in private prayer of god?

(Posted by: Apostolic on 2010-07-21 18:11:57)

This is a serious question, I am not intending to mock anybody. If you have scriptures I want to hear them. If you know a commonly misinterpreted scripture I would like to hear your interpretation. Perhaps the correct interpretation has not been revealed to me. I definitely believe that speaking in tongues is another language. Like French, Chinese, and Russian or other languages. There is much scriptural evidence for it. Logical too, the Apostles needed to be able to spread the message. I believe that speaking in tongues in a congregation can be real, if there is an interpreter. But this could also be another real language. (1 Corinthians 14:11- 14). For example, If someone speaks French in an English Congregation. He would be speaking in another tongue or even an unknown tongue and would be edifying only himself because he would be the only one to understand. So it comes down to this. 1.) When you are praying at night alone in your room. Do you speak in tongues? 2.) do you understand what you are saying. 3.) If you do not understand what you are saying what is point. 4.) If you believe that speaking in tongues is a required sign of receiving the Holy Ghost, what scriptural evidence do you have to support that claim? 5.) Why does it have to be "the sign " why not "a sign " along with the rest of the Spiritual Gifts. 1 Corinthians 12:29- 30 I want to note two scriptures that are throwing me off. 1 Corinthians 12:29- 30 seems to say that not everybody speaks in tongues 1 Corinthians 14:14- 15 seems to say that praying in unknown tongues is futile because you do not understand.

Posted by: potentiallywonderful on 2010-07-22, 11:50:49

"Logical too, the Apostles needed to be able to spread the message. " - NO! The Greek Empire had already spread common greek all over the place, AND the apostles knew Aramaic with which Peter spoke to all the pilgrims at Pentecost. There people were already bi-lingual so, they took the gospel message all over the known world without anyone needing a new language to communicate it! Tongues was and is for speaking to God, hot to men - see 1 Cor. 14:2: "he that speaks in an unknown tongue speaks not to men, but to God " The fact that people recognised words does NOT mean tongues was for talking to them - the result was they were all left in doubt! "they were all amazed, and were in doubt, saying one to another, What meaneth this? " (Acts 2:12) - It's like if I'm walking doen the Champs Elyses in Paris and I overhear 2 americans, I WILL recognise the words, but that does NOT mean they are talking to me! Similarly it is foolish to say that because people recognised the languages at Pentecost therefore tongues is for talking to men. 1.) Yes 2.) No 3.) To get beyong my limited understanding and allow God to minister his love and peace "that passes understanding " - Romans 8:26 4.) 1 gospel - Acts 2:4, 33, 39; 10:44-46, John 3:8, Gal. 4:6 etc When tongues was heard it was judged that the speakers had *just receivd* the Spirit. IF one can receive the Spirit and not speak in tongues, you CANNOT make this judgement, but they did. 5.) Different signs follow at different times (like with motoring to a destinmation). God always gave a specific sign to signify entry into a covenant - see Ge.9:12-15, 17:11. In 1 Cor. 12:29-30 Paul reasons with them not to all speak in tongues in church, "the GIFT " of tongues refers specifically to the meetings-use. 1 Cor. 12 is NOT about what different people get when they become Christians. It is precisely because all Christians speak in tongues that Paul had to reason with them not to all do so when they meet. If only some could, Paul would not have to tell them not to all do so. 1 Cor. 14:14-15 says " I WILL pray with the spirit " back in v4 he says he edifies himself! (see also Jude 20) - if u do it you will appreciate it. Just visit our mearest meeting, hear the testimonies & see for yourself what difference it makes! e-m me if u want to talk more potentiallywonderful (at) yahoo (dot) co (dot) uk

Posted by: Sammi The Wunder Hobo on 2010-07-21, 18:13:35

GFHFDSDGHFBFSFGHGB ADDDGBGNHGFNS That means God thinks I'm awesome and would like you to give me money.

Posted by: dunstanthedruid on 2010-07-21, 18:16:32

First lets get this straight. Speaking in tongues (from your Bible) means that the Apostles were heard and understood by each person in THEIR OWN LANGUAGE. Real languages. Not some gobbledygook, that no one understands.

Posted by: I Disagree Wit Wutever U Jus Sed on 2010-07-21, 18:16:38

The translation of "tongues " also means "languages ". In the bible, speaking in tongues meant speaking different languages enabled by the holy spirit. Those noises ppl make in church...I dunno what that is.

Posted by: StandW2Fists on 2010-07-21, 18:16:53

A perception from spirit, sometimes it could be like a form of chanting, some spirits make fun of it, and other times ... I wonder if it's a form of babble. One of my most appreciated gifts are the spiritual hugs during times of distress, and of course, the ability of humor esp. during times of saddness .... sometimes a laff can change things around.

Posted by: KillMind on 2010-07-21, 18:17:17

There is no God, no angels, no demons, no Satan. It is all manufactured by your mind after it is programmed into it.

Posted by: Thy Will is/be done on 2010-07-21, 18:21:50

I don't. I am not sure as i have never spoken in tongues. As far as I know, when I have heard it there has always been an interpreter. It is not required. I have never spoken in tongues but I have received and I am filled with the Holy Ghost. It is a sign along with the others. People have different Spiritual gifts.

Posted by: Vulcanus on 2010-07-21, 18:28:08

Religious types are the most gullible people in the Universe.

Posted by: krazyabouthim on 2010-07-21, 18:28:33

Paul said he would rather not speak in tongues so no one would be confused by this. But there are many tongues as you say, french, spanish and all those. And there are also tongues of angels as well. And we are not to do this in front of a non believer lest it scare them away. For this sounds bad, if you have heard it you know, but it is biblical as well. But we are to have it interpreted as well. So as not to confuse anyone, for God is not the God of confusion but clarity. So if someone does this and does not interpret I would question it against the bible. But alone and worshiping God and talking in God's language, this seems good to me. There are many kinds of tongues and we are not to confuse any body that is not a believer by speaking in them. But someone who truly knows God should know this is biblical. It is a timing thing, and like Paul said. It is better to do it not, then to confuse but one. And let us not fight in this, Jesus is the reason for salvation. The devil uses these little things to separate us all. Imagine if we all just focused on Jesus and remembered we all are different and have different beliefs too. So if we all taught just Jesus, we could all get along and not help satan divide the church like he does making us fight one another. This has to make Jesus sad, seeing us fight one another and helping satan in doing so. bless you.

Posted by: Dee Hat on 2010-07-21, 18:39:00

Jesus cured the sick, raised the dead and performed many other amazing deeds. These miraculous powers identified him as a true prophet and servant of God. However, speaking in tongues was not one of the miraculous powers exercised by Jesus. It was not until the festival of Pentecost A.D. 33 that this gift was first received, and on that occasion it served as an effective evidence that Christians had God’s spirit upon them. In the late spring of A.D. 33 the Jews had gathered from inside and outside the Roman Empire for their annual festival of Pentecost. Just ten days before, Jesus had ascended into heaven, and, in obedience to his instructions, 120 of his disciples were waiting in Jerusalem to receive the promised “power from on high.� (Luke 24:49) About nine o’clock in the morning on that memorable day there suddenly “occurred from heaven a noise just like that of a rushing stiff breeze, and it filled the whole house in which they were sitting. . . . and they all became filled with holy spirit and started to speak with different tongues, just as the spirit was granting them to make utterance.�—Acts 2:2-4. When the Jews heard Jesus’ followers speaking in perhaps over a dozen different languages, what effect did it have upon them? “They were astonished,� the Bible says, “and began to wonder and say: ‘See here, all these who are speaking are Galileans, are they not? And yet how is it we are hearing, each one of us, his own language in which we were born? . . . we hear them speaking in our tongues about the magnificent things of God.’�—Acts 2:5-11. To hear Galileans speaking distinctly in their many different languages was convincing evidence to these foreigners that God’s spirit was upon Jesus’ followers. It was miraculous, for here in Jerusalem many foreigners received instruction in their native languages about “the magnificent things of God.� From what occurred at Pentecost it is evident that the holy spirit was given to early Christians for the practical purpose of preaching the good news. Jesus indicated this in his parting instructions to his disciples: “Do not withdraw from Jerusalem, but keep waiting for what the Father has promised, . . . you will receive power when the holy spirit arrives upon you, and you will be witnesses of me both in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the most distant part of the earth.�—Acts 1:4-8. This special gift of tongues received in Jerusalem through God’s holy spirit assisted the disciples there in preaching the good news for a sign to those Jewish worshipers from distant parts of the earth. But the real fulfillment of the prophecy of Joel 2:28-32 on that day of Pentecost was the fact that those who were filled with the spirit prophesied. Speaking with tongues was incidental, for a sign of authenticity or divine backing.—Acts 2:16-22. The Bible records only two other instances of the outpouring of the holy spirit being accompanied with the speaking in tongues. The first occurred about 3 1/ 2 years after Pentecost, when God turned his attention to the nations and poured out his spirit upon the Gentile Cornelius and his household. Because of its immediate visible manifestation, speaking in tongues was the logical gift for God to bestow on these uncircumcised non-Jews in order to show the apostle Peter that they could be accepted into the Christian congregation.—Acts 10:44-46. It was similar in the other instance, when the apostle Paul preached to the men at Ephesus who had received John’s baptism. Their speaking in tongues was impressive on-the-spot evidence that John’s baptism was no longer suitable in God’s sight, as it was prior to the outpouring of the spirit at Pentecost A.D. 33.—Acts 19:1-7. The only other place in the inspired Scriptures where the gift of tongues is mentioned is in Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians. Paul wrote to the Corinthians concerning tongues because they had attached apparently too much importance to them and had to be straightened out as to their use. In chapter 12 of his letter he explains that there were many miraculous gifts of the spirit. He asked: “Not all have gifts of healings, do they? Not all speak in tongues, do they?� It is clear that Paul was showing that not all Christians possessed these miraculous gifts, and, therefore, the possession of any one of them, including the speaking in tongues, was not necessary to salvation.—1 Cor. 12:4-11, 28-31. GIFT OF TONGUES CEASES Paul goes on, in the thirteenth chapter of his letter to the Corinthians, to show them the lowly position of tongues as compared with more important matters, especially the “surpassing way� of love. Even those blessed with the gift of tongues “become a sounding piece of brass or a clashing cymbal� if they do not exercise love, he explained. (1 Cor. 12:31; 13:1) And to emphasize the importance and permanence of love as compared to the miraculous gifts of the spirit, he wrote: “Love never fails. But whether there are gifts of prophesying, they will be done away with; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will be done away with.�—1 Cor. 13:8. On the basis of Paul’s words here, there should be no question that the miraculous gifts of the spirit were to pass away. After declaring, in verse 8, that the miraculous gifts of prophesying, tongues and knowledge are to be done away with, Paul shows that they were a feature of the babyhood of the Christian congregation. In its infancy such miraculous gifts were needed to identify in a spectacular way that God’s favor had shifted from the Jewish nation and was now upon this new congregation of Christians. But, as Paul explained, when a man reaches adulthood he does away with “the traits of a babe.� So when the Christian congregation grew to adulthood, that is, reached maturity by becoming a recognized, established organization, these miraculous gifts passed away. Yet faith, hope and love remained as the distinguishing mark of true Christianity.—1 Cor. 13:9-13.