Speaking in Tongues: Can We Talk About It Without Making It Weird?

1 Corinthians 12-14, personal prayer, and care for the gathered church

By Pastor John Erickson

I know. We're going there.

Speaking in tongues is one of those subjects that can cause Christians to react in very different ways. Some grew up hearing it regularly and think it's completely normal. Others have never experienced it and wonder what on earth people are talking about. And some have been in a church setting where the whole thing made them deeply uncomfortable.

I understand all three responses.

I'm part of a Pentecostal tradition that believes the Holy Spirit still gives spiritual gifts, including tongues. I also believe the Bible gives us clear guidance about how those gifts ought to be used.

And I think we do a disservice to people when we ignore either side of that sentence.

Gifts Are for the Common Good

In 1 Corinthians 12, Paul describes a variety of manifestations of the Spirit, including different kinds of tongues and their interpretation. But before he gets to the list, he tells us why the gifts are given: for the common good.

That's an incredibly important place to begin.

Spiritual gifts aren't a badge proving you're on a higher level than somebody else. They aren't the focus of our worship. Jesus is.

Paul spends much of 1 Corinthians 12-14 helping a church figure out how to use spiritual gifts without creating confusion, competition, or division. Apparently Christians have needed help with this for a very long time.

The key isn't whether a gathering feels exciting. It's whether people are being built up in love.

Not All Uses of Tongues Are the Same

When we read the New Testament, we encounter tongues in more than one setting.

In Acts 2, the disciples speak and visitors from different places hear them in their own languages. That's a remarkable sign that the message of Jesus is not confined to one people or nation.

In 1 Corinthians 14, Paul describes tongues in a gathered church and insists on interpretation so others can understand and be encouraged. He also speaks about personal prayer in a way that distinguishes it from a public message to the congregation.

That distinction matters.

I sometimes pray quietly in tongues in my personal devotional life. But you won't hear me stand at a microphone and do that without interpretation. Why? Because Paul's instructions place a high value on people understanding what's happening.

Imagine visiting a church, having no idea what's being said, and then being told everybody else is participating in something you can't understand. You might feel confused, excluded, or pressured to pretend.

I don't think that's the goal.

Order Doesn't Mean the Spirit Is Absent

Some people hear the word order and assume it means a church has become cold or controlled.

But Paul doesn't set the Holy Spirit and order against each other. He says everything should be done for building up the church, and he instructs believers to act in an orderly way.

That's a beautiful combination: openness to what God wants to do and care for the people who are present.

I want us to expect God to move. I also want the person who walked into church for the first time to feel safe asking questions. Those two desires aren't enemies.

And I want anyone who hasn't spoken in tongues to know they are not a second-class Christian. The Spirit distributes gifts as he wills. Belonging to Jesus isn't determined by whether you've had this particular experience.

What About Praying When You Don't Have Words?

One reason I value prayer in the Spirit is that I often don't know what to pray.

Maybe you've sat beside someone in a hospital room and thought, God, I don't even know what to ask for anymore. Maybe you're concerned about your child, your marriage, or a relationship that's coming apart.

Romans 8:26 says the Spirit helps us in our weakness and intercedes when we don't know what we ought to pray for. Christians differ about whether that passage refers specifically to tongues; Paul doesn't explicitly say that it does. But the larger promise is clear: our weakness in prayer does not mean God has stopped helping us.

We are not required to impress God with eloquence. He meets people who have run out of words.

That brings me back to a simple point. Tongues is not the goal of prayer. Communion with God is.

Curiosity Is Better Than Pressure

If you have questions about this gift, you can explore them. Read Acts 2 and 1 Corinthians 12-14 carefully. Ask a mature Christian you trust what their experience has been. Pray for wisdom and discernment.

If you desire the gift, ask God. Jesus speaks of the Father's generosity to his children in Luke 11. You don't need to work yourself into an emotional state or manufacture sounds to prove that something happened.

If you haven't experienced it, you haven't failed a spiritual exam.

And if you have experienced it, don't use it to make other people feel smaller.

I want us to be the kind of Christians who take the Holy Spirit seriously without making everything strange, mysterious, or manipulative.

God's gifts are good. They're meant to serve people. And the more we understand the purpose behind them, the less interested we should be in showing off.

Let's keep Jesus at the center, keep Scripture open, and keep love in charge of how we practice the gifts.