PRAYING IN THE SPIRIT vs. TONGUES PROPHECY—What’s the Diff?
Praying in the spirit is not the same as a believer speaking in tongues in the prophetic sense to minister to the assembly, which requires an interpretation for the people to be blessed by it. The difference is simple.
To explain, let’s first define…
Praying in the Spirit
Praying in the spirit is defined by Paul here:
14For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my mind is unfruitful. 15So what shall 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
The apostle points our two forms of prayer:
- Praying in the spirit
- Praying with one’s understanding
Praying in the spirit is praying in an unknown tongue, which any believer who’s baptized in the Spirit can do, anytime they choose. This awesome gift is for every believer, if they want it. It’s not just for believers in the 1st century, which is a false doctrine and I’ll prove this as we proceed.
Praying with one’s understanding is praying in your everyday language, like English for me. In other words, praying with your understanding is what we would call normal prayer.
Paul then points out in verse 15 that he regularly practiced both types of prayer: He prayed in the spirit and prayed with his understanding.
(As for Paul’s reference to “singing with his spirit” and “singing with his understanding,” this just refers to adding a melody to your prayer, whether praying in the spirit or praying with your understanding).
Paul then contrasts praying in the spirit with speaking in tongues as a form of prophecy:
18I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you. 19But in the church I would rather speak five intelligible words to instruct others than ten thousand words in a tongue.
1 Corinthians 14:18-19
In Paul’s prayer time he prayed in tongues—prayed in the spirit—more than all the believers in Corinth, an assembly he started. He contrasts this with what he does “in the church.” To explain, in the setting of a church service praying in a tongue is not profitable to others present since they wouldn’t be able to understand the prayer seeing as how it’s in an unknown language. As such, Paul insisted that believers only speak in tongues at a church service if they’re doing so in a prophetic sense, which must be accompanied by an interpretation otherwise it’s not profitable to the believers present:
27If anyone speaks in a tongue, two—or at the most three—should speak, one at a time, and someone must interpret. 28If there is no interpreter, the speaker should keep quiet in the church and speak to himself and to God.
1 Corinthians 14:27-28
This brings us to the topic of…
Speaking in Tongues in the Prophetic Sense
Speaking in tongues in this sense is not praying in the spirit. Rather, it’s a form of prophecy in which God speaks to the church.
Praying in the spirit, by contrast, is the believer praying to God by his/her spirit with the help of the Holy Spirit. One is prophecy and has to be accompanied by an interpretation to be profitable to the assembly whereas the other is a form of prayer. They’re very different even though they both involve glossolalia, aka “tongues.”
Speaking in tongues as a form of prophecy is one of the nine gifts of the Spirit. When the Spirit moves a believer to operate in this gift at a gathering it’s simply a prophecy given in another language, unknown to the speaker. This type of prophecy is only beneficial to those present if it is accompanied by an interpretation. The interpretation of tongues is another gift of the spirit.
When someone operates in the interpretation of tongues s/he is simply interpreting a prophecy that was given in tongues. Think about it in terms of two nickels equaling a dime: The charismatic gift of prophecy is the dime whereas tongues & interpretation of tongues are two nickels. The latter two combined are equal to prophecy.
When someone gives a tongue at an assembly — I’m talking about the gift of the Spirit — the Spirit will either move that person to interpret or move upon someone else present to interpret because interpretation is necessary in order for the Church to profit from this gift and be built up (1 Corinthians 14:5).
Why Should Believers Pray in the Spirit?
What is the benefit to praying in the spirit, like Paul did in his private life? Here’s one reason:
But you, dear friends, by building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit,
This shows that believers can “build themselves up” in faith by praying in the spirit, which suggests charging up your faith like a battery. Furthermore, praying in the spirit builds the believer up in power, love and self-discipline:
6For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. 7For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.
2 Timothy 1:6-7
‘I thought praying in the spirit was praying with my mind guided by the Spirit’
While believers should certainly be led of the Holy Spirit when they pray with their understanding (Romans 8:14), Paul plainly defined praying in the spirit in 1 Corinthians 14:14-15 (quoted above) as praying in an unknown tongue in one’s prayer life. The epistle of 1 Corinthians was written 5-6 years before Paul wrote this verse in prison:
And pray in the spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.
Paul was encouraging believers to pray in the spirit on all occasions as he gave exposition on the armor of God and spiritual warfare. The definition of “praying in the spirit” did not change in the 5-6 year interim. In short, the meaning of praying in the spirit in 1 Corinthians 14:14-15 also applies to this verse. Scripture interprets Scripture.
‘But didn’t charismatic gifts CEASE at the end of the 1st century?’
The idea that charismatic gifts ended when the biblical canon was completed at the end of the 1st century is a misreading of 1 Corinthians 13:8. Those who believe this are known as cessationists.
Let’s read the passage:
8Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. 9For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. 11When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. 12For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.
1 Corinthians 13:8
Cessationists argue that this passage contrasts life before and after the biblical canon was completed, but that’s not what it’s talking about. The text clearly contrasts our life on this Earth where “we see in a mirror dimly” with life on the other side of glory being “face to face” with our Creator; now we only “know in part” whereas then we shall “know fully” even as we are now “fully known” by the LORD (verse 12).
The biggest problem with the religious doctrine of cessationism is that it encourages believers to deny what the Scriptures plainly instruct us to eagerly desire: Believers are exhorted to “eagerly desire” spiritual gifts (1 Corinthians 12:1, 31, 14:1, 39) while cessationism encourages believers to do the precise opposite. Nowhere in the New Testament do we see any indication that charismatic gifts would cease to exist by the end of the 1st century.
You can learn more about cessationism here.
Let me quickly and respectfully add…
Charismatic Gifts Are NOT a Major Doctrine and Are Therefore NOT an Issue of Salvation
While cessationism is a erroneous doctrine, what one believes about spiritual gifts is not an issue of eternal salvation. If a believer or sect embraces this doctrine it doesn’t mean that they’re not fellow believers, loved by the Lord. It just means their faith—their level of belief based on the false doctrine of cessationism—won’t allow them to “eat everything” the gospel of Christ has to offer; in this case, spiritual gifts and the blessings thereof (Romans 14:1-6).
Those of us with fuller understanding of this issue are not to look down on those with the lesser because it would be arrogant and arrogance is the #1 sin (James 4:6 & 1 Peter 5:5). Similarly, the one with the lesser revelation must not condemn those with the fuller. On the contrary, we are to “accept one another… just as Christ accepted [us], in order to bring praise to God” (Romans 15:7). You could insert any non-essential doctrine or issue into this scenario and it would apply.
So, whether you accept or reject spiritual gifts for the Church after the 1st century, it’s entirely your prerogative. If you reject them, it doesn’t mean you’re not a believer, it just means you don’t “eat everything” the gospel of Christ offers. This explains, by the way, why those who embrace charismatic gifts are referred to as “full gospel.”
Related Topics:
Baptism of the Holy Spirit (“Tongues”) and It’s Benefits
What Are the Nine Gifts of the Spirit?
Believers Who Believe in Spiritual Gifts vs. Those Who Don’t
Is Christianity a “Relationship with God”?
INTIMACY WITH GOD and Its Benefits
Spiritual Warfare — The Basics
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