(Editor’s Note:  On Sunday, May 23rd, I delivered what became the first of two talks on the subject of speaking in tongues.  The second talk was delivered on Sunday, June 20.  My two messages are structured around answering nine clusters of questions received from an informal poll of about 100 Hope Chapel participants who were asked to tell me what were the most frequent questions they fielded regarding this practice.  Here is the fourth question-cluster and my answers.)

What’s the point? Why should anyone speak (or pray) in a language he/she cannot understand? What good is tongue-speaking (praying)? Do tongue-speakers have more power available for ministry? If we seek this gift what should be our ultimate goal?

· The Apostle found tongue-speaking helpful in his own private, devotional life (I Cor. 14:18) and encouraged its practice in the lives of others (I Cor. 14:5…prophesy also).

· Tongue-speaking is a form of thanksgiving and praise to God (14:15-17)

· Tongue-speaking/praying ‘builds up’ the speaker/pray-er (I Cor. 14:4). [encouragement, spiritual uplift]

· Tongue-praying may be a form of spiritual warfare (Eph. 6:18). Praying ‘in the spirit’ in Ephesians is a Pauline phrase most likely meaning to pray in tongues, according to Gordon Fee.

· Sometimes we do not know how to pray for someone or something. Praying in the spirit, in a non-rational manner, bypasses the mind and is a way to connect to God when the mind is unfruitful (Romans 8:26)

· Sometimes we are under pressure and need help and cannot take time away to commune peacefully with God. I frequently prayed quietly when seeking to write the opening paragraph of a given news story. Sometimes under deadline pressure and facing a particularly difficult and important story I would also pray in tongues while continuing to work.

· The point here is that praying in tongues is another tool in our toolbox of both personal devotion to God and spiritual engagement in this life. ”…praying at all times in the Spirit, with all [kinds of] prayer and supplication for all the saints,…” (Eph 6:18, ESV)