Expert: Brian Thompson - 2/18/2011

Question
I have been a believer for some years. I have been worried about the way our church prays at times for people. This is not all members or leaders but some. Praying for people in tongues or in pray meeting praying in tongues. I know what the word of God says about praying in tongues. I believe in the action of praying in tongues and have also prayed in tongues myself. But I don't read where we pray in tongues and no interpation is given. Tongues edifes self unless it is interpreted. So help me understand I know the Holy Spirit can move in different ways I don't want to hurt the church. So is it right to pray over people in speaking in tongues? Or even in prayer meeting? Without being interpreted?

Answer
hello Michael

Let me say firstly to you that it is important not to make Scriptures into rules particularly when you are dealing with the Gifts of the Spirit. There is really not much said to us in Scripture about Tongues and even less about the other Gifts. What comes through is there should be order. When a Prophecy is given in Tongues there should be an intrepretation using the Gift of Intrepretation otherwise no one is edified. However we are told to pray in Tongues when we don't know what to pray for and nowhere is it suggested that this needs intrepretation.

Tongues can be used in many ways. To pray powerfully, Paul  tells us in Ephesians six to pray in the Spirit, to Prophesy; Corinthians makes that plain and to intrepret Prophecy given in Tongues. Tongues can also be used to build up your Faith and to edify yourself and you can also sing in Tongues both translating known songs and singing new ones. To use the Gifts given to you exalts God, so there should not be taboos but there should be order by exercising the greatest gift Love