Tongues and Interpretation

Take 2-3 minutes to quiet yourself and ask God to speak to you today through your devotional time.  

Reading: 1 Corinthians 14:6-19

Be sure to highlight or note anything that stands out to you while you read.  
After reading the passage, take the next 5-10 minutes and spend time reflecting on what you read. You can write these things down in a journal or record them in your phone. Be attentive to both what you highlighted in the passage and what is going on in your life.

Paul spends real time on tongues in this passage — the most unique, and to many the strangest, of the spoken gifts. He describes speaking in a language you don't naturally know, sometimes to build up your own spirit in prayer, and sometimes spoken publicly and paired with interpretation so the whole church can understand and be built up together. Paul isn't embarrassed by this gift; he says he's thankful he speaks in tongues more than anyone, even while prioritizing gifts that build up the church when believers gather.

The takeaway isn't that every believer's experience will look identical — it's that the Spirit still gives gifts for real purposes: to strengthen your own spirit in prayer, and, when interpreted, to strengthen the whole body. Don't let the strangeness of a gift make you dismiss what the Spirit might still want to do.

Is there a spiritual gift you've dismissed because it felt unfamiliar or uncomfortable, and what would it look like to stay open to it instead?
        
Now, take 10 minutes to seek God in prayer…  

1. Begin your time in prayer by taking 1-3 minutes to sit in silence (You can take longer if you sense the Spirit already beginning to speak to you).  
2. Pray through the things you sensed God speaking to you through the Scriptures or pray the following prayer: Holy Spirit, I don't want to limit what You can do in me because it feels unfamiliar. Build up my spirit in prayer, and if You want to use me to build up others, give me the courage to be available. Amen.
   
3. Close by taking 5 minutes to sit in silence, asking God if there is anything else He wants to speak to you today.  

Faith Step:
Spend a few extra minutes in prayer today specifically asking the Spirit to build up your own spirit, however that looks for you.