Biblical Meaning of Speaking in Tongues
I've been to churches that believed in speaking in tongues, and what they did there was NOT the same as what happened in this passage. Biblically, speaking in tongues means that you talk and another person understands you even though you don't speak the same language. In the Bible, tongues were not a "prayer language," they were a miracle that God used to let believers witness to others.
I'm not saying that any spiritual gifts have passed away (although I think [this is my idea, not from scripture] that now that there are more resources for learning a language God expects us to prepare ourselves by studying the languages we expect to use on a mission trip or to witness in our communities; this is practical anyway because on a mission trip we shouldn't expect tongues to translate for us every time we order lunch or ask where the restroom is). If I meet someone who only speaks, for example, Chinese, and God wants me to witness and them to understand, that will happen. All I'm trying to say is, public displays of incomprehensible syllables are different from speaking in tongues in the Biblical sense.
Created over 2 years ago
