Pray with Mind and Spirit

Love for One Another Inclusive Love Live in the light of God (Isaiah 2:5)    Love Divine 1 Corinthians 14:13-19 New International Version 13 For this reason, the one who speaks in a tongue should pray that they may interpret what they say. 14 For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my mind is unfruitful. 15 So 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. 16 Otherwise when you are praising God in the Spirit, how can someone else, who is now put in the position of an inquirer,[a] say “Amen” to your thanksgiving, since they do not know what you are saying? 17 You are giving thanks well enough, but no one else is edified. 18 I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you. 19 But in the church I would rather speak five intelligible words to instruct others than ten thousand words in a tongue. For Reflection Verse 13 suggests that just babbling nonsense sounds is not speaking in tongues.  If the speech is indecipherable of what value is it to anyone but the speaker?  There is a requirement that the speaker can interpret his speech. It also indicates that perhaps speaking in tongues is actually speaking a language foreign to the listener. Even so, if one's oral witness to The Way is useless babble, one is indeed speaking to no one! Paul gives thanks for his gift of speaking, not babble, but instead many languages. But when he speaks, he speaks in the language of the listener.  Pray Pray so that you will increase your language skills so that you can speak in such a way that your listeners have little doubt of your meaning. Pray for the Holy Spirit to give you the words that will move others to accept the love of God and be transformed by it.