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There are two versions of speaking in tongues. The first was demonstrated at the Pentecost, where people were able to understand and talk in languages not their own.
Acts 2:4-6 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them. 5 Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. 6 When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard them speaking in his own language.
The second is where people speak in a language not native to earth. An angelic language perhaps.
1 Corinthians 14:2-5 For anyone who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God. Indeed, no one understands him; he utters mysteries with his spirit. 3 But everyone who prophesies speaks to men for their strengthening, encouragement and comfort. 4 He who speaks in a tongue edifies himself, but he who prophesies edifies the church. 5 I would like every one of you to speak in tongues, but I would rather have you prophesy. He who prophesies is greater than one who speaks in tongues, unless he interprets, so that the church may be edified.
The second case is the most common practiced by Pentecostal/Charismatic churches. However, they rarely obey the Biblical command to translate it, thus one might draw into question whether it's really from God or not. Personally, I think most if not all of it's gibberish since no translation is ever provided.
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Many of my charismatic friends would agree that the tongues spoken in the book of Acts were languages of the world. But they quickly add that there is a second gift-a heavenly prayer language. This gift, they say, is to express the Spirit's "groanings which cannot be uttered." Romans 8:26. The purpose, they say, is so the devil cannot understand our prayers. But nowhere are we taught to hide our prayers from the devil. He trembles when he hears Christians pray!
This doctrine of a prayer language is based mainly upon 1 Corinthians 14:14, where Paul says, "For if I pray in an unknown tongue, my spirit prayeth, but my understanding is unfruitful."
They interpret this to mean that when Paul prayed in the Spirit, he used this "heavenly tongue" and did not himself know what he was praying. This theory raises an important question. How would the supplicant ever know if his prayer was answered?
So what is Paul really saying in 1 Corinthians 14:14? Please allow me to rephrase this verse in modern English: "If I pray in a language those around me do not know, I might be praying with the Spirit, but my thoughts would be unfruitful for them." Paul is adamant that if we pray out loud, we should either pray so others around us can understand or else keep quiet! Notice the very next verse: "What is it then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will pray with the understanding also: I will sing with the spirit, and I will sing with the understanding also." 1 Corinthians 14:15. In other words, whenever we sing or pray, it should be with the spirit and mind in unison. "But if there be no interpreter, let him keep silence in the church; and let him speak to himself, and to God." 1 Corinthians 14:28.
Some have asked, "Didn't Paul say he spoke with the tongues of angels?"
No. Paul said, "Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels ..." 1 Corinthians 13:1. If you read this verse in its context, you will see that the word "though" means "even if." For example, Paul said in verse 2, "though I have all faith ..." He did not have all faith. And verse 3 adds, "though I give my body to be burned ..." Paul was beheaded, not burned. So we can see that Paul here used the word "though" to mean "even if."
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Here's my $0.02...
To start out with, I will refer to the gift of tongues most people are talking about (the ecstatic utterance) as "the prayer language".
Until about a week ago, I was a cessationist who believed the gifts (especially tongues) stopped with the Apostles. I'm a pretty conservative, Reformed kind of a guy. Heck, I am a five-point Calvinist. Problem is, I go to a Charismatic church and am around people who pray in tongues a lot. They also "sing in the spirit". At first it didn't bother me, but then it started really getting on my nerves. Here WAS my basic view on the prayer language:
Acts is a history book that describes the miracles that marked the foundation and spread of the early church. The stories in Acts are not to be read as normative experiences for Christians throughout the church age. Just cause it happened to the men who lived with Jesus and who were directly commissioned by him to spread the church, doesn't mean it happens for you. The tongues mentioned here are known languages, not ecstatic utterance. 1 Cor. 12-14 is a rebuke to the Corinthian Church for their ABUSE of tongues and for their letting the pagan practice of ecstatic utterance creep into their Christian worship. Ecstatic utterance is at its root a pagan phenomenon, and has demonic underpinnings. Talk or practice of tongues vanished from the church for like 1700 years and it is rarely, if ever, mentioned by any major theologian thorough the history of the church up until 1900. The modern phenomena of tongues is pagan and demonic at it's root, and good intentioned Christians who use the practice are deceived. It is either faked or imitated. People's motives for faking or imitating are varied, but mostly stem from their lack of faith in an invisible, unseen God, and they need some sort of physical manifestation to lean on like a crutch.
Yeah, so that was me a week ago. But here's the deal, since last Sunday, I have been praying in tongues since asking God to give me the gift. For the last six months or so I wrestled with the texts, and if you are honest about this, you cannot come down solidly on either side. There are texts which support both a view like the one I had, but also there are texts which cannot be ignored. Paul says he thanks God he speaks in tongues. He says we speak to God and not to men. He says, they will think you are crazy (cause guess what, this sounds and looks crazy), he says it edifies the self. People have been talking about the texts, and you guys can wrestle with those, but here is what has been on my mind:
1.) When I was (am) in deep prayer, this sense of the futility of language comes to me. I am speaking to an infinitely intelligent being who knows not just my thoughts but every reason why I have the thoughts I have. In all honesty, language is futile in the first place. There are things I want to express to God, to say to Him...I long to communicate to Him the deep things of my soul. I don't even know how to formulate the sentence to begin that conversation. If the only way I can communicate these deep things is through ecstatic utterance, well...
2.) Language is arbitrary anyway. This is a bit postmodern for my liking, but we are the ones who assign meaning to language. I was at a concert where these men from Tanzania were praising God in Swahili. Did I understand? No. But they were praising God and it was beautiful. It made me think about the language I use, English. To a non-English speaker it sounds like nonsense anyway. Without the meaning that has been collectively assigned, I am just making blabbering sounds anyway.
3.)Why is tongues faked so much anyway? I mean, I have heard people pray in the spirit, and it sounds like a language. It has all the marks of a language. I have also heard people say banana backwards over and over. That's fake. I know it. I have seen these folks on TV, the ones that help you sow that seed by asking for all your money, and their language sounds fake. But why? Could it be that the enemy fakes the real? All the spiritual gifts have demonic counterparts. If it wasn't real, why would the enemy use it so broadly and in such a destructive way. How many are turned off by tongues simply from seeing it being abused and faked? If I wanted to prevent people from using a powerful weapon, I might try to get them to think it wasnt a weapon at all.
4.) I think about God and his understanding of sound and vibration. I think about the fact that his understanding is infinite. God literally speaks an infinite amount of languages. There is not one way by which man communicates information that God does not understand. This knocks the Anglo pride off my English only please attitude. And like, #1, it reminds me that what I am longing for is spirit to spirit communication, and maybe, just maybe, there are ways to do this outside the King's.
5.) This practice changes peoples lives. I see it time and again at my church. I cannot deny it. It has power in it. It can bring out emotion in complete strangers, it builds up the self, it makes reading the Word different (in a good way), it, as Paul says, edifies me. It builds me up. I see it in others at church. I see the positive impact it has on their faith. If it was pagan or demonic, then why does it yield spiritual fruit? I mean, I used to get really tripped up on this, but examine the fruit.
6.) The prayer language is weird, I get it. It turns people off. It used to really trip me up because I would think stuff like, "Man, that's fake, stop faking it. Your fake stuff makes my Christianity look stupid. If that is fake, maybe this whole thing is fake, because they believe in it, and it is clearly fake, and maybe it just is one big damning indictment of my faith." (if that makes sense). But then I remember something fairly basic. THIS WHOLE THING IS SUPERNATURAL. I mean, we believe in supernatural stuff, why are we so turned off by it? I mean, He is God. I think about the throne room in Revelation 4, I mean, that's just weird...living creatures covered in eyes. I mean, maybe this tongues stuff makes sense when thinking about the awesome nature/power of the Holy Spirit.
Anyway, those are just some of my thoughts on it. Outside the text, I see validation of tongues as a practice. And so far, man, I can tell you, something is different. There is something here. Why would someone who used to think that this was demonic find himself WANTING to do it? I will be driving and I will get an urge to pray, and well, I am excited about this. I encourage you to have a more open mind. Because at the root of my thing was spiritual pride.
TLDR: Used to think tongues was demonic, now I pray in tongues for various reasons which if you are really trying to wrestle these out, you should read. Watch this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1cmdWLJF3Dw
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