September 18 | 1 Corinthians 12:10

“… to another kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues.” (1 Corinthians 12:10)

God uses some of the “strangest” gifts to us to speak just as prophetically as the prophetic gift itself. We don’t understand God’s ways all the time. But He has reasons for every gift and when we see them in action before us we know they are from Him.

Today many churches do not understand the gifts of speaking in tongues and interpretation. Why would God use these gifts when he can simply speak through prophetic words to His Church? And yet these are gifts the Spirit gives to us.

Speaking in tongues is the most misunderstood gift of the Spirit. It has two uses: public and private. In public, God uses it in combination with the gift of interpretation to speak to His Church in powerful ways. In private, we speak in a prayer language, not needing each message to be interpreted.

But speaking in tongues is not much good to the Church if it can’t be interpreted. We must be able to praise God together for the message in the tongues. People who speak in tongues in their personal prayer language glorify God and minister to their spirits.

But speaking in tongues in the Church can be prophetic, inspirational, and encouraging. We encourage one another to go higher in worship, deeper in discipleship, and longer in prayer. God gets our attention with these tongues of men and of angels.

Action Step: Ask God for the gift of speaking in tongues. Ask God for the gift of interpretation. We must have both to understand and praise Him together. Study God’s Word to grow in these gifts.

Holy Spirit, thank you for the gifts of speaking in tongues and interpretation. Bless me and my church with these gifts of communication so we can worship You in greater ways. I want to hear directly from You.