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Many interpret praying in a tongue as praying in the Holy Spirit. They say if a Christian prays in a tongue he prays in the Holy Spirit or the Holy Spirit prays through him. But this is an incorrect interpretation of Scripture. Carefully, study the teaching of the Apostle Paul to the Corinthian church on this subject.
“For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays but my mind is unfruitful. What am I to do? I will PRAY WITH MY SPIRIT, but I will PRAY WITH MY MIND also…” (1 Corinthians 14:14 –15).
In the Scripture above, Paul talks about “praying with my spirit” and “praying with my mind”. First, the apostle said he prayed with his human spirit; he did not say he prayed with the Holy Spirit. Second, he said he prayed with his mind.
To pray with your mind is to pray in your native language or any language you understand. But to pray with your spirit is to pray in an unknown language which neither you nor people around you may understand. The scripture says you (your human spirit) not the Holy Spirit utters mysteries to God.
“For one who SPEAKS IN A TONGUE SPEAKS NOT TO MEN BUT TO GOD; for no one understands him, but he utters mysteries in the Spirit” (1 Corinthians 14:2).
Now, let me explain further. Paul’s exhortation is that Christians must pray in the Holy Spirit at all times (Ephesians 6:18). It is not that we must pray with our mind or with our spirit. The encouragement is that we must pray IN THE SPIRIT at all times (Ephesians 6:18).
Now, if praying in the Holy Spirit at all times means praying in tongues, then, the apostle Paul never prayed with his mind. But the Bible says Paul prayed with his mind. This means Paul did not always speak in tongues in order to pray in the Holy Spirit.
The point is that if Paul prayed both with his mind and with his spirit, then, I believe he prayed in both ways IN THE HOLY SPIRIT. In other words, a Christian may pray with his mind in the Holy Spirit or pray with his spirit (pray in a tongue) in the Holy Spirit.
One key thing we must understand is that the Holy Spirit can inspire your spirit to pray or inspire your mind to pray also. If this is not true, then, Paul wasted his time praying with his mind because his prayers were not said in the Holy Spirit.
It also means that all the prayers pastors pray using human language which people understand are not prayers offered in the Holy Spirit. This is where the erroneous teaching is exposed.
Praying in the Holy Spirit is not necessarily praying in tongues but praying under the INSPIRATION of the Spirit of God. Actually, many Christians often speak in tongues in the flesh just as they do when using human language.
By James Quansah
