Being Understood
How do you pray?
Therefore, one who speaks in a tongue should pray for the power to interpret. For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays but my mind is unproductive. What should I do then? I will pray with the spirit, but I will pray with the mind also; I will sing praise with the spirit, but I will sing praise with the mind also. Otherwise, if you say a blessing with the spirit, how can anyone in the position of an outsider say the ‘Amen’ to your thanksgiving, since the outsider does not know what you are saying? For you may give thanks well enough, but the other person is not built up. I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you; nevertheless, in church I would rather speak five words with my mind, in order to instruct others also, than ten thousand words in a tongue. Brothers and sisters, do not be children in your thinking; rather, be infants in evil, but in thinking be adults - 1 Corinthians 14:13-20
In today’s reading, Paul talks about praying in tongues.
While he admits it is a good thing to do, he says it is better that people understand what you pray than to have them hear you pray in tongues.
Isn’t that true of everything we do?
Shouldn’t we seek to be understood in all we set out to do, in all we say, in all we profess to believe?
The other point here is that praying in tongues requires little if any activity of the mind. Isn’t it best to engage the mind before speaking? Paul thinks so. If only so we can be fully involved in what we do before God.
Our actions are important to us and to God, but they are also important for those who witness them. If we want to have the most impact in this life, we need to be setting a good example, one that people can understand and follow.
So, that is something we can all do, every day. Be the light.
More to come...