For or against speaking in tongues? Discover what it is about.

"For anyone who speaks in a tongue does not speak to people but to God. Indeed, no one understands them; they utter mysteries by the Spirit." 1 Corinthians 14:2

Today, I’d like to talk to you about the gifts of the Holy Spirit, and more specifically about speaking in tongues—because if there’s one topic that seems to divide Christians, and has for decades, it’s this one. Honestly, it’s a debate that leaves me puzzled and has often surprised me, because I find the Bible speaks very clearly on the subject.

I grew up in a family and a church where the gifts of the Spirit were practiced—and still are—on a daily basis, so this debate simply didn’t exist. I myself was baptized in the Spirit at the age of eight and started singing in tongues during a worship service without even realizing what was happening.

But maybe you don’t know what I’m referring to.

The Bible talks about spiritual gifts in the first book of Corinthians, and some verses speak specifically about praying in tongues and explain exactly what I experienced when I sang in tongues for the first time. I started singing in a language I didn’t know, to a melody I didn’t know either! A spontaneous song, really!

Scripture speaks of two kinds of prayer—one expressed with our understanding and therefore intelligible, and the other expressed by the Spirit, in a language we don’t understand:

"Anyone who speaks in a tongue does not speak to eople but to God. Indeed, no one understands them; they utter mysteries by the Spirit." 1 Corinthians 14 : 4

"For if I pray in a tongue, my Spirit prays, but my mind is unfruitful.

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.1 Corinthians 14:14

I will sing with my spirit.

That’s exactly what I received personally, and it’s a spiritual gift. That means it’s free. My personal experience—at only eight years old—clearly shows that receiving a gift from God isn’t tied to our level of holiness or biblical knowledge. I was just a child and didn’t know much yet.

This summer, while I was part of a prayer team at a youth camp, we were given a directive:

“It is forbidden to pray in tongues when praying with a young person.”

This instruction was, to me, both surprising and dangerous.

The gifts of the Spirit are generally accepted, and many Christians long for them, but speaking in tongues or praying in tongues remains forbidden or controversial in certain Christian circles. As if it were a separate gift. As if it should be feared.

It was interesting to see that we were allowed to pray for a young person to be healed from illness, we could even cast out an unclean spirit if needed—but we were not allowed to pray in tongues. Hearing this restriction made me realize that some people think they must—or can—control God and what He wants to do. I wondered if those who issued this directive are aware that they might be grieving the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is God, which means He is sovereign.

I often think of that verse in the Bible that urges us not to quench the Holy Spirit.

The apostle Paul himself encourages us to pray in tongues. Of course, our understanding always plays an important role in our prayer life, but praying in tongues edifies us and expands our prayer life.

I remember, a few years ago, while I was praying, the Holy Spirit corrected me and told me I was praying too quickly for people and that I needed to take time to pray in tongues, to listen to Him and ask what He wanted to do instead of immediately praying with my own understanding. Because often, we pray based on what we see—but God sees beyond that, and sometimes He wants to do something else in the lives of those we’re praying for.

Let me give you an example to help you understand what that means in a practical way.

This summer, a young woman came to me and said she wanted to be closer to God and be able to worship Him, because she just couldn’t. She always felt a wall between her and God, and she always felt sleepy during worship. Yet she was sincere—she truly wanted to draw near to God.

I began to pray in tongues for her, gently, staying attentive to God. And God spoke to me about a situation in her life that had remained hidden and that she needed to be freed from. I mentioned it to her, but I sensed she wasn’t ready, so I simply told her to pray about it and come back when she felt ready to talk. A few days later, she came back and told me about abuse in her family. I prayed for her and the situation she had mentioned and she was completely freed from that burden and pain. God revealed what the obstacle was. That’s the power of praying in tongues.

So yes, my title is a bit provocative, but it’s not meant to divide. Quite the opposite.

Through this post, I want to invite you to reflect on this topic and encourage you to ask God what He thinks about it. I invite you to read—or reread—the book of Acts to discover how the Holy Spirit moved and what really happened, not only at Pentecost but also in the lives of many others, at different times. And of course, I want to encourage you to pray in tongues. If you haven’t received this gift yet, ask God for it. It’s a revolution in your prayer life.

Jesus tells us in the Gospels not to heap up empty words when we pray, but let’s be honest—sometimes we feel like we’re going in circles or running out of words when we pray. That’s no longer the case when we speak and pray in tongues. On the contrary, our prayer life is completely transformed. We can pray in our native language and then pray as the Spirit leads—and vice versa—just as it’s beautifully written in the book of Romans:

"In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. And He who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God."

Don’t deprive yourself of this gift—it’s a powerful force in prayer because you can be sure you’re praying according to God’s will. And we know that if we pray according to His will, He hears us. Your prayer life will accelerate, and you’ll never run out of words again. On the contrary, you’ll be able to pray for hours without growing tired.

What’s more, the Bible says that when we pray in tongues, we edify ourselves—you’ll also grow in your stature in Christ.

So, I’ve shared with you what I believe and what I live daily in prayer.

If you’d like to talk about it, leave a comment or write to me privately—I’ll respond.