Sam Storms

That being said, honesty demands we admit this incident poses questions about the reception and experience of the Holy Spirit that may have to remain unanswered.

there can be no mistake about the role of tongues as worship when we come to Paul’s description of his own personal practice.

Paul’s counsel makes no sense. Why would God impart infallible, revelatory knowledge only for the recipient to speak it to himself and back to God? I

And let’s not forget that Paul expressed his desire that all the Corinthians (and all Christians) speak in tongues (1 Cor. 14:5).

I want to make sure no one means to suggest that once a gift is bestowed, we cannot develop, grow, improve, and be instructed on how to use it more effectively. This would apply to virtually all gifts, such as the gift of teaching, evangelism, leadership, giving, or any and every spiritual gift. If Christians can’t be “taught” how to exercise a gift, what are we doing offering courses in homiletics (preaching) in our colleges and seminaries? What are we doing offering seminars on how to more effectively share our faith with non-Christians? And the list could go on.

All praying in tongues is praying in the Spirit, but not all praying in the Spirit is praying in tongues.

praying in tongues is at least included in what it means to pray in the Spirit, this would suggest that one’s prayer language would serve to bolster or strengthen us in our standing firm against Satan’s tactics.

I can say with a measure of confidence that it is a good strategy to employ prayer in tongues when addressing those who are oppressed by the devil or perhaps even demonized.

Rather, the Spirit sovereignly imparts to the believer an ability by which the believer prays or praises in a language he cannot of himself interpret

other words, we know that God’s will is ultimate and decisive, but we also know that one way (perhaps the primary way) in which God accomplishes His will is by stirring and motivating us to preach and pray as the means by which He brings that will into being.