What does speaking in other tongues mean?

Answer 1

Speaking in tongues is a religious experience. Somebody will talk in tongues because God (the Holy Spirit) is talking through them and the only way people can understand them is when God uses someone to interpret what is said (unless somebody is talking in a different language and somebody else who knows that language can understand them).

Answer 2

No person can tell you how to speak in tongues. Speaking in tongues is a divine function that happens under the unction, or power, of the Holy Spirit. When a person truly repents of their sins and asks God to save them and live in their heart, to fill them with His Spirit they will receive the Holy Spirit, maybe not right away, but they will receive it. The Bible promises in Acts 2 that when we repent and are baptized in the name of Jesus we will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. When a person receives the Holy Spirit they will speak in other tongues. This is not THE gift but one of the gifts and this particular speaking in tongues is the person's initial evidence that they have received the Holy Spirit. They may or may not speak in tongues again but they should seek to allow this to happen during their personal prayer time with the Lord. There is another "speaking" in tongues that is discussed in I Corinthians 14. This is the GIFT of tongues and should be followed with interpretation, especially if their are nonbelievers, or others who are not familiar, present.

I pray this answered your question. I am responding anonymously as I don't know how I found this site so it is likely that I won't be back for awhile.

Blessings,

A Prophetess

Additional Comments:

Im just talking to back her up. shes right. The Holy spirit will intercede for you during your prayers if you dont quench ( hold back) the spirit. Having the holy spirit in my life has changed me in the most miraculous way. i cant imagine a world without the holy spirit. i cant imagine my life without the holy spirit leading me and guiding me and convicting me when i do wrong. Go to a Church of God church . they believe that the holy spirit and the gift of speaking in tongues is still for today. and i do too because the holy spirit came in New Testament times and today we are still in new testament times! we havent come to revelations yet.

Another View:

The Bible clearly teaches that speaking in tongues is the sudden ability, given by the Spirit of God to speak in another world language that you do not speak, in order to spread the gospel message to other nations.

How do you speak in tongues? Go out on the mission field, spreading the gospel to nations speaking in other languages, and if needed, God will give you the gift of speaking in the language of the people, so that you can share the gospel with them.

"Tongues" were never meant to be kept in churches. How do I know this? Because Paul said that tongues were for a sign to non believers (1 Corinthians 14:22). Where are non believers? Out in the world, not in the churches!

Answer 3

If we use the Bible to answer this question, then speaking in tongues is the sudden ability, given by the Holy Spirit, to speak in another language that you normally cannot speak.

The reason for speaking in tongues is to further the gospel message to other nations who speak in other languages. Which is what happened on the day of Pentecost. The disciples were speaking about Christ and the kingdom of God and the people there, who were from many different places heard the disciples speak in their OWN language.

In Acts 10 we find an account when Peter was called by Cornelius and when Peter went to see Cornelius there were Gentiles there who spoke in tongues giving glory to God. Now were these "ecstatic tongues" that we hear so much today? No, because Peter explains the account in Acts 11, and says that the gift given to the Gentiles there was the SAME GIFT as the disciples received at the day of Pentecost. In other words, the tongues that those Gentiles were speaking were proper languages, because the Jews who where there too heard them speak in their OWN language.

All throughout the Bible we see that the word "tongues" basically means to speak in a language of the world. Not some ecstatic tongue.

Paul says in 1 Corinthians 14 that tongues are for a sign to non believers. Because when non believers hear people who cannot normally speak in their language suddenly speak that language then they know that something divine has taken place.

There is no solid Biblical evidence for the ecstatic tongues that are spoken so much in churches today.

Answer 4

Tongues is credited with being the language of the Holy Spirit, so presumably only the Holy Spirit (God) would understand it. Those who believe in speaking in tongues also believe that God, through the Holy Spirit, has gifted some people with the ability to understand what is being said in tongues and to interpret it.

Answer 5

'Speaking in tongues' usually means speaking in what appears to be an entirely unknown language, supposedly as evidence of the Holy Spirit, since no human can really understand what is being said.

The Apostle Paul was dismissive of those who claimed to speak in tongues, although he was not prepared to alienate those who claimed this ability. He indicated a preference for prophecy, since this at least might be useful. In 1 Corinthians 14:4, Paul says "Whoever speaks in a tongue builds himself up, but whoever prophesies builds up the church." He then goes on to explain what he sees as the futility of speaking in tongues, summarising this in verse 19: "but in the church I would rather speak five words with my mind, so as to instruct others also, than ten thousand words in a tongue."

Answer 6

Term used by Presbyterians for those who are struck with the word & speaking in ancient languages.

Answer 7

It a gif from God