Question: If the gift of tongues can be a private prayer language to God, why is the gift of interpretation also necessary?
The gift of tongues is like any other spiritual gift. It’s given for a reason. It’s purpose is given in God’s word. And it’s source is God Himself. Tongues is no exception. However, before we discuss what tongues is, we have to clarify what it isn’t. The mental condition known as “Glossolalia” is where someone is whipped up into such a mental frenzy that they start spouting off random words without being aware of it. That is not or ever has been what the Bible calls the gift of Tongues. There are two separate kinds of uses for this spiritual gift that requires two different things in order for it to actually be Tongues as the Bible defines it. You are speaking with the intention to communicate in a language you don’t know. If it’s in prayer, Paul clarifies to the Corinthian church that an interpretation will always accompany it or it will serve no purpose. Likewise, when the gift of tongues was practiced outside the church to non-believers in the book of Acts, everyone listening understood the language as their own and understood every word. Either way, a legitimate use gift of tongues will always include an interpretation.
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