1 Corinthians 14:18–19: “I thank my God I speak with tongues more than you all; yet in the church I would rather speak five words with my understanding, that I may teach others also, than ten thousand words in a tongue.”

May 25th, 2022 by Pastor Ed in devotional

The Apostle Paul was reminding the Corinthians (and us) that the gifts of the Holy Spirit were very important and active in his life, and they should be in ours too. He had been warning them to avoid public abuses of the gifts, but he didn’t want to be misunderstood as saying the gifts are optional and can be ignored.

This apostle was a man of faith and spiritual power. He was passionate and completely sold out for God. Back in 1 Corinthians 11:1 he told us to do as he did. And one of the things he did was pray. Paul recognized the value of communicating to God both with and without his complete understanding, telling us that the gift of tongues is important for spiritual self-edification. However, when the church gathers together, there must be concern for everyone to be edified. He gives a beautifully simple illustration when he says that he would rather speak 5 words that the listeners could grasp than 10,000 words that could not be understood by anyone.

The Apostle had a passion that others can discover and get a hold of, understanding what he found to be true: leading unbelievers to Jesus is a higher priority than impressive displays of spiritual gifts. Oh that we might be effective witnesses so that others may know Him.

“LORD, we pray that You fill us again with all the gifts that we need to be useful servants of Yours today.”