1 Corinthians 14:13-19
13 “Therefore, one who speaks in a tongue is to pray that he may interpret.14 For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my mind is unproductive.15 What is the outcome then? I will pray with the spirit, but I will pray with the mind also; I will sing with the spirit, but I will sing with the mind also.16 For otherwise, if you bless God in the spirit only, how will the one who occupies the place of the outsider know to say the “Amen” at your giving of thanks, since he does not understand what you are saying? 17 For you are giving thanks well enough, but the other person is not edified. 18 I thank God, I speak in tongues more than you all; 19 nevertheless, in church I prefer to speak five words with my mind so that I may instruct others also, rather than ten thousand words in a tongue.”
My spirit prays: The gift of tongues originates with the spirit, not the mind. This means that a translation (of the mind) is required otherwise it will be completely unproductive because those who speak in tongues often do not understand what they’re saying intellectually. So, in context, Paul is differentiating between gifts that solely flow from the spirit and those that flow from both the spirit and the mind. This is a statement about intelligibility. That which comes from the mind is intelligible to all believers. However, tongues, as it flows from the spirit, means nothing unless it is translated by the mind. Paul would rather speak intelligibly than not so that all may be edified.
