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have to wait for some special feeling to come over us and move us to do so. Just as we can pray in our native tongue anytime we choose, we can pray in tongues anytime we choose, but the two ways of praying are not the same.
    In 1 Corinthians 14:15 Paul clearly shows that praying with the spirit (by the Holy Spirit) is not the same as praying with the understanding:
Then what am I to do? I will pray with my spirit [by the Holy Spirit that is within me], but I will also pray [intelligently] with my mind and understanding. …
The great apostle Paul said that he prayed with his mind or understanding, but he also prayed with his spirit.
    Of course, it is possible to pray Spirit-led prayers in your own native language, and that is a valuable and right thing to do. But that is not what Paul was talking about in this verse. When he said he prayed with his spirit, he meant that he prayed in other tongues.
    Have Tongues Passed Away?
    … As for prophecy (the gift of interpreting the divine will and purpose), it will he fulfilled and pass away; as for tongues, they will be destroyed and cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away [it will lose its value and be superseded by truth].
    1 Corinthians 13:8
    Some people and even some churches teach that the gift of speaking in tongues has passed away. They base this argument on Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians in which he said that one day the spiritual gifts would no longer exist.
    However, we know that prophecy and knowledge have not passed away. Those gifts are accepted today by almost all believers and are practiced in some form in almost all churches. Knowledge is sought for worldwide. It certainly has not passed away. Why then should we believe that the spiritual gift of tongues has passed away?
    One reason some believers and some churches are opposed to speaking in tongues is that they have seen them abused or misused. But that is nothing new. The same thing was happening in Paul’s day. 6 That is why he wrote to the believers in Corinth, instructing them in what he considered the proper operation of the gifts of the Spirit, including speaking in tongues.
    In 1 Corinthians 14:40 KJV, Paul instructed the Corinthians on how the spiritual gift of tongues should be exercised in the church service —
decently and in order.
But nowhere did he say that this gift had passed away or that it should not be received and exercised by all believers. In fact, in
The Amplified Bible
translation of verse 39 he said, …
do not forbid or hinder speaking in [unknown] tongues.
    Yes, Paul found excess in the exercise of the gift of tongues, and he dealt with it. But he did not command or even suggest that tongues should be done away with to get rid of the excess.
    Some people teach against things they don’t understand or have not personally experienced. This is sad and robs many people of God’s fullness for them.
    Each of the gifts of the Holy Spirit is important and each has a role to play in the life of the believer. These gifts are bestowed upon us for a reason and a purpose. Open your heart to the Lord in faith and trust, allowing Him not only to fill you with His Holy Spirit, but also to impart to you the particular gifts He wants you to have — including the gift of tongues.

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    T HE G IFTS AND THE M OTIVATION OF L OVE
    But earnestly desire and zealously cultivate the greatest and best gifts and graces (the higher gifts and the choicest graces). And yet I will show you a still more excellent way [one that is better by far and the highest of them all — love].
    1 Corinthians 12:31
    With this verse Paul concludes Chapter 12, stating that while we need to be aware of the gifts of the Spirit and know that they are available to us, our motivation for seeking the baptism of the Holy Spirit is to be love. God wants to give us power through the baptism of the Holy Spirit so we can have a strong love walk and be a blessing to others.
    Pursue Love
    Eagerly pursue and seek to acquire [this] love