I have never spoken in tongues, not once, and I have been a follower of Christ for 60 years. It is a gift God never gave to me. I believe, though, that all the gifts of the Spirit are alive and well, but that they should be used biblically, and that biblically speaking, tongues is one of the lesser gifts. Paul, in 1 Co. 14, addressed public speaking in tongues, but he also talked about tongues as a private prayer language. It was the public use of tongues that required interpretation, I believe.
I am not certain how tongues works in prayer, though, so I sympathize with your thoughts here. I, for one, would not want to be praying something and not know what I was praying. I know the Holy Spirit intercedes for us when we don't have the right words, but that is the Holy Spirit doing it, and it doesn't come out of my mouth. So, I would not feel comfortable praying words and not knowing what I was saying. For those of you who pray in tongues, how do you know what you are saying? Does the Holy Spirit interpret for you?
I should feel free to discuss this with you as to why I believe it cannot be used as a prayer language.
For one; The Holy Spirit is limited in how He speaks because He cannot speak for Himself or on His own initiative, or on His own accord or on His own authority as all Bibles attest to this in John 16:13 and this is why I read "he speaks what he hears" as meaning that is the only thing the Holy Spirit can do in speaking through us to others.
It is because of errant modern Bibles in Romans 8:26-27 that mislead believers into disregarding John 16:13 as if God did not really mean that, and thinks the Holy Spirit can utter His own intercessions BUT the KJV says differently.
In Romans 8:26 KJV , the Holy Spirit cannot even utter His groanings. This is why Romans 8:27 exists is to explain how His unspeakable intercessions is given to the Father then and it is by Anther that searches our hearts which is Jesus Christ ( Hebrews 4:12-16 KJV ) and He is the One that knows the mind of the Spirit to give the Spirit's intercessions to the Father which is in according to the will of God because there is only One Mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus ( 1 Timothy 2:5 KJV ).
The prayer system is set up in this way; Jesus is our only way to God the Father by as He is the Lamb of God for our access ( John 14:6 KJV ) When anyone prays to Jesus at that throne of grace or to the Father in Jesus's name, it is the Son that gives our intercessions to the Father as well as the Spirit's unspeakable intercessions and the Son's own intercessions to the Father so that whenever the Father says yes to any of those intercessions, the Son answers the prayer as He will do it. ( John 14:13-14 KJV ) so that the Father may be glorified in the Son for answered prayers.
That verse that tongue speakers pull out of context and misread and therefore misapply is Paul saying that if any one speaks in tongues or if Paul speaks in tongues, he was to pray that another may interpret. That means it is his spirit praying while he is speaking in tongues which that tongue is manifested by the Holy Spirit. Paul is not praying in tongues but praying that someone will interpret that tongue while the Holy Spirit is manifesting tongues through him.
1 Corinthians 12:12 Even so ye, forasmuch as ye are zealous of spiritual gifts, seek that ye may excel to the edifying of the church. 13 Wherefore let him that speaketh in an unknown tongue pray that he may interpret. 14 For if I pray in an unknown tongue, my spirit prayeth, but my understanding is unfruitful. 15 What is it then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will pray with the understanding also: I will sing with the spirit, and I will sing with the understanding also. KJV
So Paul never said that the Holy Spirit is praying at all but he is praying that another may interpret that tongue while the Holy Spirit was manifesting tongues thru him.
Tongue speakers keep missing the point of that chapter in 1 Corinthians 14 because Paul was exhirting any believer that happen to be zealous for spiritual gift to seek the gift of prophesy above all spiritual gifts ( 1 Corinthians 14:1 ) and then he began.comparing the gift of tongues by itself against the gift of prophesy to show why because tongues by itself is not a stand alone gift for any believer to use at all. Paul admitted that God's gift of tongues can edify and it will when it is interpreted but it cannot by itself for then it would be unfruitful to the tongue speaker when he knows not what was said.
1 Corinthians 14:26-27 KJV shows how tongues were to be spoken one at a time and another interpret in the assembly, and if no interpretation, he is to be made silent because from such a practice, a foreigner may stand up and speak out of turn for why there is no interpretation coming. That is what Paul meant when he said that he speaks unto himself and unto God, meaning he understands what he is saying as God does too; not that he is literally talking to himself like a crazy person 1 Corinthians 14:28 KJV That was Paul saying indirectly that tongues will come with interpretation in the assembly or else they are to be made silent because that is not the Holy Spirit manifesting tongues but a foreigner speaking out of turn for why no interpretation is coming.
We are not to forbid speaking in tongues but Paul gave the bottom line on tongues for what it was for.. of other men's lips to speak unto the people ( 1 Corinthians 14:20-21 KJV )
Paul set the precedent in 1 Corinthians 12th chapter for how to read the 14th chapter to dispel any taking his words out of context as of tongues can be used privately and that is the gifts of teh Spirit were given to profit the body withal; not individually in 1 Corinthians 12:7 KJV
And Paul would not endorse seeking to receive the Holy Spirit apart from salvation in order to get any of those gifts in that 12 chapter as we all must share this same testimony in relations to the gifts that we had received the promise of the Holy Spirit at our salvation and at no other time ( 1 Corinthians 12:13 KJV )
To believe that tongues can be used privately for self edification, for giving thanks, for singing, for doctrine, for revelation, without interpretation, and even to switch from that mode where the Holy Spirit uses it as a prayer mode without interpretation is liken to a believer telling the body of Christ that he has no need of any one else that he can hold his own private tongue worship service even though he cannot tell you what that tongue just did out of all those supposed benefit when it comes with no interpretation.
1 Corinthians 12:7 But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal. 8 For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit; 9 To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit;10 To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues:11 But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will.
That means no tongue speaker can interpret their own tongue after he gets done speaking in tongues.
12 For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ.13 For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit. 14 For the body is not one member, but many.....
Most believers have gotten that tongue by an extra phenomenon of receiving the Holy Spirit apart from salvation for which leads other saved believers to seek in receiving after a sign but tongues were never to serve as a sign towards the believers for anything like that; 1 Corinthians 14:22
19 And if they were all one member, where were the body? 20 But now are they many members, yet but one body. 21 And the eye cannot say unto the hand, I have no need of thee: nor again the head to the feet, I have no need of you.
Those verses prove along with verse 7 that tongues were never meant for private use; not in the assembly nor outside of the assembly.
If you think about it; why do some believers get that blessing of a prayer tongue but not all believers? Is God showing favoritism among the body of Christ? No. And so it is they that separate themselves from the body of Christ when they insiste they can use tongue privately because that is the only "logical" explanation to them for why it is not coming with interpretation, but when given respect to all the scriptures, it is not of Him at all.
So Paul was not really endorsing praying in tongues but it is him praying that another will interpret while he was speaking in tongues as manifested by the Holy Spirit so that he may understand the tongue in order for that tongue to be really fruitful to him and for him to be truly edified.
That 14th chapter was really about why prophesy is the gift for all believers to seek after but somehow, tongue speakers saw Paul comparing tongues against prophesy as if tongues is way better than prophesy when that same tongue in 1 Corinthians 14:2 is the same tongue spoken of thru out that chapter as needing interpretation for even the tongue speaker to understand and for that tongue to be fruitful to himself..
