Praying with Understanding: Corinthians?

Zoxsasi

In 1 Corinthians, 14:14, it says:

For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my mind is unfruitful.

What does that mean?

a) What is meant by praying in tongues?

Is it praying in a language you do not understand?
Is it praying in a language that someone must understand , but not you?
Is it praying in a tongue/language that no one understands except God?


b) Is it right to be considered prayer that your spirit prays, but not your mind?

What do the church fathers tell us about praying with understanding (with your mind)?
Are you meant to concentrate and know the words you are saying?


Thanks for anyone who can help with this.

ZanAmrikai

I have heard different takes on this.  I am not a member of (nor is there any near me) a Coptic church, so there are perhaps specific ways others will talk about this.  However, I have[i][/i] been to charismatic churches, and when I first became a Christian, I attended a Pentecostal church (Assemblies of God, actually) where everyone was expected to be "baptized in the Holy Spirit" and the proof of that was that you spoke in tongues (and if you didn't speak in tongues, then you did not have the Holy Spirit--what a travesty to teach that!).  According to those who are into speaking in tongues...the denominations, that is...this is a chapter that brings up certain things that supposedly support what they believe: 
1) Speaking in tongues privately is something between you and God.  You never have any idea what you are praying/saying (Romans 8:26,27)
2) Speaking in tongues publicly is something one person does and then the "interpretation" must also be given--either by that same person or else by someone else who (supposedly) knows what God said in that unknown "language."  (I Cor 12)

However, back to your question: what Paul is saying is that it doesn't matter if I can speak eighty million languages glorifying God--if no one else can understand a word he is saying.  And if HE HIMSELF does not understand it, he says that, yes, his spirit is engaged in a secret kind of worshipping God but his thinking mind is left out of it (that is the fruitless part).  He goes on to say that it is a good thing to have this secret language that you pray in--and this is what Pentecostals and Charismatics use to say that this is how all believers will be--and it is fine to have this other "tongues" that is used for public messages (these two tongues are not one and the same), but the best thing of all is to edify others with correct teaching that points them to God.  For maybe some who do not believe, will see the "miracles" (speaking in tongues) and believe--and so, for them, it does something--but for those who already know the Lord, what they need is actual teaching and encouragement that is intelligible to them.

Otherwise, how could we be transformed by the renewing of our minds if all we were going to have for "renewal" was a language we did not even understand?  Yes, there may be a sense of mystery...but we never get to KNOW someone unless that person (including God) breaks down the barriers and reveals the actual true self.

My two cents.

jshouk

[quote author=Zoxsasi link=topic=9100.msg113147#msg113147 date=1271038350]

b) Is it right to be considered prayer that your spirit prays, but not your mind?

What do the church fathers tell us about praying with understanding (with your mind)?
Are you meant to concentrate and know the words you are saying?



As pointed above, praying tongues can edify God for certain people. However, I personally do not believe that this event is related to our concentration in our prayers. Every word read/prayed in your prayers have sooo much depth and beauty. To offer a good prayer, I believe all body, mind and spirit must pray.
Body 1- by reading the words, not always saying by heart, odds are we can lose focus and simply recite and 2- by saying out loud so that our mouths utter the words and our ears listen. This might increase our chances for the mind to focus and pray. I personally find it hard to focus all the time, but we must struggle and fight it. So yes, although our spirit may be praying while our mind isn't, we should train ourselves to not only pray in spirit, but also in body and spirit.

God Bless