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"I will also pray with the understanding."

Text: 1 Corinthians 14:15

THE SPIRIT OF MAN

When God made man, He gave him two things. There was the external, the body. There was an internal part called “the spirit” or sometimes also called “the soul” (Genesis 2:7). The function of the spirit is not fully comprehended by many though.

“For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays,
but my understanding is unfruitful.
What is the conclusion then?
I will pray with the spirit,
and I will also pray with the understanding.
I will sing with the spirit,
and I will also sing with the understanding.”
1 Corinthians 14:14-15

1. “For if I pray in a tongue”

a) Paul was not saying that this was what he does when he prays.

b) The construction of this “conditional sentence” suggests only the realm of “possibility” rather than fact.

2. “My spirit prays”

a) Prayer should involve more than mere words.

b) Prayer should be an activity of the spirit.

c) This suggests depth.

3. “But my understanding is unfruitful”

a) There were those who argued that praying in a tongue is the thing to do.

b) Paul raises this important question. What about the understanding then?

c) The understanding cannot be ignored.

4. What is my conclusion then?

a) Paul does not dismiss that prayer involves the spirit.

b) He will never offer superficial prayers.

c) He will pray with his spirit.

d) But he will not leave out “the understanding”.

e) They ought to go together rather than be separate.

5. “I will sing with the spirit, and I will also sing with the understanding”

a) This application is extended to singing hymns of praise to God.

b) Good singing involves the spirit.

c) Good singing also involves the understanding.

d) Again, Paul joins both ideas together, instead of seeing them as separate entities.