Welcome to The Daily, where we study the Bible verse by verse, chapter by chapter, every day.

Our shout-out today goes to Ken Gagnon from Fort Kent, ME. Thanks for your partnership in Project23. We cannot do this without donors like you.

Our text today is 1 Corinthians 14:13-19.

Therefore, one who speaks in a tongue should pray that he may interpret. For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays but my mind is unfruitful. What am I to do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will pray with my mind also; I will sing praise with my spirit, but I will sing with my mind also. Otherwise, if you give thanks with your spirit, how can anyone in the position of an outsider say "Amen" to your thanksgiving when he does not know what you are saying? For you may be giving thanks well enough, but the other person is not being built up. I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you. Nevertheless, in church I would rather speak five words with my mind in order to instruct others, than ten thousand words in a tongue. — 1 Corinthians 14:13-19

We now correct a dangerous assumption. That the less engaged the mind is, the more spiritual the moment must be. Paul rejects that outright.

"For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays but my mind is unfruitful." — 1 Corinthians 14:14

Mental fruitlessness. That is not prayer or praise at all, and it is not the goal of gathered worship.

But Paul's solution is not less Spirit. It is more Spirit by linking the Spirit and mind together.

"I will pray with my spirit… and with my mind also." — 1 Corinthians 14:15

The Spirit is not anti-intellectual or an empty intellectual. The Spirit who inspired Scripture does not sidestep understanding when he works.

In fact, Paul presses this matter further. If others cannot understand your thanksgiving in the Spirit, how can they say "Amen"?

Corporate worship is not a private experience performed publicly. It is a shared experience with shared understanding. If your Spirit-given gift and the expression of it cannot be affirmed by the gathered church, it may not be serving you, and it is definitely not serving the church.

And note who is saying this—Paul. Paul, who declares that he speaks in tongues more than all of them. But in church? He would rather speak five understandable words than ten thousand words in tongues that leave people confused.

Let your worship be truly Spirit-Led—engaging heart and mind together. Refuse mindless worship, and pursue understanding that builds others up.

DO THIS:

When you pray or sing this week, pay attention to what you understand. Ask God to deepen both your affection and your comprehension of what you are saying.

ASK THIS:

1. Do I equate emotional intensity with spiritual depth?
2. Am I comfortable with experiences I cannot explain?
3. Does my worship engage both heart and mind?

PRAY THIS:

Lord, unite my heart and mind in worship. Guard me from chasing experiences that bypass understanding. Let your Spirit produce clarity, conviction, and truth in me and through me. Amen.

PLAY THIS:

"Christ Be Magnified"