Tongues?

We're still finding a home church, we haven't found one that suits us yet. We found one that I really like, with one exception. They practice praying in tongues. It wouldn't be such a big deal, except that I have in the back of my head that I don't believe in that.

Which then forces me to ask myself WHY I don't believe in speaking in tongues, and to be honest I don't have a reason as to why I don't believe it. I was raised in a very sterile Baptist church, where we sang old fashioned hymns, said a hearty "Amen" and sat very quietly during the service. I enjoy a more spirited style of worship though. So many times in the Old Testament there are accounts of believers dancing and singing in worship of God, and I identify with that. When you are focused on how amazing God is, and how good He is in your life it is hard to NOT become physically energized and exuberant and to want to express your joy through raised hands or a little bounce (which is about as Charismatic as I get).

So why do I not believe in speaking in Tongues? I have a vague recollection of something about dispensations, but since I can't actually refer back to any Biblical evidence that this particular gift of the Spirit is no longer to be practiced, I feel like my "not believing in it" has no grounds.

So instead of actually getting something out of the service last night, I was focused on figuring out why I believe what I believe (do I even believe it?). So I guess in that way, church was a blessing because while everything they said floated somewhere up above my head, my faith was challenged. I think I'm going to have to study this more and pray on it. I'm beyond that phase of my faith where I blindly accept that which I'm told. I MUST search it out on my own and find my own truth. I don't want a pastor to feed me like a baby birdie. I need to get my own teeth into the Word, and have it speak to me so I can apply it to my life. I spent way too many years wearing skirts and not listening to the radio or watching movies because I was told to. I'm beyond bending to a minister's "because I said so". The only "because I said so" that matters to me now is God's - so I have to figure out what He says about this.

My experience with observing the practice of praying in tongues wasn't at all the mental image I had before witnessing it. There were no crazies rolling down the aisles like they were having a seizure. The people who prayed in tongues were quietly murmuring to themselves (so as not to make a show of it) in jibberish (I couldn't make out any of it) during prayer. So the prayer sounds like the pastor leading the prayer, with a background cacophony of everyone else doing their thing. The one thing I couldn't help but think is that this is what prayer must sound like to God anyway. Millions of people, around the world, each talking to God about what is important to them. And isn't it amazing that while I couldn't focus on what any one person was saying, God hears each person clearly and answers each prayer perfectly?

I'll be studying this and praying on it further. I'll let you know once I figure out what *I* believe - and why.