Translation
What is it then?
Go to footnote numberI will pray in the spirit; I will also pray with my mind. I will make music
Go to footnote numberwith the spirit; however, I will also make music with my mind.
Paraphrase
What will I choose to do that properly fits this situation? Unlike your repetitious babbling that you call tongues, I will pray privately over an unutterable burden because it engages my mind as well as my innermost being; unlike your ecstatic singing, shouting and dancing that is based only on emotion, I will have an attitude of joyful singing that starts with a deeply settled peace that nothing can rattle and I will also use my mind to sing real songs with words and melodies in contrast to your expressions of tongues which have no meaning.
Footnotes
1
This phrase can also be rendered, “what then takes place? How then does the matter stand in the context of what preceded it? What should follow”?
2
The word “to make music” comes from a word meaning “to pluck, to strike” as when one plays a stringed instrument. It can also refer to other types of music such as singing, if the context calls for it.
GOD WANTS OUR MINDS TO BE ENGAGED
He does not want us to do things mindlessly, but that is exactly what some of the Corinthians had been doing, according to the letter Paul received. What about praying for an unutterable burden? The fact that one cannot clearly articulate the burden does not mean the mind is disengaged. The mind is doing all it can to understand and articulate the burden, even though at the moment there is no clarity and the full picture cannot be seen.
THIS PROVES THERE IS SUCH A THING AS PRIVATE TONGUES
Verses 14 and 15 clearly demonstrate that Paul was using this passage to address something that was not mentioned in the book of Acts even once. While other verses in this chapter hint at private tongues, or can only be explained in terms of private tongues, these two verses make their reality exceedingly clear.
UNUTTERABLE EXPRESSIONS OF GRATITUDE
Apparently, some of those in Corinth also claimed they were singing in tongues as a special way to give special gratitude and praise to God. So Paul addressed this also.
He did not argue against the possibility, instead he said that he does that sometimes too, but whenever his singing took him to an ecstatic state, his mind was still engaged and functioning. He saw no reason for doing things in a mindless way as the Corinthians were reported as doing.
There appears to be a type of praise to God that corresponds with private tongues. While the private version of praying in tongues involves groans, sighs and tears, the private, God-inspired, sometimes miraculous form of private praise will usually involve quiet expressions such as tears (once again), sighs, and chuckles, and it may sometimes involve louder expressions such as laughter and shouting.
The reason this type of praise should be kept private is that in private it is obviously intended for an audience of One. But in a public gathering of the church, it is much more difficult to forget about everyone around us and make our expressions of worship only for our audience of One; usually we are afraid of having others see us, or we do want others to see us, both of which are wrong. If we are alone with God and find ourselves so overwhelmed by gratitude and praise to Him that we express our gratitude in strange ways, it is obvious to us and to God that we are genuine; however, if we produce strange sounds in a church meeting, there is no way for others to know if we are genuinely communicating with God or simply trying to get attention.