When you pray in tongues, you're speaking directly to God about hidden spiritual truths, not communicating with people. The Greek word oikodomeo means to build, and praying in tongues edifies you brick-by-brick, strengthening you spiritually as you persist in the practice.
1 Corinthians 14:2, for he that speaketh in an unknown tongue speaketh not unto men, but unto God, for no man understandeth him. Howbeit in the Spirit, in the Spirit he speaketh mysteries. Look at that verse carefully. When you pray in tongues, you're not talking to people. You are talking to God. Nobody in the room understands you. But in the Spirit you are speaking mysteries. The Greek word for mysteries is there. It's right there in front of us. It is the Greek word mysteria. You spell it M-Y-S-T-E-R-I-A. Mysteria. It means things that are hidden. Things only God knows. When you pray in tongues, you are speaking the hidden things of God back to God himself. 1 Corinthians 14, verse 4. He that speaketh in an unknown tongue edifieth himself. Edifies is the Greek word oikodomeo. You spell it O-I-K-O-D-O-M-E-O. It is a building word. It literally means to construct a house, brick Brick by brick. When you pray in tongues, you're building yourself up like a builder erects a building, constructs a building block by block, wall by wall. You grow stronger and stronger. So just imagine, that means that if you put the work in, you put the time in, you're going to get stronger and stronger. That's right.
