What then shall I do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will also pray with my mind. I will sing with my spirit, but I will also sing with my mind.
Parallel translations
- WEB What is it then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will pray with the understanding also. I will sing with the spirit, and I will sing with the understanding also.
- KJV What is it then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will pray with the understanding also: I will sing with the spirit, and I will sing with the understanding also.
- NKJV 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.
- NASB What is the outcome then? I will pray with the spirit, but I will pray with the mind also; I will sing with the spirit, but I will sing with the mind also.
- NLT Well then, what shall I do? I will pray in the spirit, and I will also pray in words I understand. I will sing in the spirit, and I will also sing in words I understand.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Paul resolves to pray and sing with both spirit and understanding. Worship should engage the whole person and remain intelligible.
Overview
Paul models the balance he commends: he will worship with his spirit and equally with his mind. Both prayer and praise should be heartfelt and understandable. This integrates fervor and clarity, ensuring that worship edifies the worshiper and the wider congregation alike, all offered to God in Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 13
- Col 3:16Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God.
- Eph 6:18Pray in the Spirit at all times, with every kind of prayer and petition. To this end, stay alert with all perseverance in your prayers for all the saints.
- Eph 5:17–20Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is.
- John 4:23–24But a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth, for the Father is seeking such as these to worship Him.
- Jude 1:20But you, beloved, by building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit,
- Rom 12:1–2Therefore I urge you, brothers, on account of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.
- Ps 47:7For God is King of all the earth; sing profound praises to Him.
- 1 Cor 14:19But in the church, I would rather speak five coherent words to instruct others than ten thousand words in a tongue.
- Rom 3:5But if our unrighteousness highlights the righteousness of God, what shall we say? That God is unjust to inflict His wrath on us? I am speaking in human terms.
- 1 Cor 10:19Am I suggesting, then, that food sacrificed to an idol is anything, or that an idol is anything?
- Rom 1:9God, whom I serve with my spirit in preaching the gospel of His Son, is my witness how constantly I remember you
- Phil 1:18What then is the issue? Just this: that in every way, whether by false motives or true, Christ is preached. And in this I rejoice. Yes, and I will continue to rejoice,
- Rom 8:31What then shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?
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Christ at the center
Christ crucified is the wisdom and power of God; he is our Passover sacrificed for us, the firstfruits of resurrection, the foundation on which everything is built.
How 1 Corinthians 14:15 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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