Bible Strands
1 Corinthians 14:15
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.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Paul addresses the Corinthian church regarding the proper use of spiritual gifts during corporate worship. He proposes a balanced approach to prayer and song to ensure communal edification.
The words — The text highlights πνεύματι (pneumati), translated literally as "spirit," and contrasts it with the mind. This pairing emphasizes the dual engagement of inner disposition and cognitive clarity in worship practice.
The thread — The tension between spiritual expression and understood speech appears in 1 Corinthians 14:14 and 14:16, where an unfruitful mind or unintelligible speech prevents others from affirming worship. This pattern aligns with the call to pray in the Spirit while remaining alert in Ephesians 6:18 and to worship in spirit and truth in John 4:23.
Why it lands — The verse demands that believers integrate heartfelt devotion with conscious comprehension during corporate worship. It requires readers to evaluate whether their spiritual expressions build up the community or merely satisfy personal experience.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Greek words
King James Version
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.
Cross-references
- Colossians 3:16 Let 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.
- Ephesians 6:18 Pray 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.
- John 4:23 But 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.
- Ephesians 5:17 Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is.
- Jude 1:20 But you, beloved, by building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit,
- Psalms 47:7 For God is King of all the earth; sing to Him a psalm of praise.
- Romans 12:1 Therefore 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.
- 1 Corinthians 14:19 But in the church, I would rather speak five coherent words to instruct others than ten thousand words in a tongue.
- Romans 1:9 God, whom I serve with my spirit in preaching the gospel of His Son, is my witness how constantly I remember you
- Romans 3:5 But 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.