I agree with @stuartandabby@xanga that you look too much into this.

Yes, I speak in tongues. I don't always, but when I pray, the Holy Ghost will flow. I may not understand exactly what is being said, but I have an idea sometimes. It really doesn't matter. The whole point is that the Holy Ghost is speaking through me and the devil cannot understand. It is a holy language. 

I also wonder how people who find this as in some way legitimizing the present-day practice feel about non-Christian groups that claim to speak in tongues as well.

A common trend I find in my discussions with those who practice this is an inflexible interpretation of one's experiences (though my conversations don't necessarily reflect all).  Ofc, how much of that interpretation is informed by an unbiased look at Scripture is also up for debate.

@scrambledmegzntoast@hardestlevel - you are mistaken, however, your tone is so argumentative that i decline to discuss it any further than to suggest you read your bible a little more closely without such a proud demeanor....

@scrambledmegzntoast@hardestlevel - Absolutely!!

@ultravioletskies08@xanga - Earthly freedom it is but not in the hereafter

@nicolevw@xanga - Exactly!! I seconded you

I had the gift as a little kid, I forgot about it until about 10ish years later and getting it back was... well, simply put, supernatural. I don't know how to describe it, my hands were unnaturally hot... it was almost like I could feel the healing flowing through them.

@ThePraisedOne@xanga - 

 The reason you don't here about Jesus
doing it was because after Jesus ascended back to Heaven to His Father,
that's when the Holy Spirit came! Acts chapter 1 can tell you that simple.

Couldn't tell if your comment was sarcastic so I had to reply anyway. XD

@ThePraisedOne@xanga - How do you know?

We can observe that the word "tongues" at the time of the New Testament simply meant "languages". It can be confusing, because the Bible jumps between use of the word "language(s)", as in Genesis 11, and "tongues" as in Paul's writings and when Peter is speaking to the Gentiles in Acts 10:46. The actual telling of Pentecost uses the word "languages" (Acts 2:4). It is interesting that every use of "tongue" in the Old Testament refers either to the organ, or to speech itself, regardless of the language spoken ("speaking against me with lying tongues" Psalm 109:2). Jesus did, in fact, refer to speaking in tongues in Mark 16:17, where He also refers to snake handling. When looking to the New Testament, we should look at the common definition of the word "language", that being  "the words, their pronunciation, and the methods of combining them used and understood by a community." The key to language, historically, that it has been shared and understood.

In regards to what someone said about not hearing an interepretation after someone speaks out in tongues. Sometimes you won't hear an interpretation because of the fact that a lot of people are scared to get out of their comfort zone and be the center of attention like that. One of my friends once told me that right after someone spoke out in tongues the interpretations came to him like a scroll but he was too afraid to speak out so he didn't and he said it then went to someone else and they then spoke it out instead and it was the same thing that he was hearing. There is also the other gift of tongues which is a divine prayer between you and God and isn't meant to be interpreted. My pastor once told a story to the congregation about a time where they held revival services for about a week sometime during the 70's and this Jewish man was there. He was from Isreal and spoke the hebrew language. During the service a 14 year old received the gift of Holy spirit through evidence of speaking in tongues. After the service the Jewish man walked up the Pastor and said to him where is that boy from and how does he know my language. The Jewish man then began to tell the pastor about the fact that boy's message in tongues was in his hebrew language and he called the Jewish man by name and told him that Jesus was the one true way to salvation. The pastor told him that the boy doesn't speak Hebrew but that God has blessed him with that Holy tongue. I found this story truly awesome and inspiring. Investigate a deeper relationship with God for yourself spend a lot of time in prayer and whorship and believe me God will start revealing a lot of interesting things to you in your life.

God Bless,

Joel

i saw a lot of people at the church i grew up in "speak in tongues". i also went on a missions trip as a teenager wherein i wrote in my journal about how i was disappointed with myself that i could not do this, whilst my "better" christian counterparts could all seem to do it.
i realize now though, now that i have studied psychology and sociology, that it is a product of the power of suggestion and groupthink more than anything. people want so badly just to fit into that charismatic circle, to be the elite christian with a special gift, that they themself even believe they are "speaking in tongues" when in reality they are just playing along with what is expected of them. i could just never turn off my self-awareness and longic long enough to allow myself to do it.
i think it's a sham. one of many reasons i don't go to church anymore.