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Where does "speaking in tongues" stand with regards to personal prayer and spiritual life? Holy Book of 1 Cor 14:4 mentions "Edifies himself", where does self edification fit in?

St. Paul in the Holy Book 1 Corinthians 14 teaches that there is one unified purpose for all spiritual gifts, namely edification. Speaking in tongues is  of no value if no one understands what is being said. The Holy Book 1 Corinthians 14:22 clearly describes the specific groups of people that were to be edified by tongues and prophecy. Prophecy, as direct revelation from God, is intended for those who already believe and are expected to respond to the revelation. Tongues on the other hand, is a sign for unbelievers, giving supernatural evidence of God's miraculous authority. Upon hearing the message delivered in their own mother tongue, by people who did not speak it, they were amazed at that supernatural power and began to accept the message as coming from God.

Speaking in tongues is wrongfully thought of as useful in communicating  with God through prayer. This understanding is in direct conflict with the biblical purpose of the gift of tongues. Firstly, the Holy Book of 1 Corinthians 14:22 explains that the purpose of tongues is  to serve  as an affirmation sign for unbelievers, not for praying.. "Therefore tongues are for a sign, not to those who believe but to unbelievers" To say that the gift tongues has an additional purpose of praying to God is biblically unfounded.  The Holy Book of 1 Corinthians 14:2 says, "one who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God." St. Paul wants to say he who speaks in a tongue speaks to God because no one else understands him. This is not an exhortation, but rather a rebuke for speaking publicly in a language that no one understands. God, being multi-lingual, is the only one able to understand different languages.

Secondly, the Holy Book of 1 Corinthians 14:4, "one who speaks in a tongue edifies himself" is also misused to argue that tongues is a prayer language. This is because, in contrast to prophecy (14:3-4), he who speaks in tongues is not edifying anyone else in the church. It is not an encouragement to speak in tongues privately in order to edify ourselves, but rather a rebuke for speaking in a language that no one understands and thus does not edify anyone. The Scripture does not instruct us to edify ourselves. Indeed, the Scripture considers the practice of self-edification to be a negative thing (Romans 15:2-3; 1 Corinthians 10:23-24; 10:33; 13:5). Spiritual gifts are designed for serving others and are not for private use to serve ourselves (1 Corinthians 12:5-7). St. Paul's aim in writing chapter 14 is to stop this practice of self-serving practiced by the Corinthians.