"but I firmly believe there is a proper place for speaking in tongues, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, and in accordance with scripture."
I'm with you. I never understood the gift of tongues to be a sign of being saved. I thought it was a specific gift given to a person who had a gospel message to give to another whose language he or she did not normally speak. In other words, it was a means of bringing the Lord's message to those who might not otherwise hear it unless someone was blessed with the ability to speak it in their language.
What happened on the Day of Pentacost is that the Apostles were able to testify to the myriad of people around them who spoke different languages. They didn't speak gibberish; they spoke real languages of the people around them and were understood by at least one of the crowd who were there and who would have missed the message had the miracle not occurred. Where there is the gift of tongues, there is another person who understands exactly what was said and that person is one intended to receive a message from the Lord.
By my understanding, speaking gibberish or having private prayer language may be some sign from the Lord but it isn't the gift of tongues. The most definitive sign of the gift of tongues today is a little more mundane. It is when missionaries of the gospel find it relatively easy to learn the obscure languages of the people to whom they are called to preach. Yet if the need arose, I would expect to see the same Day of Pentacost miracles happening today. The Lord expected his apostles and their disciples to preach the gospel to the entire world and the gift of tongues was a blessing to help accomplish that assignment.
It is when missionaries of the gospel find it relatively easy to learn the obscure languages of the people to whom they are called to preach.
Precisely. As I was reading your post, I was thinking about Wycliffe Bible Translators, certainly not an example of instantaneous speaking in tongues, but in reality, that's what they do.
I agree with you. Its plain as day what the gift of speaking in tongues was all about. It served a definite purpose back then. I think Pauls instructions to the church are basically don't preach in a foreign language unless you have someone to interpret.