Monday, October 1, 2007

to be a prophet

 
A couple of months ago, a Brother and I were praying for the Holy Spirit to show us what gifts He's given us and how we fit into the Body of Christ.  A few weeks ago, I took a brief spiritual gifts survey and the results indicated a bias towards teaching and evangelism.  However, there was a disclaimer that you might not know that you are gifted in something that you've never exercised.  For instance, some people might not know they are gifted in teaching until they've actually attempted to teach.  In my case, I scored very low in "prophecy," which is generally not foretelling the future, but simply providing a bold, scriptural word of wisdom to a specific situation under compulsion from the Holy Spirit.  Well, how do I know if this is something the Lord intends to grow in me (because we recognize that you don't start off using your spiritual gifts at full-throttle as soon as you become a Believer), or if the Lord intends to use other gifts more strongly in me.
 
I was interested in the Peter's boldness in Acts 2.  Granted, Peter is recorded as being a loudmouth all through the Gospel accounts, so it's not surprising.  However, the prophetic behavior is not limited to Peter, as it is developed in the majority of the Believers present at Pentecost in Acts 1.  I wonder if the Holy Spirit empowers us to exercise, to a certain extent, each of the spiritual gifts listed in the Scriptures, and some more so than others.  It's obvious that each and every Believer is expected to share their faith with others, which makes each and every one of us an evangelist, though we recognize some to be especially gifted in evangelism ( e.g., Billy Graham, Louis Palau, etc.).  It's difficult for me to believe that there are some Believers who are designed never to teach, encourage, give, etc.  Rather, I think we Believers are all growing to realize the use of the gifts He's distributed for His Kingdom work, for His glory.
 
Prayer
Heavenly Father, thank you for your Word that teaches us how we are to live.  Holy Spirit, thank you for working in my life and empowering me to obey the Father's perfect will.  I pray that you will guide me today to be more aware of how you want to use me and lead me to exercise the gifts you have given me.  I pray that God will receive all the glory for His perfect plan in my life.  I pray this in the name of Christ Jesus.  Amen.
 

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