Psalm 86 verse 11 (AMP)
“Teach me Your way, O LORD, that I may walk and live in Your truth; direct and unite my heart [solely, reverently] to fear and honor Your Name.”
Most of you know that if it is the LORD’s will, I will be away from home for three months, beginning in autumn and extending through a portion of winter. As a Christian, I try to live and take action only from within the center of God’s will for my life. With this in mind I know that the LORD of all things has a specific church and a particular people He desires for me to minister to while I am in this other community.
Because I do know this, I feel the prompting of the Spirit to examine my heart, my actions, my desires and my temperament. I pray and am partnered with others who pledge to pray for the discernment needed in finding just that place in which He desires to place me. To help in this, I feel the need to develop lists to aid me. Lists of:
how I desire to serve the LORD;
how I serve HIM best currently and how I can translate those spiritual gifts into a new setting among a different population;
where the LORD wants to give me a deeper faith and understanding;
&
where I need to be “shrewd as snakes and innocent as doves” ( Matthew 10:16 NIV)
How do I best serve God and His people now? Will I be able to offer this service to the body of Christ in a different location?
I Corinthians 12:4-7, 11 (NIV)
“There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are different kinds of service, but the same LORD. There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men…
“… Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and HE gives them to each one, just as HE determines.”
Assessment of My Spiritual Gifts
Prayer
In the New Testament alone, 305 verses are devoted to the word "prayer": who, how, when and why. Outside of the Son who is my Savior, Prayer is probably the gift from the LORD I most treasure. In Joel 2, God’s people are promised a Teacher who will train them and us how to live within the circle of God's love and grace. Professor Jesus has and continues to instruct me to cling to Him in prayer.
Growing up, no matter how this theological doctrine is wrong, I believed that if I didn’t personally “convert” or “save” at least one person, I had no chance of entrance into heaven. I heard the refrain of James 2:26 (NIV) parroted often at church and at home, “Faith without works is dead. Faith without works is dead. Faith without works is dead.” Not realizing that salvation is a FREE gift, I lived in despair for many years because I didn’t feel I could “DO” anything to prove my faith. Anytime I would bring this up at home, and sometimes tentatively with friends, I was told, “But, Rachel, you are such an inspiration.” Why, I wondered? According to me, I hadn’t “Done” anything.
Never let it be said that we do not have a patient Teacher!
Again and again I have called out to the LORD of lords to open my eyes in revelation of my "true" purpose. It took quite a while for me to recognize that prayer is not just a speech or a thought transfer to the LORD, but prayer is actually something to “DO.” No matter the physical condition I am in, no matter my physical location, I can always always always pray. In fact this is an avenue open to every seeker and every Christian, everyone is capable of prayer. Why else would Jesus teach all of the disciples to pray several times in the Gospels?
However, I do not believe every Christian has the spiritual gift of prayer.
James 1: 6 & 7 speaks about requests that are made of God must be made with the belief that HE Does answer prayer. Scripture also reveals: The LORD grants us the desires of our hearts [Psalm 37 verses 3 & 4].
I believe the truth of this intensely.
When I say I was given the gift of prayer I am not boasting in myself but in our Lord Jesus Christ [ I Corinthians 1:31; Galatians 6:14; Ephesians 2:9].
Over many years, the LORD has continually shown me that along with all the people of the earth, I possess a short leash, figuratively. Anytime I get too full of myself and believe I have the world by the tail, God gently tugs the leash attached to the collar of covenant I choose to wear. I remember that I am walking with HIM only by the Grace of the Cross.
In a shorter but more appropriate analogy, like an addict I need our Savior on a minute by minute basis.
The central desire of my life is for the Master to say to me, “Well done, good and faithful servant!” (Matthew 25: 14-30 NIV)
Faithfulness in prayer is an honor and a privilege. On the flip side of the same coin however, prayer also takes time and yes, work. In Genesis 32, Jacob wrestles with the LORD. Well, prayer is not quite a wrestling match, but it isn’t just sitting at a piano recital either.
The purpose of prayer is a conversation in order that I may better understand the performances of others and my own vain attempts at music by banging on the keyboard, read these as “actions.” The answers to questions I pose to the LORD are quite often resolved by participation in this conversation. Prayer has a second purpose as well. In scripture there were several who have questioned the purpose of the LORD, and even occasionally “changed” HIS mind. Examples include: Abraham in regards to the outcome of Sodom and Gomorrah [ Genesis 18]; Moses after the Israelites worshipped the golden calf [Exodus 32]; David pleading for his first son born from Bathsheba [II Samuel 12]; the king of Nineveh in Jonah [Jonah 3]; the widow of the parable told in Luke 18; and even Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane [Matthew 26; Mark 14; Luke 22].
So prayerful that I am not hurling pearls before swine, here are some of my beliefs:
I am a Prayer Warrior.
I pray believing God answers all prayer.
No matter where I am or how I feel, I can and will pray.
Often when someone I know has a particular need or in the midst of great joy, I carry them or rather their names around with me on an index card…in living color so to speak.
God is in the details.
Sometimes I will ask a person at what hour she needs the prayer, i.e. time she is being wheeled into surgery or when a court will convene. I also ask what outcome she desires from the LORD. [Rest assured, I pray for men too. It's just more fun to type she.]
In the LORD, I seek the growth of faith for those surrounded in the details I request HIM to orchestrate.
Surgeons’ hands are steadied.
Judges’ decisions are bound in love.
Faith grows.
God and His perfect and pleasing will become the center of more lives.
Our GOD Reigns!
How do I know prayer is my greatest spiritual gift?
I can continue to serve in prayer for the Christians and seekers I know now and those I will meet soon.
Prayer Works!
God is The Praise in my life!
To be continued...
