What do I do with gifts of Miraculous Powers and Tongues? Gifts FAQ

The next few blog posts will capture some questions from a recent Your Unique Design gifts class. One participant asked, with regard to her gifts:

If some of my top gifts were in the grey zone, what do I do?

Not one of the twenty-three gifts that we find in Scripture is meant to be better nor less-than any of the other gifts. By definition, all gifts are to bring honor and glory to God and be agents that invite His kingdom come on earth. That said, in the Your Unique Design materials, we acknowledge some differences, partially explained here.

The four gifts in the grey-shaded boxes on the Your Unique Design chart (Healing, Miraculous Powers, Tongues, Interpretation of Tongues) are marked that way for three reasons: 1) Gifts in grey are ones for which just three assessment questions don’t always get at the depth and breadth of what the gifts can look like. 2) There is more confusion about these four gifts than the other nineteen. 3) Many people have not had opportunities to see these in practice nor use them. [Churches are all over the map on these.]

If you had a couple of these show up in your top results, it’s likely that those three reasons don’t apply. As with any of the gifts, they all can be used effectively and at different times, in varied circumstances. At Grace Commons, gifts of Healing, Miraculous Powers, Tongues, and Interpretation of Tongues are more often seen in and through the Healing Prayer Ministry. This may be a place to explore using the ones you have.

In addition, seeking the Lord’s guidance is always essential with any gift, maybe especially these. You can pray in any context for someone to be healed. Perhaps you work in a healing profession—that might constantly be using that gift? Tongues may be a private prayer language—where, when you are praying and run out of words, the gift of Tongues may take over—expressing the essence of your emotions/concerns/heart’s cry to the Lord in a language other than your own. Interpretation of Tongues may only show up for you in the moment when someone else speaks publicly in Tongues. Even then, most people with the Interpretation gift describe it as a feeling or confirmation of the gist of what is said instead of a literal translation of what has been spoken. And, Miraculous Powers, like Healing, can be used in all kinds of different settings. It may in fact be a gift that you don’t seek to use, but God provides the miracle that authenticates a message or ministry in which you are involved.

Set aside some time to read more about each of these gifts in other blog posts—some give extensive definitions; others provide Scriptural references that can be helpful.

Shirley Giles Davis, author of the God. Gifts. You. Your Unique Calling and Design workbook, Your Unique Design Class Guide, Your Unique Design Facilitator Guide, DIOS. DONES. TÚ.: Tu llamado y diseño único (Spanish Edition), and Gifts-Calling-Purpose blog, is a consultant, coach, facilitator who has worked with hundreds of faith-based organizations, nonprofit agencies, and executive leaders in a diversity of fields for four decades. She currently serves as Catalyst for Equipping at her church.

Photo © Shirley Giles Davis.

All rights reserved.