If you ever prayed the prayer, I believe in that moment God gave you a spiritual gift. It is not always tongues. There are 16 different spiritual gifts. Here are the most important ones:
"To each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to others gifts of healing by that one Spirit, to others miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues."
The message of wisdom is the same as to prophesy. Like the verse that says, "In the last days my sons and daughters will prophesy." To prophesy is different than prophecy. The second is foretelling the future. No one really has that gift anymore. Many people pretend they do, but the real prophets all lived in Bible times. There are no actual prophets alive today. On Twitter my name is Prophet Lisa. When I first thought of that, it was a joke. I know there aren't real prophets anymore. To prophesy is just saying things you know God wants you to say. I know my writing is an example of what it is to prohesy. It is having a word of wisdom from God.
A message of knowledge is knowing secret facts about people you are around. They never told you, but God told you. Why? So you could understand them better. It helps you know what to pray for in regards to them. It gives you more compassion for them.
Faith is having an upbeat personality and the ability to be positive almost no matter what. This comes naturally if you were born under a certain sign that is more positive. I am a Sagittarius. That is the happiest sign, I have read. There is a lot of truth to the sign theories. Depending on your sign that might determine what spiritual gift you get from God. It will fit your personality.
Healing, I have always, always wanted this spiritual gift. Some say it doesn't exist anymore. I don't know really. There is a warning in the Bible that says false teachers will perform false signs and wonders in the last days. Does that mean that everyone who claims to heal people now is a false teacher? It would seem that might be the case. So watch out for this "sign and wonder" or spiritual gift. God heals people, not other people. Don't allow anyone to appear like God to you just because they can heal people. They are not God, and they need to remember that too.
Miraculous powers...there are some who claim to have this spiritual gift. I am always skeptical of this. God can use miracles still to save people, but now we have the Bible. We have sermons online to listen to. We have Christian books. Miracles seem a lot less necessary now. This is why it might not happen that much anymore. If you have heard of miracles happening, take it with a grain of salt. There are lots of posers out there who just lie to get money. Be cautious of false teachers. Satan can perform miracles too. Think of the magicians that Pharaoh had. They were able to perform every single miracle that Moses did. Don't be fooled by demonic miracles. Pray about whatever you see or hear. You will feel peace about it if it really is from God.
Distinguishing between spirits, this means you can tell generally if someone has a good spirit or a bad spirit. Some people see auras around people. Others just have a sense about people. Maybe God gave you a word of wisdom about them. Maybe you can just tell what their heart is like. God may tell you to stay away from them. Listen to him and do it. He just wants to protect you. Not every person is good. Some know this all to well. Others think everyone is good. Be careful of who you trust.
The gift of tongues, this is has been my greatest cause of angst in my faith for the past 23 years actually. I never understood it. I didn't get why no one in my churches talked about it. It seemed to be important but I couldn't tell if it was. One thing to notice is that Paul only listed this as a spiritual gift to the church in Corinth. In other letters he wrote he never mentioned tongues. Why? Jesus never talked about tongues. That probably means it isn't as important as a lot of Charismatics say it is. If you want it, pray for it, but don't force it. It isn't as amazing as some say. I have it, but I still don't see much point to it. I would rather use my gift of teaching. Each has their thing they like to use to serve God. Some love to pray for hours. Some love to teach or write. Some love to serve others and show love. Some love to bring food to others who are hurting. Whatever you do, make sure it makes you happy. Don't try to make others do what you love to do. They don't have to love what you love. We are all unique.
May you learn to focus on serving God more. Then you won't be as tempted to do things that hurt you.
May God bless you as you grow in him.
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