How Can I Know What Spiritual Gifts Are Mine?
No single test can fully verify “everything” there is to know about your spiritual gifts. Rather, the goal of this blog is to stimulate your thinking and make you more aware of God working in your life. Our Spiritual Gifts tests (go to www.layministry.com) will bring preferences and inclinations into your consciousness, perhaps even help clarify some of your thinking, but in order to really discern your Spiritual gifts you will need to spend more time thinking about , praying over and using the gifts. Experience will be one of the most valuable indicators as to what Spiritual gifts you have. We are complex beings and God has given us wonderful passions and abilities. Surely it is worth some time to better understand how God has intended us to best serve Him. Here are three ways you can expand your knowledge about your own personal spiritual gifts.
1. Spend time in prayer
You will learn more about your spiritual gifts as you spend time with God in prayer asking Him to show you your gifts. After you finish this chapter, go somewhere alone to be with God. Review your choices and ask God to give you insight. Talk to Him about the gifts. Express any doubt, fear or frustrations you may have as a result of this chapter. Ask God for clarity and confirmation.
2. Investigate
Investigation is key to knowing and using your spiritual gifts. Like many other things in life, the more you learn the more you find out how little you really know. Remember, these are “gifts” because they were given to us. They are not talents or abilities as we think when we say someone is a gifted athlete. This is a misnomer. Sure, there some of the gifts involve skills, talents and abilities but many of the spiritual gifts are a spiritual urge, leaning, passion or unction.
Consider mercy. It is not a talent or ability, but rather a feeling or an urge that drives you to action. Even healing, which sounds like it is our own innate talent, is not our ability to “heal” someone. God does the healing! Instead, the gift of healing is the passion and faith a person brings to prayer when someone is sick. The urge is so strong they must pray for healing! The person with the gift of healing prays for healing because it is burning deep inside of them to do so. God must do the healing. They have been given the spiritual “passion” of healing. Healing is not automatic, it is under the leadership of God. For example, Paul had the gift of healing yet in I Timothy 5:23 he tells Timothy to take wine for the healing of his stomach. I imagine Paul prayed for Timothy but God did not heal him. Paul was deeply concerned for Epaphroditus and I believe he prayed for him earnestly, yet we see that God did not heal him as recorded in Philippians 2:25-27. In II Timothy 4:20 we see that Paul left Trophimus sick at Melitas. The gift of healing was not automatic but strictly under the providence of God. As we examine scriptures further, in Matthew 13:58 we see that even Jesus could not heal in His home town because of the people’s unbelief.
The supernatural gifts are all about the passion God puts in our hearts and the will of God in the circumstance. A person with the gift of mercy will not be moved in every circumstance they come across. Rather they learn to discern the urging of the Holy Spirit and be merciful in situations that God leads them in. For this reason when you examine the definitions of the Spiritual gifts you be asked to rate yourself two ways. First you will rate your inward passion. Is it high, medium or low? Then you be asked to rate your experience of the gift. Is it high, medium or low?
This type of investigation will allow you to be your own guidance counselor. You will be able to look at the results of the survey and draw some conclusions. Then you can ask others, who you trust and know you well, to give you insight to your giftedness. Finally you can study other books and take other tests. All of this will help you learn more about you and the gifts that God has given you.
3. Do ministry and see what happens
There is nothing that can substitute for good old experience. Paul told Timothy to “stir up or exercise the gifts that he had.” Another way to say that is, “Get out there, try them out.” This is the best way to find out what spiritual inclinations God has really given you. Get involved in ministry and see where your passions are. If you begin to think your gift is “helps”, go and be more deliberate. Go and help some people. If “mercy”, work somewhere you can be merciful. If it is “faith”, meet with the Pastor and start to trust God for great things at the church. If “healing”, start praying earnestly for sick people. As you get more involved in ministry where you think you may have a gift, you will soon find out if this gift is indeed a deep passion from God. If it is, experience will help fuel the fire. You will feel alive, as if you found what God really wants you to do. And you have. As you continue to minister, God will help you learn about, modify and grow in your spiritual gifts.
CLICK HERE to download your FREE copy of our Spritual Gifts Test and Workbook.
Using Your Spiritual Gifts 
I do not know if you will agree with me, but usually when people convert, they start doing things for God. Some practice hospitality, some start talking to others, taking friends to church, studying the bible, visiting the seek. It’s like the gift is there. It’s not about discovering them, but rather to get closer to God.
It’s like the same passion towards God + our personalities and beliefs.
By the way, I really enjoyed your post.
God bless you.
It is true that when people become a new Christian that they start to do things for God. The Holy Spirit moves in our hearts even as a new believer and we start to move and work under His direction. However there is a difference between normal Christian behavior and a Spiritual Gift. Studying the Bible, talking to others, being excited about our new found faith and inviting others to church is the byproduct of new life in Christ. Now some of this may awaken a deep passion that God put there. It may be that God will empower you more deeply in some of these areas. This would be closer to a Spiritual Gift. The gifts that result in more Supernatural manifestations would also be something that God would have to birth and empower. However I would think that some of the behavior you are describing is common to most new believers and not a result of a Spiritual Gifting. Certainly we should participate in them.
Very true.
Thanks for the pronto response.
Lately I have been very passionate about the gifts of tongues and prophecy. I have always had a hunger for the supernatural. I began to read a book before this and it encouraged to open your mouth and let the words come out. so i did just that and some words that sounded like speaking in tongues came out, but naturally I had doubt about if it was real or not. But it’s happened more times but I sometimes feel like I’m making it up. which I know is a lie from Satan. But i feel the necesity to say those words, it feels like a fire in my tongue literally. But it’s not the same with me than with other people, other people just let it all out and cant stop or they pray whole prayers in tongues, but for me it’s just phrases. what do you think?
@Pablo, we do not need to help God. The Spirit comes by Itself. What that book is teaching, in my opinion, it’s dangerous.
Even when we know what’s going on and we can even stop the Spirit, when we are under the influence of the Spirit, we do not control The Spirit.
There are spirits of error, and evil spirits. You do not want that for you. Just pray, live a pure life according to the scriptures and trust God. And then, when you receive the Holy Spirit, it would be no doubt, that it’s the Holy Spirit. It gives you joy, it brings peace and cleans you from sins.
Neither miracles, tongues or prophesy are of any value if your soul get lost. Do not seek for the amusement, seek for the true, in God.
@Pablo with continued prayer in your prayer language you will begin to flow so to speak. also you have dabbled in some occult activity which is blocking you. Renounce in prayer your past involment and ask the Holy Ghost to forgive this ignorance. Then hyou will be able to break through.
I noticed that Intercession was not listed on the list as being a spiritual gift, is intercession a spiritual gift?.
Intercession for others is certainly Spiritual and I would think that it would be as a result of the leading of the Holy Spirit. Therefore you could say it is a gift from God that is Spiritual. Our Blog is mainly dealing with those that Paul listed. In the book that you can down load at http://www.layministry.com (just hit the link at the top of the home page that offers the free Spiritual Gifts workbook) we will explain more about this. If God puts on your heart to interceed on behalf of others then Praise God, do it and God will bless your efforts.
This is very informative article. I am waiting for your another update.
Thanks,
Makemygiftz
I believe praying in tongues comes from the Holy Spirit. What we are saying we may not understand, only God knows us truly from the groaning is the utterness of being able to speak it. Most people do not understand so therefore they think its dangerous to utter such an abomination. But I believe that if the Holy Spirit has instilled this in you, then this is between you and the Holy Spirit.
Hi Wendy, Praying in tongues only builds your own spirit, but God has created the gift of speaking in tongues to bless others as well. Begin to pray for an interpreter so that God can use you more deeply the way He means to. I am praying this also for my own church as there are many people who speaks in tongues but no one benefiting from it. Let God speak through you so that others may actually get the message.
I hope this is still an active site.. I am a Christian and don’t know what my gifts are. I have been healed of cancer two times by God’s goodness and the prayers of many. I have strong compassion for others and feel deeply about helping people when I can. I have a strong faith in the Lord and that He is our creator and God and nothing is impossible with Him. I have strong feelings on wanting to please Him. I just wish I knew what my gifts are and what I can do to serve Him best. I’m going to be spending a lot of time in prayer and wanted to thank you for you ariticle. Can you suggest things to help me know what my gifts are? Thank you.
Laura,
Yes this is an active site. I have a bunch of new materials coming out in 2012 and will be posting them. I have some CD’s and a new book that will interest you as well.
Until then, please go to http://my.vchurches.com/us/files2/36326_21040.pdf
and down load my booklet on Spiritual Gifts. There is a test at the back. It takes about 7 minutes to complete. When you are done with it, take the gifts that were you major choice and look them up in the book and see how it seems to match up with who you are. Then read the end of the booklet to see what to do next.
Thanks and may God bless you as you seek to serve Him in your giftedness.
Ron Ovitt
Amen, we hve 2tke our positions n work 4our Almighty God
Really good words of encouragement to help to build your faith n to know who you are in Christ…I’m loving it,keep up the good work,God bless!