I have been insructed that the gift of prophecy, which is given to all of us as are all the gifts, is the gift of speaking for God, or words that are directly inspired by God. It is not necessarily a prediction of the future, but it can be. Whether or not these words are from God can be determined through discernment.
An example of the gifts of wisdom and understanding could be a great aunt of mine who was a nun (a Felician sister, a teacher and a missionary). She said little, but we always hung on every word she said because it was always out of love and it was always profound. She once commented on something I said or did by smiling knowingly and saying, "… a jack-of-all-trades, master-of none. " I did not understand what she meant at the time, but realized through the years just how profound the phrase was, how crystal-clear her understanding was of me. It was neither complimentary nor critical.
I believe that the closer our walk with God, the more the gifts manifest themselves. If we are spritually mature, we do not draw attention to ourselves. I believe that the miracles attributed to the apostles and other holy people are actually the spirital gifts lived out to a high degree of perfection. The love and power of God flowing so freely through them it overflows. Not many have the love for God or the humility to deserve this.
I also believe we each have a special manifestation of one of the gifts that we are especially given, for instance, healing. This could manifest itself as a “knack” a surgeon has for doing his job, etc. A mechanic may have a “knack” for his job because God expects him to use it to help people and evangelize through it, etc. (I know of a man who does just that
). I knew a man who had received a gift of teaching when he was converted (or some would refer to it as an illumination of conscience). He had an instant and profound understanding of the Scriptures which he then studied formally and began to share and teach. He is able
to interpret the Scriptures In places where many of us struggle.
Some of us have many gifts, and we’d better be using them for the greater glory of God.
I believe misslollipops may have an unclear understanding of the gifts and how they are manifested simply because she may not have encountered them in use and recognized it or even quite have known what she was looking for.
Protestants often look for dramatic manifestations of the Spirit without realizing the humility and spiritual maturity required for them to manifest so obviously. I do not doubt her sincerity in seeking them, however.
