A Prayer to Help You Discover Your Gifts and Abilities
Dr. Neil Anderson
"As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another." - 1 Peter 4:10
For the Christian, true fulfillment in life can be summarized by the popular bumper sticker slogan, "Bloom where you're planted." Peter said it this way: "As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another" (1 Peter 4:10). Your greatest fulfillment in life will come when you discover your unique gifts and abilities and use them to edify others and glorify the Lord.
God allowed me to understand this vital principle before entering the ministry while I was still employed as an aerospace engineer. I knew God wanted me to be an ambassador for Him where I worked, so I started a breakfast Bible study in the bowling alley next door. My announcement about the Bible study had only been posted in our office about an hour before a Jewish fellow pulled it off the wall and brought it to me. "You can't bring Jesus in here," he objected.
"I can't do otherwise," I said. "Every day I walk in here Jesus comes in with me." He was not impressed with my response!
One of the men who found Christ in the Bible study took over when I left Honeywell to enter seminary. A few months later I went back to visit my friends in the Bible study. "Do you remember the Jewish fellow?" the leader asked.
"Sure, I remember him," I said, recalling his brash opposition to our Bible study.
"Well, he got sick and almost died. I went to the hospital and visited him every night. Finally, I led him to Christ."
I was ecstatic at the realization that I had become a spiritual grandparent. The sense of fulfillment was exhilarating. And it all happened because I started a simple little Bible study where I worked in order to do what Paul said: "Do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry" (2 Timothy 4:5).
Prayer: Father, I want to bloom where I am planted and resist the temptation to compare myself to others. Help me see the ways you have uniquely gifted me to serve you and your Kingdom. Thank you for making me just as I am. Forgive me for the ways I have compared myself and coveted the abilities of others. I pray that, starting today, I would see the opportunities if front of me to use my gifts and abilities. In Jesus’ Name I pray, Amen.
Editor’s Note: Content taken from the Daily in Christ devotional, Using Your Unique Gifts and Abilities, written by Dr. Neil T. Anderson. You can read that piece in full here. All rights reserved.
Editor's Note: We're proud to announce we've just launched a new nighttime companion to Your Daily Prayer: the Your Nightly Prayer devotional. You'll soon be able to subscribe to receive Your Nightly Prayer via email, or as a podcast, but for now you can find it on the website at crosswalk.com/devotionals/your-nightly-prayer. We hope it's a relaxing and soothing way to wind down your day with rich meditations on who God is.
Related Resource: Jesus Calling - Stories of Faith
Kerry Washington. Andrea Bocelli. Reba McEntire. Mark Wahlberg. Tony Dungy. Matthew McConaughey, What do all of these people have in common? They are all people of faith who have leaned on God in both the good and challenging times—and they’ve shown up to tell their story of faith on The Jesus Calling Podcast. The Jesus Calling Podcast provides a place for people from all walks of life to share the heartaches, joys, and divine moments that keep them going.
Inspired by Sarah Young's classic devotional book, the Jesus Calling podcast has brought encouragement and peace to millions. New episodes drop every Thursday! Listen today on LifeAudio.com or wherever you find your podcasts.
Now that you've prayed, are you in need of someone to pray for YOU? Click the button below!
Originally published Sunday, 21 March 2021.
SHARE
