Nathan Kosiba

FINDING YOUR IDENTITY THROUGH PRAYER

Prayer is powerful. Prayer is essential. Through prayer we find strength, faith, our daily bread and help for the day ahead. But did you know that prayer is the key to truly unlocking and understanding your identity in Christ? Bible teacher Tim Keller once said, “Prayer is the only way to truly know yourself.” It’s through prayer that we discover the man that God has created us and called us to be. So many men struggle with seeing themselves as the man Christ sees them as.

We don’t need to live a life of confusion or doubt when it comes to our identity. Through prayer, the Lord will reveal to you who you truly are as a son, a father, a husband. You are a mighty man of God called by him to bring glory to his name.

How does prayer help us unlock and understand our identity in Christ? It does so because the closer we are to Christ, the closer we are to who we are truly created to be. Jesus said in John 10:3-4 that “He calls his own sheep out by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice.” Jesus knows who you truly are. He has called you out by name. Just as Jesus revealed to Peter in Matthew 16 that he was Peter, the rock, the Lord will also make clear to you your identity in him. This can only happen when we are close to him.

Through prayer, we draw near to the Lord, we listen to his voice, and in doing so, begin to learn and understand who we are in Him. He will speak encouragement, correction, strength, and life into you so that you are able to walk more fully in your God given identity. He will show you areas he is calling you to repentance in, so he can heal you and change you. He will give you strength and faith so you can live a life that glorifies Him. We must not neglect prayer if we are to be the men of God that our families, our church, and our communities need us to be. 

Here are a few practical steps to help you cultivate a life of prayer that will help you find your identity in Christ:

• Ask him to draw near to you: Psalm 145:18 says, “The Lord is near to all who call on him.” Invite Him to speak to you and know that He will be faithful to respond.
• Put it on the schedule: schedule a specific time every day to spend in prayer with the Lord. Make it an appointment that you won’t miss.
• Pray throughout the day: 1 Thessalonians 5:16 tells us to “pray without ceasing”. We can incorporate prayer throughout our whole day. Speak to him in the car, while you’re waiting for your coffee, on your way to a meeting. Any time you can stop to spend a few moments speaking with the Lord will be well worth it.
• Stop and listen: don’t do all the talking. Be intentional to stop, listen, and ask the Lord to speak to you. 

THE GIFTS OF THE SPIRIT:

DISCOVERING AND DEPLOYING YOUR SPIRITUAL GIFTS

Jesus told us that we would receive power when the Holy Spirit came upon us (Acts 1:8). The power of the Holy Spirit works in the believer to sanctify and empower to live the life we are called to in Christ. Scripture also tells us that the Holy Spirit gives us gifts, known as spiritual gifts.

In 1 Corinthians 12:1-11, the Apostle Paul discusses what spiritual gifts are, what their purpose is and gives us examples of these gifts. Though not the only mention of spiritual gifts, 1 Corinthians is the most in depth look at spiritual gifts we find in the New Testament. Let’s dive into this text to see what the Lord wants us to know about these good and powerful gifts.

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Who receives spiritual gifts?

In 1 Corinthians 12:4 Paul states, “There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them.” The Holy Spirit gives gifts and gives a variety of gifts to Christ’s people.

These gifts are not reserved for a special, small group of only the holiest Christians. We see in 1 Corinthians 12:11 that, “he distributes them to each one, just as he determines.” It is clear here that each and every believer has received at least one spiritual gift from the Holy Spirit. 

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What are spiritual gifts?

The Holy Spirit has given each of us at least one of these gifts, but what are they and what are they for? Spiritual gifts are the Holy Spirit manifesting his power and presence, visibly and vocally, through the believer for the purpose of glorifying Jesus and building up the Church into the image of Christ.

Spiritual gifts are given by the grace of God, according to our faith (Romans 12:6). They are not primarily for you and I, though the overflow of serving the Lord will obviously bless and build us up. The Lord will empower these gifts in you so you can be a minister and a servant to the body of Christ.

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What are the gifts mentioned in 1 Corinthians 12?

This is not an exhaustive list of the spiritual gifts. Other spiritual gifts are mentioned in Romans 12 and Ephesians 4. For this article, we will delve into the meaning of each of the gifts listed in 1 Corinthians 12. 

• Word of Wisdom: A solution given by the Holy Spirit to a practical difficulty or challenge in life.
• Word of Knowledge: This is a beneficial supernatural insight into someone’s life. 
• Faith: The ability to trust for and labor in prayer for something the believer cannot claim a divine promise for in Scripture.
• Gifts of Healings: This is not a gift that allows the believer to heal anyone, at any time at will. This could be someone who has a special grace to pray for certain afflictions and see people healed, or it could be that each healing is a gift in and of itself. Either way, the Holy Spirit heals and gifts believers to bring healing to others.
• Working of miracles: Spirit empowered grace to do certain miracles. This would include things such as raising people from the dead. 
• Prophecy: Prophecy is revelation from the Holy Spirit that can include predicting the future (Acts 11:28), revealing God’s present priorities for a person or group, as well as revealing the secrets of people’s hearts with the purpose of strengthening, encouraging, and comforting (1 Corinthians 14:3). 
• Discerning of Spirits: The ability to determine the spirit behind something. 
• Speaking in Tongues: There are at least two types mentioned in Scripture. Acts 2:4 tongues are seen as the power to speak in a human language not known by the speaker. In 1 Corinthians 12 Paul describes tongues that are a spiritually empowered form of prayer in a heavenly language that no one but God understands.
• Interpretation of Tongues: Spirit-empowered ability to understand what is being spoken in tongues.

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In closing, 1 Corinthians 14:1 says, “Follow the way of love and eagerly desire the gifts of the Spirit.” We are commanded in Scripture to eagerly desire the spiritual gifts.

I encourage you to pray and ask the Lord to give you these gifts, to reveal to you the gifts he has given and to use His gifts to bring glory to the name of Jesus and to build up the body of Christ!