Have you noticed this in the Bible? God is clearly the sovereign distributor of gifts, signs and wonders, yet He also commands us to eagerly desire these things and to pray for them. There is a holy partnership going on. Our prayers become the means through which His sovereign will often moves. If we grasp this, it will change how we pray.
Paul says in 1 Corinthians 12:11, “All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines.” The distribution is entirely at the Spirit’s discretion. Yet a few verses later he says, “Eagerly desire the greater gifts” in 1 Corinthians 12:31, and when he begins the famous love chapter he continues the thought by saying, “Follow the way of love and eagerly desire gifts of the Spirit…” in 1 Corinthians 14:1.
Praying for spiritual gifts is not a way of handing God a shopping list. It is an expression of desire to serve. This applies to any gift. When someone prays, “Lord, give me the gift of encouragement,” what they are really saying is, “Lord, I see a need for encouragement in your body. Please equip me to be a conduit of your comfort. Make me a useful tool in your hands.” They are offering themselves as vessels.
Praying for the gift of prophecy opens the heart to God’s voice. Praying for the gift of healing softens the heart toward the suffering of others and increases the faith to pray for them. The prayer reshapes us, preparing us to receive and to walk in whatever He gives. Paul even says in 1 Corinthians 14:5 that he wishes all would prophesy, and urges God’s people to follow the way of love and earnestly desire spiritual gifts, especially prophecy.
You see this clearly in the story of Acts 4:29-31. The believers in Jerusalem were under threat and could easily have prayed for safety or relief. They did not. Instead they prayed a bold and striking prayer. They said, “Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness. Stretch out your hand to heal and perform signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus.” Though, Hebrews 2:4 says God distributed according to his will. They prayed earnestly for it. And we read that after they prayed the place where they met was shaken, they were filled with the Holy Spirit and they spoke the word of God boldly.
This prayer challenges the idea that we should be passive because God is sovereign. Some believers say there is no need to pray for what is already promised, but Jesus Himself promised in Mark 16:17-18 that signs would accompany those who believe. He said that in His name they would cast out demons, speak in new tongues, pick up serpents unharmed, drink deadly things without danger and lay hands on the sick so that they would recover.
In Acts 4 the believers approached God with a clear understanding. They acknowledged the source when they said, “Stretch out your hand to heal,” knowing it was His power, not theirs. They also understood the purpose. The signs were not for comfort or fame but for the message of Jesus to be authenticated and for their witness to be strengthened. So they positioned themselves as servants, recognising the challenge before them and asking God for a specific manifestation of His power so they could accomplish His mission.
Praying for what God gives as He chooses is actually a deep act of faith. On one hand we ask boldly, because the Bible tells us in James 4:2 that we often do not have because we do not ask. On the other hand we surrender completely in the way He answers, trusting that He may work through us, through someone else or in a way we did not expect. We trust His timing and His methods. Above all we seek to be aligned with His mission. The main concern is not our comfort but the advance of God’s Kingdom and the building up of His Church. When we pray for gifts or miracles with a heart to see Jesus lifted up and people helped and saved, we pray in harmony with His will.
We are not meant to be passive. We are called to be like the believers in Acts 4, people who see the need for God’s power in order to fulfil God’s mission, and who ask boldly and specifically for Him to act as He chooses. We make ourselves available as the vessels through whom He can work. Our prayer becomes the pipeline through which His sovereign choice flows into the world.
Further readings: Signs Following
Author
kay.alli@legalview.co.uk