"1. The word of wisdom. God can give us a supernatural solution to a problem that cannot be solved by man's ideas. We desperately need this gift so we can stop relying on man's carnal ways and instead discover heaven's answers." - J. Lee Grady
The least discussed gift, along with faith, wisdom is desperately needed. I refer to it as someone who has the eternal insight into a problem and not the typical carnal solution. A personal example is my old church had a bad reputation decades earlier for taking loans from congregants and then not repaying. My pastor had nothing to do with this but still felt God wanted him to pay off the debt and restore people's faith. So, we collected separately for that for a year and many people came back to the faith because of it. The largest note holder absolved the church of the debt because they just wanted the acknowledgement that it was owed. I would consider this solution to be a word of wisdom, either given to my pastor or by my pastor.
"2. The word of knowledge. The Holy Spirit will sometimes reveal information that could not have been known by man. Just as Jesus knew the Samaritan woman had been married five times (see John 4:17-18), the Holy Spirit can reveal the secrets of the heart so people will listen to God's truth." - J. Lee Grady
Jesus did not walk up to a crowd of women and claim God showed Him that someone had been married five times. He was already speaking to the woman in question. So, if we are speaking to someone and God shows us something we shouldn't know, that would be a word of knowledge. Oh, that knowledge is gleaned without the aid of a smartphone like Shawn Bolz does.
"3. The gift of faith. This is not the normal kind of faith we need daily. The gift of faith is a special ability to believe for big things. It required a gift of faith for the prophet Elijah to pray for rain after more than three years of drought (see James 5:17-18). We can experience this level of power today through the Holy Spirit
4. The gift of healing. Paul told the Corinthians that there are actually gifts (plural) of healing. I have met people who have a special gift to pray for hearing problems; others have faith to pray for those with cancer; in my own ministry I have seen many people healed from depression and the effects of abuse. God is still in the business of healing bodies, minds and broken hearts.
- J. Lee Grady
We do tend to give up too easily. I do not see the gift of faith manifest in churches today. Or perhaps we do not do a good job of identifying it. As for healing, I could write a book. The first problem is with the belief in divine healing, which says God MUST heal us. This position is accepted by most Charismatics, so I would be curious Grady's take. It of course heresy as it usurps the sovereignty of God. That aside, many fake healers are polluting the pulpits today. Benny Hinn's suit coat does not have the anointing to heal anyone. Most false healers are experts at emotional manipulation. It is a shame because God definitely still heals and can use us if He sees fit to but there is so much false in this area that needs to be purged first. I know so many people whose faith is shipwrecked because an itinerant healer promised them God was going to heal them if they had faith and when the healing doesn't come - they blame God.
