Four Ways to Use Your Spiritual Gifts

by Rick Warren — April 24, 2021
From Shaped to Make a Difference

“Give yourselves completely to God, for you were dead, but now you have new life. So use your whole body as an instrument to do what is right for the glory of God.”

Romans 6:13 (NLT)

The moment you become a follower of Jesus, God gives you spiritual gifts. But how do you start using the spiritual gifts God has put inside of you? Here are four ways to get started:

1. Discover your gifts.
Before you can use your gifts, you need to know what they are. Many Christians have dormant spiritual gifts inside of them. They neglect their gifts, not using them and not even knowing what they are. The Bible says in 1 Timothy 4:14, “Do not neglect the spiritual gift that is in you” (GNT).

How do you discover your spiritual gifts? There are three steps: examine, evaluate, and experiment. First, you examine by studying each spiritual gift. Then, evaluate what you’re good at. You can start by asking friends what gifts they see in you. Finally, experiment by trying different things. Volunteering for different ministries at your church will help you discover your gifts. For instance, you may be better at organizing than at teaching.

2. Dedicate your gifts to God.
The Bible says in Romans 6:13, “Give yourselves completely to God, for you were dead, but now you have new life. So use your whole body as an instrument to do what is right for the glory of God” (NLT).

Maybe you already know your spiritual gifts, but you’re just not using them for the Lord. You’re using them for yourself. You need to humble yourself and dedicate to the Lord every gift you have. Push all of your excuses out of the way, and say, “God, I dedicate back to you the gifts that you gave to me.”

3. Develop your gifts.
Gifts are like muscles: The more you use them, the bigger they get. You can and should strengthen, develop, and grow any gift God has given you. You get better at using a gift by practice, studying, and learning from other people who have the same gift.

The Bible says, “God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another” (1 Peter 4:10 NLT).

When God gives you something, he will give you even more of it if you use it well—more talent, money, influence, relationships, or responsibility. He says, “I can trust that person. I’m going to give that person more and more and more.”

4. Deploy your spiritual gifts.
“Deploy” means to put into service. You get out on the field and start doing something. Romans 12:6 says this: “We are to use our different gifts in accordance with the grace that God has given us. If our gift is to speak God’s message, we should do it according to the faith that we have” (GNT).

What’s the best place to discover, dedicate, develop, and deploy your spiritual gifts? In a small group of other Christians; it’s like a testing ground. That could be a small group at your church, a Sunday school class, or any small gathering of believers that meet together regularly. If you are not in a small group, I encourage you to get connected to one this week so that you can test and develop your spiritual gifts in the safe and supportive environment of friends who will encourage you.

Talk It Over

  • What spiritual gift have you been using for yourself and not for God? What’s one change you can start making today to dedicate that gift to God?
  • How have you developed one of your spiritual gifts? Or how have you watched another Christian develop a spiritual gift?
  • What is one way you have been blessed by someone else deploying their spiritual gifts?

Accept God’s gift of eternal life.

God gives spiritual gifts to every believer—but only to believers. If you haven’t taken that step today of repenting of your sins and accepting God’s free gift of eternal life, would you pray this prayer today?

“Dear Jesus, you have promised that if I believe in you, everything I’ve ever done wrong will be forgiven, I will learn the purpose of my life, and you will accept me into your eternal home in heaven one day.

“I confess my sin, and I believe that you are God, my Savior. I receive you into my life as my Lord. Today, I’m turning every part of my life over to you. I want to follow you and do what you tell me to do.

“Jesus, I am grateful for your love and your sacrifice that makes it possible for me to join you in heaven. I know I don’t deserve it. And I thank you that I don’t have to earn or work for my salvation, because I know that is impossible. I want to use the rest of my life to serve you instead of serving myself. I humbly commit my life to you, and I ask you to save me and accept me into your family. God, I accept the spiritual gifts you put in my life. Help me to discover them, dedicate them, develop them, and deploy them to be the person you created me to be. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.”


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