Can I ask something- do the gifts change ?
I mean if a person experiences the gift of knowledge, do they always have that gift or does the Holy Spirit give and take back , or perhaps give different gifts to people at different times.
I realise that there can be seasons within a Christians life, so are their seasons with the gifts ?
Or, can our own lives numb the gifts , they are still there but if circumstances affect your walk with God then the gifts are affected
Rita
A good question Rita. My experience is that one can be given a gift and have the use of it for a defined period of time because that is the area that the Holy Spirit wants you to minister in so he brings to your attention situations where the gift is needed.
At one stage I was praying for people that had legs that were a different length. I would pray and the short leg would grow. Then I had a period when I was given the gift of discernment which seemed to be as much for my benefit as other people as it meant I had to get to the core of a matter before I prayed for people.
To give you an example. I spoke at a Full Gospel Businessman's Breakfast and when I got to praying for people, the Lord said don't ask them, I will tell you. That is what I did and as I knelt beside the first couple the word 'incest' came to me. I let the wife speak and she didn't use that word and when I prayed for them I prayed for a marriage that was born in sorrow and she burst into tears.
Afterward, when I had the chance to talk to them I said to her "It was incest wasn't it." She said it was.
Sometimes God moves us on because we get familiar with the gift and it becomes too easy for us so we step up by using another gift.