By Fawn Parish. Fern Noble once said “Know your gift, know your call, know your place along the wall.” Fern Noble’s wise words echo often in my ears. We live in a season of a plethora of prayer passions. (try saying that 10 times fast). With so many prominent prayer needs presented to me, how do I know where to engage?

Know Your Gift

Knowing your gift doesn’t mean just knowing the results of some spiritual gift inventory. It means finding how the Holy Spirit moves best through you, your learning style, your calling, your personality. Take for example prayer lists. Prayer lists give me hives. I deduce from this, that I am not created to be a list pray-er. That brings me huge relief when I find myself with list pray-er’s. I can bless and enjoy my friends who love lists, but I don’t condemn myself when my eyes glaze over.

Know Your Call

Indulge me for a moment in a metaphor. Let’s say I am a surgeon, that is my gift. But that doesn’t tell me everything. I must know my specific call. I may be a gifted surgeon, but if I am a cardiothoracic surgeon, I don’t operate on brains. No matter how dire the need, no matter how urgent, or life threatening. I only operate on heart and lungs. That is wisdom.

This helps me realize I am not called to pray for everything, and everyone. Recently I invited someone to my home to spend a few days. I felt like a huge failure, because no matter what I did, I never seemed capable of reaching this visitor. I was debriefing about it later with a trusted spiritual director. She said, “Fawn, you can do many things, but you are not called to minister to people with a fierce stronghold of rejection. You never should have invited that person into your home. It was a mistake. Quit circling it, you’re not a vulture. Just realize what happened and move on.” That was wisdom.

Know Your Place Along the Wall

But even when I know I am a cardiothoracic surgeon, not a brain surgeon, I need to know my place as well. I need to know what hospitals I relate to. Where am I authorized to do surgery? Who are my colleagues? I am not responsible for all the open-heart surgeries in the world. This brings me great relief. Knowing where I am authorized to practice, and knowing the community I relate to, keeps me from feeling responsible for the whole world. That is grace.

It’s a huge relief for someone who tends to think that they’re responsible for everything including India. God has a wonderful division of labor among His people. I can rest in the confidence that God is not counting on me to shoulder the whole world. He has many skilled surgeons. I am just one of many. In prayer, I know my place among the wall best, as I listen most to His voice. Mary’s advice is still the best counsel anyone could give, even in prayer… “do whatever He tells you.” That is peace.

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