skill sets

Clarifying Concepts: Spiritual Skill Sets

On the Keys website, the terms skills and spiritual skill sets are used to capture the concept that in various ways, with God's help, we can become more proficient in doing our part in responding to the voice of the Spirit of God within our hearts. Spiritual skill sets can include:

listening skills
hearing skills
transforming skills
spiritual warfare skills
spiritual relationship skills
skill of being discipled
skill of persevering with peace

In many ways, the above kinds of skill sets are somewhat similar to skills such as studying the Scriptures, praying, and communicating to others what God has done in your life.

Skills in interacting with God have similarities to and differences from "people skills." You can learn to clarify what you think is being said and ask questions. You can identify and minimize things you do which prevent you from hearing well: learn to catch yourself at jumping to conclusions and avoid assuming the worst about someone or something. With people, profitable two-way communication is not entirely up to you; it hinges on their communication skills too.

God's communication skills and motives are perfect. He makes no mistakes in what He tells you or how. The more you become skilled in your part of being discipled by Him through your heart, the more you will be able to understand and participate in the two-way interaction. We cannot acquire these practical kinds of spiritual skill sets without God's help. Spiritual skill sets always involve learning to submit, surrender and transform your heart in Christ. With these things in mind, when Paul says, "I have fought the good fight," we could say that Paul did so because He interacted with God well, and became "spiritually skilled."