1 Kings 13:6 And the king answered and said unto the man of God, Intreat now the face of the LORD thy God, and pray for me, that my hand may be restored me again. And the man of God besought the LORD, and the king’s hand was restored him again, and became as [it was] before.
There is a certain group of people within religious circles who are obsessed with signs, wonders and miracles. One needs to understand that Scripture places no such obsession upon such things. One cannot read the Bible and fail to see that when it comes to miracles and such, they are attributed to either God Almighty, or demonic powers. The purpose of this devotional is not to itemize those miracles for you.
Here is my question. When God performs a miracle in a person’s life, does that always result in a change of heart? Not so. No nation saw more miracles than the nation of Israel. And yet God declared that for the most part, they were a stiff necked and rebellious people. In the chapter where our passage is found. A man of God pronounces a judgment against the altar of God, as well as a prophecy regarding the great reformer Josiah. When evil king Jeroboam commanded that the man of God be arrested, God caused his hand to wither up. In a show of amazing grace and mercy, Upon hearing the prayer made by the man of God for the King, God granted a miracle of healing. Incredible! An on the spot miracle of physical healing. No doubt Jeroboam is going to become a devout follower of Jehovah, right? Wrong. We will read a bit later in this chapter, after this thing Jeroboam returned not from his evil way, but made again of the lowest of the people priests of the high places: whosoever would, he consecrated him, and he became [one] of the priests of the high places. He returns to his idolatrous ways. Why? Because his heart was not changed. Miracles from God are given to “get our attention.” But regeneration and faith are works of God that are given to those who hear and believe God’s Word.
There is nothing wrong in praying for miracles, beloved. But like Martha in the gospel of Luke, only one thing is needful. And that is to sit at the feet of The Lord, and listen to His voice. Turn you at my reproof: behold, I will pour out my spirit unto you, I will make known my words unto you. God changes our hearts through hearing and heeding His Word. Ironically, the greatest miracle on earth is a new creature in Christ.
Indeed blessed always from your regular write up.
Keep the good work of God.
More grace.
Alex Osondu