The Daily Fountain Devotional of the Church Of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) 12 November 2026 – Be Led By The Spirit
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TOPIC – Be Led By The Spirit
READ: 1 Kings 13:1-10 (KJV)
1 And, behold, there came a man of God out of Judah by the word of the Lord unto Bethel: and Jeroboam stood by the altar to burn incense.
2 And he cried against the altar in the word of the Lord, and said, O altar, altar, thus saith the Lord; Behold, a child shall be born unto the house of David, Josiah by name; and upon thee shall he offer the priests of the high places that burn incense upon thee, and men’s bones shall be burnt upon thee.
3 And he gave a sign the same day, saying, This is the sign which the Lord hath spoken; Behold, the altar shall be rent, and the ashes that are upon it shall be poured out.
4 And it came to pass, when king Jeroboam heard the saying of the man of God, which had cried against the altar in Bethel, that he put forth his hand from the altar, saying, Lay hold on him. And his hand, which he put forth against him, dried up, so that he could not pull it in again to him.
5 The altar also was rent, and the ashes poured out from the altar, according to the sign which the man of God had given by the word of the Lord.
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.
7 And the king said unto the man of God, Come home with me, and refresh thyself, and I will give thee a reward.
8 And the man of God said unto the king, If thou wilt give me half thine house, I will not go in with thee, neither will I eat bread nor drink water in this place:
9 For so was it charged me by the word of the Lord, saying, Eat no bread, nor drink water, nor turn again by the same way that thou camest.
10 So he went another way, and returned not by the way that he came to Bethel.
THE MESSAGE:
As I sat and listened to the leaders who came to my hotel room to see me before my first ministration, I silently prayed for wisdom to respond to their request. They had just informed me that about seven thousand people were already gathered for the meeting that night, and according to them, “all we want is signs.” I wondered why I should not bother about their eternal destinies, but just ‘demonstrate power.’ The attachment of this present generation to miracles and signs, sometimes puts servants of God under pressure to ‘perform.’
Is it possible that the prophet missed the opportunity God was giving Jeroboam to repent? Could his withered hand not have made him to earnestly seek God in genuine repentance? Notice that the prophet did not pray for his hand to become withered; it was a direct act of God. But the prophet never asked God the reason for the sign; he never asked God if he was to pray for recovery for the man whose request is “Please entreat the favour of the LORD your God”, that is, the God of the prophet, not his (Jeroboam’s). He immediately prayed. The king was healed in his backslidden state; he did not repent. Always ask God’s direction, even if people are seeking signs. As I humbly explained to the leaders, God used the apostles to do miracles—and He still does—but the apostles never became ‘preachers of miracles.’ They preached Christ. And in Christ, people received miracles. Be led of the Spirit always.
PRAYER: Lead me, Lord.
