A Prayer For Restoration

The king cried out to the man of God, “Please ask the LORD your God to restore my hand again!” So the man of God prayed to the LORD, and the king’s hand was restored and he could move it again.

1 Kings 13:6

When a prophet confronted King Jeroboam over the wicked worship practices he had instituted at Bethel, Jeroboam was so brash that he dared to order his soldiers to arrest the prophet. However, the hand with which he gestured suddenly shriveled up. It was clear that Jeroboam was defying God himself. Jeroboam recognized his sin and asked the prophet to pray for him. The prophet prayed, and the Lord answered. How merciful is our God! He would have been justified in simply striking the king dead. And he certainly was not obligated to hear any prayer on behalf of this wicked man. But he heard and answered.

Though we may not have done such things as King Jeroboam had, we are still filled with sinfulness. But God is not out to pay us back for our wrongs—he desires that we repent. He wants to restore us, but we must first be willing to recognize our wrongs.

• Dear Lord, I recognize my sin and ask you to restore me . . .