Revival of the Dry Bones
God caught Ezekiel up by the Spirit and took him to see a valley full of dry bones. There were many bones, and they were very dried out. God asked Ezekiel if he thought that these very dried out bones could live. The prophet just had to say God was the only one who knew that. Then, God told Ezekiel to prophesy to the bones. (Ezekiel 37:4) He told them to hear the word of the Lord. Then, God told him to tell the dry bones that He would cause breath to enter into them, and they would live. That is exactly what happened. All of the bones came together into bodies, and the skin covered them, and they were very much alive because of God's power to revive the dry bones. I believe this event in the life of Ezekiel has a significance for us, as Christians, today.
We can get dry in our spiritual life. There can be a lack of spiritual nourishment because we can begin to neglect the Word of God, the Bible. We fail to read it, to study it, and to memorize it. Therefore, we drift far from God, and it is even hard to tell if we are alive spiritually or not. There can be a lack of prayer, as well. We stop talking with God about everything, and we get worried and anxious about everything, since we are trying to live on our own. This saps our spiritual life, too. The only solution is a revival of the dry bones in us. God is the only One who can revive the bones. He does it by giving breath to us, through His Spirit. The word "spirit" and "breath" are the same in the Bible. When God breathes on us the breath of His Spirit, we come back to life. We are restored in our relationship with the Lord, and we once again engage in Bible study and prayer, as we should. The difference is like the difference between night and day. I am convinced this is what we need today, as Christians, and this is what is needed for our churches to come alive again. This is why we are seeking revival at North Henry, and it is why we are planning for Revival Services October 2-5. I would urge all of us to pray for revival in our lives and our churches, and those of our church family to set aside these dates for a time of allowing the Spirit to breathe new life into us.
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Tomorrow, I intend to read Ezekiel 38-40.