“Prophesy to these bones and say to them, ‘O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord.’ Thus says the Lord God to these bones, ‘Behold, I will make breath enter you so that you may come to life. I will put sinews on you, make flesh grow back on you, cover you with skin, and I will put breath in you so that you may come alive; and you will know that I am the Lord.’” (Ezekiel 37:4-6 AMP)
There are a group of people in our church working through the book “4 Keys to Hearing God’s Voice” by Mark & Patty Virkler. I’m about halfway through the book and have studied the introductory material and three of the “Keys.” In the book, the authors are talking about God’s desire for spiritual intimacy with us, and learning to listen to (and trust) the Holy Spirit’s voice within us. To that end, they explain how to be still, focus on Jesus’s voice, pay attention to the spontaneous God-thoughts within us, and then write that all down as you journal. This four-part prayer dialogue comes out of the authors’ experiences with God after reading Habakkuk 2:1-3:
I will stand at my watch
and station myself on the ramparts;
I will look to see what he will say to me,
and what answer I am to give to this complaint.
Then the Lord replied:
“Write down the revelation
and make it plain on tablets
so that a herald may run with it.
For the revelation awaits an appointed time;
it speaks of the end
and will not prove false.
Though it linger, wait for it;
it will certainly come
and will not delay. (NIV)
As a part of each chapter, the reader is urged to spend some time applying the principles taught by getting quiet, focusing on God’s voice within us, paying attention to those spontaneous thoughts, and then writing them down. Example journal entries are included so you can hear others’ experiences.
I was working through a chapter and came to a personal journal example that was related to a spot in my life that is very emotionally tender. I felt urged by that “still small voice” to journal specifically on that topic. Normally my journal entries are a paragraph to a page, but this dialogue with God was SIX pages! In it I poured out my hurt, disappointment, discouragement, and struggles to keep from hardening my heart. God got an “earful” from my pen.
Have you ever had some sort of pain or wounding so deep that its sudden and unexpected appearance in an otherwise “just fine” time led you to places you didn’t intend to go?
As I journaled through this piece of my life I heard very little from God except that his timing is perfect (I know that) and there are deep wounds that God is healing (I’ll take that), until I finally told God that I feel like this area of my life is beyond help – like dust of the bones in the Valley of the Dry Bones (Ezekiel 37). Maybe you feel like you have an area of your life that is hopeless, despairing, beyond hope. I will share this part of my dialogue with God with you, in expectation that you, too, will hear God’s voice of hope:
Me: Is it possible to be the DUST of the bones in Ezekiel’s valley?
GOD: No, my Child, you are not dust. You are still bones. The death may be awhile ago and the bones may be sun-bleached, but they are not dust. My Child, can these bones live again?
Me: Only you know, God.
GOD: Prophesy to the bones of this area of your life: LIVE AGAIN! Have joy! Have life! Have newness! Tear down the walls with hope! Live again! Live! Live! LIVE!!
Me: But when the bones came together they had flesh but not Spirit.
GOD: I’ll give the Spirit, Child. You just speak LIFE to the bones!
If right now you are thinking of a place in your life that feels like dry bones – or even the dust of dry bones – be encouraged that God can STILL make them live again. Ask God how he sees this place in your life, and then speak LIFE over it. Whether it be a relationship, your finances, the state of the world, a child or grandchild, or a whole host of other thing: bring it to the Lord and speak LIFE over it.
Resurrecting God,
All honor, glory, and praise to you alone, who can do marvelous things. Your healing and your working of miracles is unmatched, both in our greater external world and in our smaller internal worlds. Today we sit quietly, focusing on your Presence, and listening to your Voice. Speak to us and give us spiritual eyes and ears to know what you are saying. Thank you for the opportunity to turn over to you our struggles with disappointment, depression, discouragement, anger, fear, relationships, prodigals, finances, health, politics, leadership, government, international relations and so much more. You alone are able to heal and save and deliver. Today we speak over our struggles your Word: LIVE AGAIN! Have joy! Have life! Have newness! Tear down the walls with hope! Live again! Live! Live! LIVE!! May it be so, under the power of the Holy Spirit and to the glory of Jesus, in whose name we pray, AMEN.
Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling or falling into sin, and to present you unblemished [blameless and faultless] in the presence of His glory with triumphant joy and unspeakable delight, to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and power, before all time and now and forever. Amen. (Jude 1:24-25 AMP)
The hand of the Lord was on me, and he brought me out by the Spirit of the Lord and set me in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. He led me back and forth among them, and I saw a great many bones on the floor of the valley, bones that were very dry. He asked me, “Son of man, can these bones live?”
I said, “Sovereign Lord, you alone know.”
Then he said to me, “Prophesy to these bones and say to them, ‘Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord! This is what the Sovereign Lord says to these bones: I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life. I will attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin; I will put breath in you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the Lord.’”
So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I was prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came together, bone to bone. I looked, and tendons and flesh appeared on them and skin covered them, but there was no breath in them.
Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to it, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Come, breath, from the four winds and breathe into these slain, that they may live.’” So I prophesied as he commanded me, and breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet—a vast army.
Then he said to me: “Son of man, these bones are the people of Israel. They say, ‘Our bones are dried up and our hope is gone; we are cut off.’ Therefore prophesy and say to them: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: My people, I am going to open your graves and bring you up from them; I will bring you back to the land of Israel. Then you, my people, will know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves and bring you up from them. I will put my Spirit in you and you will live, and I will settle you in your own land. Then you will know that I the Lord have spoken, and I have done it, declares the Lord.’” (Ezekiel 37:1-14 NIV)