Faith for Dry Bones

In Ezekiel, God showed the prophet a valley full of bones and asked, “Son of man, can these bones live?” (Ezekiel 37:3, ESV).

God asks the same of us today. Can the dry bones in your situation come to life? Can your rebellious child be revived? Can your unsaved loved ones be brought to Christ? It is a question of faith. Do you believe this can happen? It is also a question of desire. Do you want this to happen?

Are you grieved by the dry bones in your life? If your answer is no, that’s a sign of dryness, a lack of spiritual passion over the dark condition of the world. Here was Ezekiel’s answer: “O Lord God, you know” (Ezekiel 37:3). This was a response of trust that said, “Lord, only you know these things. You have given me a vision of horrific death. Are you suggesting these bones can live? Is it really possible?” The very question awakened Ezekiel’s faith. It was what God was waiting to hear, and he does the same with us to stimulate our faith.

“Then he said to me, ‘Prophesy over these bones’” (Ezekiel 37:4). Once our faith is engaged and he has stirred our faith, he calls us to action. He asks us to address our situation of dry bones in faith. We are to speak life into our families, believing that God empowers our words. We are to speak life on our jobs, knowing that he holds us in his hand no matter how dark the environment is. To do this, God must breathe his life into our being: “I will…put breath in you, and you shall live, and you shall know that I am the Lord” (Ezekiel 37:6).

God did just that for Ezekiel. The prophet testifies, “So I prophesied as I was commanded” (Ezekiel 37:7). Can you say this about your walk with God? Have you said everything the Lord wants you to say, even the difficult things? That is the power of the proclamation of the gospel.

What happened when Ezekiel prophesied in faith? Ezekiel witnessed all the dry bones on the valley floor come together to form living bodies. “I will lay sinews upon you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live, and you shall know that I am the Lord” (Ezekiel 37:6)