Blog Series: Prayers for Dead Seasons Part 2

As I shared in the first post in this series, I’ve been convicted recently to take God at His word. Do I really believe that all things are possible for God, or is it just something people say because it sounds pretty? What would my life look like if I took Him at His word? If I truly believed His promises? Would I live or speak differently?

This passage in the book of Ezekiel is one that I’ve poured over for months, just waiting for the Holy Spirit to give me the words to process it.

If you’ve ever watched someone die, you know what it looks like the moment they take their last breath. They’re still “them” until their last breath is gone.

I stood in the room as a family member struggled to breathe his last breath and as I’ve read through this passage, I’ve thought about how rude it would have been to command him to breathe after he was gone. Family members would’ve been offended, or at minimum, looked at me like a crazy person.

But this is exactly what God did in one of Ezekiel’s recorded visions.

Where Ezekiel saw dead, dry bones, God saw potential in His people. He saw a nation He wasn’t quite finished with yet. A remnant He’d set apart for Himself to continue His story of grace for His people.

As I mentioned in the previous post, I don’t usually include such long passages in my posts, but I think it’s critical to understand the context before we move forward with application.

So, here we go!

EZEKIEL 36:22-37:14

dry bones, live!

36:22 “Therefore say to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord God: It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am about to act, but for the sake of my holy name, which you have profaned among the nations to which you came. 23 And I will vindicate the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, and which you have profaned among them. And the nations will know that I am the Lord, declares the Lord God, when through you I vindicate my holiness before their eyes. 24 I will take you from the nations and gather you from all the countries and bring you into your own land. 25 I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. 26 And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules. 28 You shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers, and you shall be my people, and I will be your God. 29 And I will deliver you from all your uncleannesses. And I will summon the grain and make it abundant and lay no famine upon you. 30 I will make the fruit of the tree and the increase of the field abundant, that you may never again suffer the disgrace of famine among the nations. 31 Then you will remember your evil ways, and your deeds that were not good, and you will loathe yourselves for your iniquities and your abominations. 32 It is not for your sake that I will act, declares the Lord God; let that be known to you. Be ashamed and confounded for your ways, O house of Israel.

33 “Thus says the Lord God: On the day that I cleanse you from all your iniquities, I will cause the cities to be inhabited, and the waste places shall be rebuilt. 34 And the land that was desolate shall be tilled, instead of being the desolation that it was in the sight of all who passed by. 35 And they will say, ‘This land that was desolate has become like the garden of Eden, and the waste and desolate and ruined cities are now fortified and inhabited.’ 36 Then the nations that are left all around you shall know that I am the Lord; I have rebuilt the ruined places and replanted that which was desolate. I am the Lord; I have spoken, and I will do it.

37 “Thus says the Lord God: This also I will let the house of Israel ask me to do for them: to increase their people like a flock. 38 Like the flock for sacrifices, like the flock at Jerusalem during her appointed feasts, so shall the waste cities be filled with flocks of people. Then they will know that I am the Lord.”

37:1 The hand of the Lord was upon me, and he brought me out in the Spirit of the Lord and set me down in the middle of the valley; it was full of bones. 2 And he led me around among them, and behold, there were very many on the surface of the valley, and behold, they were very dry. 3 And he said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” And I answered, “O Lord God, you know.” 4 Then he said to me, “Prophesy over these bones, and say to them, O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. 5 Thus says the Lord God to these bones: Behold, I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live. 6 And 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.”

7 So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I prophesied, there was a sound, and behold, a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to its bone. 8 And I looked, and behold, there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered them. But there was no breath in them. 9 Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, Thus says the Lord God: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live.” 10 So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived and stood on their feet, an exceedingly great army.

11 Then he said to me, “Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. Behold, they say, ‘Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are indeed cut off.’ 12 Therefore prophesy, and say to them, Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will open your graves and raise you from your graves, O my people. And I will bring you into the land of Israel. 13 And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves, and raise you from your graves, O my people. 14 And I will put my Spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I am the Lord; I have spoken, and I will do it, declares the Lord.”

Screen capture from The Bible Project, YouTube

three prophecies

If you read the vision closely (Ez 37), you’ll see that God told Ezekiel to prophesy three separate times over the bones. Could He have accomplished what He wanted to the first time? Yes, of course. He’s God! So why would He have him speak three separate prophecies? I believe that each time Ezekiel opened his mouth and spoke to the bones, his faith was increased. Every time he began with, “Thus says the Lord God…,” he believed his own words a little bit more each time. And he was saying some crazy things, y’all (at least crazy to our natural minds.) He was telling dead bones to grow skin! If we ever for a second think that Christians do weird, crazy things we don’t understand, just know that no one gets “crazier” than God Himself! He commanded dried up bones to regenerate flesh, sinews, and marrow. He summoned the four winds to breathe life into dead bones and then…it happened!

prophesy to the bones
Ezekiel records that God brought him out into the middle of the valley. He led him around the valley, God’s hand gently resting on his shoulder as Ezekiel observed the dead, dry bones. He records that there were very many bones and they were very dry. These weren’t bones that had recently decayed; they were dead dead. As they walked around the valley together, God asked Ezekiel if he thought the bones could live. If He’d asked me, I probably would’ve looked at the dry bones and just laughed hysterically in unbelief. Luckily Ezekiel didn’t respond that way. He humbly answered, “Lord, only You would know.”
This first prophecy helped Ezekiel to use his words. To use his mouth. To declare LIFE over dead, dry bones. God could’ve raised the dead army by Himself, be He decided to use Ezekiel! He used his voice, his hands, his feet to fulfill His plan and He does the same with us today. Our Father has a purpose for your life just as He did for Ezekiel. It might not be to raise the dead (although wouldn’t it be cool if it was?!?!?), but He has a purpose for your life.
He wants to partner with you in this purpose (He calls us co-laborers!) He isn’t looking for robots. He loves the flavor you bring to the table! This first prophecy teaches us that no one and nothing is too far from God. Absolutely nothing is impossible with Him.
prophesy to the breath
Ezekiel must have watched in amazement as thunder rolled, bones rattled and fused together in the air, and flesh grew under his command. Looking back in Ezekiel chapter 36, we see that God makes twenty-one “I will” statements - I am for you and I will turn to you, I will cleanse you, I will save you, I will be your God, I will increase the men of Israel, etc. He speaks first; He moves first. He gives the direction and we follow. Ezekiel obediently echoed God’s words and worlds were formed.
He must have stood in awe as bodies were assembled like puzzle pieces as soon as he spoke the words. But, God wasn’t finished with him yet. He pushed Ezekiel even more out of his comfort zone by commanding breath to enter the army of bodies. Because people aren’t people without breath (ahem, Adam...)
God commanded that Ezekiel prophesy to the breath, not to the new bodies. That breath would come from the four winds and breathe into the bodies, that they might come to life! In dead seasons, are we prophesying and speaking LIFE over the right things?
Instead of complaining to a friend about the ways I’ve been hurt, I can speak life and blessing over the one who wronged me. Holy Spirit empowers us to be Kingdom-minded and to speak life over our hurt places. He will build new “cities” around us that are fully healed, forgiven, free, and loving all because we were bold enough to speak life and grace into every room we walk into.
prophesy to the church
After prophesying to the breath, it came into them and Ezekiel was now standing face-to-face with “an exceedingly large army.” Thousands and thousands of bodies. One translation reads, “I realized I was looking at a great army.” What once was just a valley of dead bones of the slain there was now a living, breathing, vast army in need of food, resources, and a leader.
God told Ezekiel that He could hear the bones (the whole house of Israel) crying out with a hopeless chant, “all hope is gone; our nation is lost.” He gives Ezekiel one last prophecy to share - that God will open their graves, bring them into the promised land, and put His Spirit within them to come to life. Because people aren’t people without breath and Spirit.
Consistent with the theme of the Old Testament, it was always His plan to make a way for His people to come back to Him. He longs to restore us, rebuild us, renew us, and to give us hope. His promise for the church is that He will bring us out of captivity even if we knowingly walked straight towards it. One version says, “I will carry you straight back to the land of Israel. Then you will know that I am the Eternal One.” He is the loving Father who carries us home, just as a good father would carry his child up the stairs to put him to bed.
This is the hope of the church, that He will come back and carry us home. This is the grace of God, that there is no one too far gone, no one out of reach for him. Even the most hopeless of sinners is welcome back into the family. This is the love of God, that He would finish what He started and keep His word.

prayers for dead seasons

Father, You are Creator “Elohim,” the Author of LIFE. With just one word, you create and give life to dead things. Give us faith to see how you’re working in our lives and the new things you’re creating in us. Nothing is bland or stagnant with you. You’re always moving forward, always active, always making good out of our mess. As David spoke in Psalm 33, you breathe words and worlds are birthed. As soon as it’s spoken, it is good as done. Your Holy Spirit gives us the strength, power, and authority to do the same with our words. Teach us how to speak LIFE over dead situations. Fill us with hope and peace and joy so that when we walk into a room, nothing stays the same. Thank you for your words that spoke life over our dead spaces before we knew you. In Jesus’ beautiful name, Amen!!