Despair seems to be all around us these days. Turn on the news or scroll through your social media feeds, and you’ll know what I mean. The thing is, we live in a world that’s ripe for revival.
Like Ezekiel, we will all face situations that seem impossible — an addiction, betrayal, barren womb, or wayward child. Ezekiel put all his doubts aside and did as the Lord asked, prophesizing the return of Israel in Ezekiel Chapter 36.
The Lord showed Ezekiel a vision of a valley of dry bones coming together with flesh and becoming filled with the breath of life (Ezekiel 37:1-14). This vision symbolized the whole house of Israel that was then in captivity. Like unburied skeletons, the Israelites were wasting away with no end to their judgment in sight. They thought their hope was gone, and they were cut off forever, with their nation dying in the flames of Babylon’s attack with no hope of resurrection.
The dry bones signified God’s plan for Israel’s restoration. The vision also, more importantly, showed that Israel’s new life depended on God’s power to be brought back from a dead state and filled with the “breath of life.” Something that only our God could do.
Today we can see God’s plan at work with the establishment of the state of Israel in the 1940s. The Israelites now reside in the Holy Land, with Jerusalem becoming recognized as the capital of Israel in 2017. God’s plan is not yet complete with Israel, and He’s not through with you either.
God says He brought dry bones to life, so “you would know that I am the Lord” (Ezekiel 37:13). What if we approached each day believing that what God did then, He can do again?
Jesus said in Mark 11:24, “I tell you, you can pray for anything, and if you believe that you’ve received it, it will be yours.”
“…Revive us so we can call on your name once more. Turn us again to yourself, O LORD, God of Heaven’s Armies. Make your face shine down upon us…” (Psalm 80:18-19)
“Won’t you revive us again, so your people can rejoice in you? Show us your unfailing love, O LORD, and grant us your salvation.” (Psalm 85:6-7)
“Create in me a clean hear, O God. Renew a loyal spirit within me.” (Psalm 51:10)
The following questions are from Newspring Church’s devotion Pray for revival.
Praise
- Where have you seen God bring something dead to life? Maybe it was a relationship, a career, or a dream.
- What did you learn about God’s faithfulness and unfailing love from that experience?
Repentance
- Is there any situation where you’ve given up because things feel too far gone or too impossible to change? Where have you lost faith?
- How is your heart toward God? How do you deal with disappointments or despair?
Ask
- What do you want to see God revive in you?
- Where do you want to see a revival around you? Ask God to show how you can help bring revival to your home, work, or community.
- Where do you long to see revival in the church? Ask to fill His church with joy, unity, boldness, confidence, generosity — and whatever else His Spirit brings to mind.
Yield
- Read Psalm 51, making these words your own. If a line causes your heart to skip a beat, pause and wait to hear God speak. When you get to the end, consider what God said to you. The first step in any revival is aligning what we say about ourselves with what our Father says to us.
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