Ezekiel 37 relates a beautiful story that most of us are familiar with, it's the story of the valley of dry bones. Although you may already know this story, I want to urge you to stay with me and continue to read on. I believe the Lord will minister some new understanding to you that will serve as an encouragement to you in your present situation.

Let's begin reading in Ezekiel 37:1-2: "The hand of the LORD came upon me and brought me out in the Spirit of the LORD, and set me down in the midst of the valley; and it was full of bones. 2 Then He caused me to pass by them all around, and behold, there were very many in the open valley; and indeed they were very dry."

Note the condition of the bones, they were very dry. Obviously they had been there for quite some time. They had been baked by the scorching sun day in and day out. They were brittle, parched and cracked, any and all life had long since passed away. And to top it off, they were situated in the valley, which represents a low place of existence.

It's quite possible that you may feel that your present situation mirrors this very picture. You may even be feeling as if you're stuck in the middle of the valley of despair. Life as it used to be has faded away and your present condition may seem to be so dry and lifeless, and may in fact have been that way for quite some time. The symptoms that you've been experiencing may be screaming against all hope that it's too late for you now, it's beyond repair, and quite possibly you're at the place where it's nearly impossible to expect any change.

In verse three, as Ezekiel is trying to make sense of this grave situation, the Lord asks him a seemingly ridiculous question, "And He said to me, "Son of man, can these bones live? So I answered, "O Lord GOD, You know."

It would have been easy for Ezekiel to answer based on what he was seeing, allowing his natural senses to dictate to him and therefore causing him to respond in a negative, but altogether seemingly correct natural way. After all, the bones were completely void of any and all life, just dead dry bones! And who ever heard of life springing forth from some old dead, dry bones anyway!

But he remembers who is asking the question, the Giver of all life, the Creator of heaven and earth, the One who is all wise. And he responds favorably, Lord, you know! What is implied in Ezekiel's answer is, You know Lord, and I'm open and waiting for Your instruction. With that answer and the spirit of faith, the door is now opened wide for a miracle to take place.

Now in verses four through six, the Lord gives Ezekiel the plan of attack! "Again He said to me, "Prophesy to these bones, and say to them, ‘O dry bones, hear the Word of the LORD! 5 Thus says the Lord GOD to these bones: "Surely I will cause breath to enter into you, and you shall live. 6 I will put sinews on you and bring flesh upon you, cover you with skin and put breath in you; and you shall live. Then you shall know that I am the LORD."

Notice, the Lord told Ezekiel to do something that didn't make sense to his mind, to speak life to the dry bones - that barren, dead situation. No only that, but he was told to speak the Word of the Lord to them!

Now don't miss this part in verses 7 and 8: "So I prophesied as I was commanded; and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and suddenly a rattling; and the bones came together, bone to bone. 8 Indeed, as I looked, the sinews and the flesh came upon them, and the skin covered them over; but there was no breath in them."

So Ezekiel went beyond his natural reasoning, did as he was commanded (he obeyed), and there was a noise! The bones came together and formed men, flesh and all! Amazing, isn't it. God said to do it, Ezekiel did, and an unusual miracle took place! What a tremendous formula for success! Could you use an unusual miracle?

Did you notice the Lord told Ezekiel to prophesy to the bones? Let's take a moment and dig into the meaning of the word "prophecy" and see what special significance it holds for us in gaining a full understanding of this story. In Revelation 19:10 an angel is giving instruction to John; "And I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me, "See that you do not do that! I am your fellow servant, and of your brethren who have the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy."

The Bible reveals to us that Jesus is the living Word of God. Two of the many Scriptures that support this truth are found in the first chapter of the book of John. Verse one reads: "In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God." And in verse 14 it says: "The Word became flesh and dwelt among us...." It's easy to see from these two Scripture verses that Jesus and the Word of God are one. So, when the Scripture says the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy, we could also understand this to read that the testimony of the Word is the spirit of prophecy as well.

To clarify this even further to where there can be no doubt, let's read the last part of Revelation 19:10 in the Amplified Version translation: "For the substance (essence) of the truth revealed by Jesus is the spirit of all prophecy" Obviously the truth revealed by Jesus is without exception the Word of God. This is so clear isn't it? The testimony of the Word IS the spirit of prophecy.

When we as believers proclaim or speak or prophesy or reveal the Word of God, which is the will of God, to an adverse, out of order situation, you need to know there is always an action, there is always a noise! You cannot reveal Jesus, who is the way, the truth and the life to a dry or lifeless situation without it being affected by that life. You may not hear it, but be assured there IS an action, there IS a noise. Something always happens.

Get this down deep into your spirit, the Word of God IS life and brings life. We need to understand that this action always begins in the spirit and if we will refuse to give up or change our belief and confession, our miracle of life will eventually begin to materialize within our natural situation. Once you understand this, then you'll know that it's just a matter of time. The previous Scripture in John 1:1-14 support this as well as John 6:63 that reads: "It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life."

The problem is that we don't usually "hear" the noise or realize the action or beginning result when we speak or prophesy or reveal the Word of God, the Testimony of Jesus to our situation - our mountain, or our obstacle. But Jesus said in Mark 11:23, "For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, 'Be removed and be cast into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says." Jesus said so!!! Don't try to figure it out, just simply obey what Jesus said and act upon it. Stand firm in your confession and belief of the Word of God, and watch God move in your behalf.

The devil doesn't want you well, or to move forward in your relationship with the Lord. He is counting on you becoming weary or tired and hopes that you will become complacent in your stand. Remember what Galatians 6:9 says, "And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart."

Now with Ezekiel, when he spoke the Word, the dry bones became men, and an army, but there was no breath within them. In other words, the miracle wasn't finished. So the Lord told him to prophesy again to the breath, that they should live. Verses nine and ten read: "Also 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 breath came into them, and they lived, and stood upon their feet, an exceedingly great army."

Whatever you do, do not settle for just a partial miracle! Get the whole thing. Stay with it, and continue to speak the Word over it until your situation becomes exactly how the Word says it should be.

Many people that I minister to become weary of standing on the Word, even after gaining a partial relief. They just quit. They stop proclaiming the revelation or testimony of Jesus, which is the Word of God, to the situation. I've often wondered just how close they were to the manifestation when they quit. Don't you be one of those who throw in the towel and settle for what seems to be good enough, only to remain in your situation. Use your God given authority in Christ Jesus and command life, speak life, reveal life - which is the truth, to your situation.

This is what I told Dean Davis after he had received a kidney transplant which was eventually deemed unsuccessful after a period of time due to a lack of blood flow to the organ from an undetected blocked pelvic artery. Because of this previously undetected problem, the kidney hadn't received enough blood, which was crucial in those first couple of weeks, and it was simply not functioning at all. The doctors at UCLA Medical Center told him that because of this unfortunate outcome, the chances of the kidney ever becoming a normal functioning kidney were, at this point, extremely small. He was advised that he would have to go back on dialysis.

Dean had been experiencing extreme pain in his legs for many months prior to coming to UCLA. His primary care doctor had told Dean that he would eventually become wheel chair bound as this was a normal progression that he could expect due to his degenerating condition. Basically, the doctor told Dean to just deal with it the best he could as there was nothing more he could do for him.

When the doctors at UCLA Medical Center found the blocked pelvic artery, they performed a bypass and the pain in Dean's legs was eliminated and their normal use was restored. Dean was of course very happy about this and told me, "Well, I came in for a kidney but it looks like I got my legs instead!" I told Dean, "The devil is bargaining with you; don't you buy into it. Since God sent you in here for a kidney, let's get the whole miracle and not just a portion, let's get a healthy functioning kidney!" I looked him right in the eye and said, "Dean, don't you ever deal with the devil, you've got authority over him, get it all!"

I remember the day when I went to go see him about a week later while he was in the dialysis room. The Lord had instructed me to tell him to prophesy (speak, reveal) life to his dead, dry situation, just like Ezekiel did in chapter 37. Dean listened to what I had to say and did exactly as I had instructed him (he obeyed). Later that very day, I received a phone call from a very excited Dean Davis, telling me that the kidney had begun to function, right there in the dialysis room. In fact, it began to work so well that Dean dropped many pounds over the next few days through urination, as he had become so over saturated and bloated with excess fluid! So, Dean not only got his legs back, but received a healthy functioning kidney as well.

I want to encourage you to get your healing promises out and begin to lay claim to them with new life and a fresh assurance. Know that what God has promised in His Word for you is also His will for you. Lay your hands upon yourself and begin to command for the troubled area to line up with the Word and prophesy (reveal) what God has said in His Word regarding your situation.

Cast off discouragement if you don't feel like things are progressing as quickly as you might like. Just stay with it and continue to speak the Word and remember to praise Him for it as well. And as you do, have a heart of knowing that: there is always a noise of action in response to the proclaiming of God's Word, always! Whether you hear it or not - God is working in response to His Word, He said so!!!

"Then said the Lord to me, You have seen well, for I am alert and active,
watching over My word to perform it."
Jeremiah 1:12 (Amplified)

Dan Downey
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Dan Downey 2007
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