Verse
[The LORD said,] "When this happens [when the Israelites return from Babylon to Judah], O my people, you will know that I am the Lord. I will put my Spirit in you, and you will live again and return home to your own land. Then you will know that I, the Lord, have spoken, and I have done what I said. Yes, the Lord has spoken!"
Thought
In his later years, Ezekiel lived in Babylon during a time when all hope was gone: Jerusalem, the Temple, and the land of God's people were destroyed. Most of the healthy people of Judah had been sent into exile in a foreign land. In the middle of his people's great despair, God gave Ezekiel the vision of a valley of dry bones (Ezekiel 37). Suddenly, at the command of Ezekiel, the bones came together into skeletons, then sinew and connective tissue were added, and then they were covered with skin. But these bodies were not living bodies. They were lifeless and hopeless until God sent his Holy Breath, the Spirit, to bring them to life. Too often as God's people we forget in the middle of our struggles that the power to truly live comes from God's Spirit. God's Spirit raised Jesus from the dead and God's Spirit can bring life to us, our church, our friends under attack and persecution, and even those in seemingly hopeless situations. Let's pray for God's Spirit to move with power in our lives, in the lives of those we love, and in God's people everywhere, especially those facing trials and persecutions.
Prayer
Sovereign God, I believe you have the power to bring life where there is no life and restore life when it seems lost. So I ask that you move in my life, my family's life, my church's life, my friends' lives, and the lives of your people all over the world. Fill us and enliven us through the Holy Spirit. Especially strengthen and bring hope through the Holy Spirit to those facing hardship, struggle, grief, pain, and persecution. In the name of the Lord Jesus, I pray. Amen.
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