The Valley of Dry Bones - by Jim Tharp

The prophet Ezekiel reveals how the Lord compared His Old Testament Israelites to a valley of dry bones: “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. 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. And He said to me, ‘Son of man, can these bones live?’ So I answered, ‘O Lord God, You know.’ Again He said to me, ‘Prophesy to these bones, and say to them, O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord! Thus says the Lord God to these bones: ‘Surely I will cause breath to enter into you, and you shall live.’” (Ezekiel 37:1-5, NKJV)

In the verses that follow the prophet tells us how he obeyed the Lord, and he reports the miracle that happened just as God had promised. Let us consider the scene that Ezekiel was commanded to view back in that day. He was led out into a valley where long ago a great battle had left hundreds slaughtered. No one had survived to bury the dead. Vultures had long since picked the carcasses clean, and the very dry bones were there. The rains of the centuries had washed them thin, and hundreds of summer suns had bleached them as white as snow. It was not a pleasant sight!

Let there be no misunderstanding about the purpose of this vision! The Lord had a mission for this prophet—Ezekiel was to prophesy. Later we read, “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. 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. 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. So I prophesied as He commanded me, and breath came into them, and they lived, and stood upon their feet, an exceedingly great army.” (Ezekiel 37: 7-10, NKJV)

We read about the backslidings of God’s Old Testament Israelites in several places; in many ways they failed to meet the conditions of their covenant with Jehovah. So to the Church of Jesus Christ throughout its more than two thousand years of existence has all too often failed to live up to the New Covenant of Grace because of periodic seasons of disobedience, division, selfishness, worldliness, and unbelief. This grieves the Holy Spirit who enables us to pray, worship, witness for Christ, and find our place in the Kingdom of God.

Ezekiel’s valley of dry bones is a striking symbol of the 21st century American churches, which seem to be prayerless, paralyzed, and powerless. Professing American Christians number in many millions, but the smell of death is on too many. But the good news is that God’s promise to revive, redeem, and restore life is made clear in His Holy Word in II Chronicles 7:14, NKJV: “... if my people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.”

When Ezekiel showed himself ready to obey God in order to see the miracle of a resurrection of the dry bones, God gave Him the command to prophesy. The call of God to Christian believers is to pray! Prevailing prayer is as powerful as prophesy! I am encouraged by some pastors who understand that they have been too slow in realizing the deadness of their congregations. Church members have grown cold in heart, thus losing their children from the church and losing them to the world. I believe that more and more pastors are waking up to the realization that they need more prayer warriors in their churches if they are to experience fresh faith and fresh fire. I am convinced that God is looking in every community in America for some Christian believers to join His army of prevailing prayer warriors who will pray with hungry hearts for a mighty spiritual awakening in their homes, churches, and communities. We need prayer warriors who believe that our God of love is powerful enough to resurrect millions of dead Christians in our American churches, bringing them alive and empowering them to live a life of faith and spiritual power.