Hear, speak, and see God bring revival to your life. 

The wilderness isn’t known for nourishing life. Many times a wilderness has no clear paths or demarcations to determine the way forward. It may be a desert with tumbleweeds blowing in the wind. Or more of a mountainous terrain with craggy rocks and scarcely-found vegetation. Regardless of the picture, a wilderness is not a desirable place to stay. 

And yet, the reality is, we all get lost in a wilderness at some point in our lives. You may even be there now. 

Let me ask you a question: What area of your life do you look at and think, “I don’t know how I got here, but I don't want to stay”?   

Is it... 

A fading dream?

A plateauing business?

An unfulfilling job?

A loveless marriage?

A wayward relationship?

A lifeless faith?

It can be difficult to admit and even harder to face the reality of a wilderness in your life. But even if you have to strain to see glimpses of where you want to be, you can have hope in this: God begins where others give up. He does His best work in impossible situations.

Not too long ago I found myself in a spiritual wilderness.  It felt as though my dreams were dead, buried, and I was headed in a direction that had no life. At this time, I was drawn to an Old Testament passage in the book of Ezekiel. It infused me with hope and gave me a framework that I believe can give us wisdom to transform and bring revival to our wilderness. This is the passage of scripture: 

1 The Lord took hold of me, and I was carried away by the Spirit of the Lord to a valley filled with bones. 2 He led me all around among the bones that covered the valley floor. They were scattered everywhere across the ground and were completely dried out. 3 Then he asked me, “Son of man, can these bones become living people again?”  “O Sovereign Lord,” I replied, “you alone know the answer to that.”(Ezekiel 37:1-3)

Why did the Lord take Ezekiel here and ask him if he believed the broken, dead parts could be made alive again?  It wasn't to show him something impossible and then leave him hopeless. 

God had life-giving plans for Ezekiel. 

He was going to use Ezekiel as the vessel to transform what was dead—to bring life to places that were naturally impossible. 

The truth is, He wants to use you for this same purpose. 

The key to becoming someone who believes that this transformation is possible is in the direction the Lord gave to Ezekiel.  

4 Then he said to me, “Speak a prophetic message to these bones and say, ‘Dry bones, listen to the word of the Lord! 5 This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Look! I am going to put breath into you and make you live again! 6 I will put flesh and muscles on you and cover you with skin. I will put breath into you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the Lord.’” (Ezekiel 37:4-6)

The Lord told Ezekiel to “SPEAK a prophetic message to these bones and SAY,...”  Notice the emphasis on words. God was telling Ezekiel to speak life and to watch it happen. 

You may be thinking that Ezekiel was special. A true prophet. A man chosen by God for this purpose. So of course he could do this! 

But there is more for us to learn from this Old Testament story than just a recounting of one man’s courage to do what God said to do. There is a powerful truth here for you and me, and a way of living that we find illustrated throughout the New Testament. 

You don’t have to be a prophet to prophesy over something or someone. 

Prophesying is simply speaking the Lord’s inspired Word, specifically for our individual lives and the general truth found in the Word of God.  

It’s not complicated. But Ezekiel teaches us that there’s an important element to prophecy. It’s our relationship with God. This is where trust happens. And it’s how we learn to know God’s heart and lean into God’s voice.  

When learning to prophesy over your life and the lives of others, there are a few things you must know.  

First, learn to HEAR. 

Prophesying is not saying what we want.  It is saying what we hear from God.

Jesus said in John 10, “My sheep hear my voice.”  Are you God’s daughter? Then you are His sheep, and you hear His voice.  

So ask yourself: What’s that area in my life that I look at and think, “There are no signs of life here, but I wish there were.”?  

What was the fill-in-the blank for you? What immediately came up in your heart?  

Now, imagine the Lord is whispering to you, “I want to bring revival to _______. What you see as dead can live again.”  

Let this be the place to begin allowing the Lord to shake up, bring structure, and breathe life into your life again. 

Second, SPEAK. 

Now that you know what the Lord wants to transform in your life, what is it that you should speak? 

Start by searching within the Word of God for truth over your situation. Whether it’s health, purpose, relationships, or provision, there are verses that reveal God’s will for those areas. 

If you don’t know where to start, do a Google search. Type in: “Bible verses about  ___.”  

Find a few that really stand out to you. 

Make them yours by inserting your name, another person’s name, or adding your particular situation. 

Now, don’t just say them, declare them over your life daily!

Third, SEE. 

Ezekiel began to speak the Word of the Lord to the bones, but life came back in stages. There were steps for the dry bones to live again.  Everything didn’t come together and happen all at once.

He spoke. The bones rattled.  They came together. The ligaments connected them. The skin came over the bodies. Read Ezekiel 37:7-8 for the full experience.  

At this point they looked alive, but they were still lifeless. This is important! Ezekiel didn’t stop speaking. 

The second time Ezekiel spoke he saw breath come into their bodies.  They stood up and there was a great army.  

Can you imagine this moment?! Ezekiel saw the fulfillment of his words with his own eyes. So don’t stop speaking over your situation until you see the fullness of what God is promising for your life! 

Listen to what God is saying

Speak ONLY His Words and continue to Speak until you

See a Revival of what was dead

In Faith,

Sarah