Saturday, October 15, 2016

The Breath of Life


UV 2095/10000 The Breath of Life
Again he said unto me, Prophesy upon these bones, and say unto them, O ye dry bones, hear the word of the LORD.

Ezekiel 37 v 4

Hearing the word of the Lord is what oxygen does to our whole bodies. It sustains our lives with hope, hope beyond death, beyond suffering, beyond knowledge and human understanding. It makes possible the impossible even as it is impossible for the dry bones of skeletons that have been separated into parts coming together to form a living, vibrant nation. The Word spoken into hopeless, impossible and challenging situations makes it possible. Praying employing the Word is like prophesying to our own selves so that the resurrection power of Christ that is held in each word of God is released. The same power that turned dead clay into living flesh of the first man, the same power that turned the pierced, bloodless and absolutely dead body of Jesus in the cave of Joseph of Arimathea into the resurrected, glorified body of Jesus that could appear and disappear, pass through walls and present Himself to the apostles is released into our dead and hopeless situations. Sin and death are at work in the world but salvation and resurrection are at work in our lives.

Man can only attempt mummification and preservation but God’s power resurrects even dry bones. He brings together the disparate dried up parts of our lives- the physical, the emotional, the social, the spiritual, the psychological, the logical. He breathes life into these parts and enables us to live fully. At times when our souls are dried up and we are out of touch with the Lord, He sends His Holy Spirit to revive us. He sends us a word through His servants, the prophets to tell us His intimate thoughts about us. He encourages us with prophecy. He equips, empowers and enables us to be part of a vast army of prayer warriors. Our weapons are not carnal, causing harm to the flesh and blood but are spiritual and powerful, causing benefit and hope to arise in a darkened world.

Our goals in life are like dry bones but it is the Spirit of the Lord that supplies the sinews, the cartilage that connects, the tendons that connect the muscles, the blood vessels and the oxygenating blood, the heart and every internal organ to make life possible. All our efforts will be in vain but for the Lord’s blessing and breathing upon us. Our desires would be still born but the Lord knows each one and causes things to happen, circumstances to change to facilitate their realisation as long as they are in alignment with His will for our lives. He causes our hearts to throb and our minds to think. He gives us visions and dreams. He strengthens our limbs and prompts us to move in the right direction. Life would be just a valley of dry bones, of death and hopelessness and sorrows but the Lord has turned it, transformed it into a range of mountains and hills of joy and hope. The Word is the breath of God released into our otherwise dying nostrils to make it moist and active with life. With every breath we should intake a portion of the Word, with every breath release prayer and praise unto the Lord of life, the Lord of hope, the Lord of our salvation, the Lord of our strength. The Breath of Life, the Bread of Life affects the length and breadth of our lives, the whole gamut of our emotions, every event and circumstance, every thought and desire.

Prateep V Philip

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