The Heart of the Matter

UV 1663/10000 The Heart of Matter
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
The prophet was given a vision of a valley full of broken skeletons and dry bones, signifying the spiritual condition of the people of Israel. Indeed, when we have no hope, our entire life seems to disintegrate into a bare structure and fragmented bones. The skeleton of a Goliath is equal to the skeleton of a pygmy, implying the lives of the smallest to the greatest, the weakest to the strongest, the lowest to the highest on earth is lived in vain but for the hope in Christ, the Word from God. The hope that faith produces in our lives causes our bones to be strong and well nourished. The dryness of our spirits is healed as we hear the Word of God. The awesome, amazing and wonderful promises in the Word integrates the different parts of our lives as if all the bones are coming together and getting joined one to another.

Once we understand the purpose of our lives is not merely to exist and move around like any other creature of God but to know Him personally, become like Him and share that hope with others, everything in our lives will fall perfectly in place. Then, the Lord will breathe in His spirit once more in us so that we can pray, exert spiritual authority, claim victory and inspire hope in others. As we spend time imbibing the pure and undiluted Word, we will be strengthened in hope. We will receive power from on high.

Ezekiel saw the vision of the dry or dead bones coming to life by adding flesh, blood, sinews and skin. When we have a particular hope in life the reason why it takes time is that the flesh, internal and external organs, the vessels, the sinews and skin are being formed and added to what we hope for. It is like new life is taking birth. The expression “ hear the Word” does not just mean an auditory reception but just as the word ‘hear’ are the first four letters of ‘heart’, we need to hold it in our hearts, believe in it, and the Word should flow like blood to the different bones or parts of our lives – spiritual, emotional, intellectual, physical, social, artistic, financial – and nourish these parts or make them awash with hope. It is the living Word to be lived and not merely to be mouthed or spoken. If we are truly living the abundant life and not a skeletal existence, the Word should be constantly flowing from our hearts. We should hear the Word and it should affect our heart- hear-t where t stands for different parts of our lives :(thought) ( tongue), (time), (talent), (temperament),(treasure). The intention of the Lord is not an airy-fairy spirituality but a down- to- earth holistic growth and development of our lives so that we have our heads in the clouds but our feet firmly on the ground.
Prateep V Philip