Can These Bones Live?

 

          I took this picture behind a Church in Germany

Can these bones live? Without prayer the Church in the west as we know it will not survive. We (the Church) must recover our prophetic voice. Our prayerlessness has paralyzed us and we have very little spiritual power. As a whole, we have become conformed to the world and we are presently in retreat. Politicians cannot fix our present dilemma so we must rediscover the power of God in prayer. 

During the pandemic, God lead the Church into a forced sabbath. We’ve been given time to reflect on our depth of commitment to the values of the Kingdom. We must ask the question of ourselves; do we value the Kingdom of God more than Church as usual? We can emerge from this season in the power of the Spirit or just go back to a form of godliness that denies God’s transforming power.

God has given us time to reset and reengage the culture with spiritual power. This will require us to return to the ancient paths of prayer and holiness. We can no longer look to the Supreme court or politicians to get us out of the cultural chaos we find ourselves in. Jesus came out of his wilderness testing in the power of the Spirit. The question is, will we? God is going to raise up an “exceedingly great” spiritual army during these chaotic days. Our LORD still has a remnant in the western Church, those who have not bowed to political correctness or to cultural idols. May Jesus restore his Church in our day.

“The hand of the Lord was on me, and he brought me out by the Spirit of the Lord and placed me in the midst of the valley, and it was full of bones. 2 He made me walk all around among them. I realized there were a great many bones in the valley, and they were very dry. 3 He said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” I said to him, “Sovereign Lord, you know.” 4 Then he said to me, “Prophesy over these bones, and tell them: ‘Dry bones, listen to the Lord’s message. 5 This is what the Sovereign Lord says to these bones: Look, I am about to infuse breath into you and you will live. 6 I will put tendons on you and muscles over you and will cover you with skin; I will put breath in you, and you will live. Then you will know that I am the Lord.’”

7 So I prophesied as I was commanded. There was a sound when I prophesied— I heard a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to bone. 8 As I watched, I saw tendons on them, then muscles appeared, and skin covered over them from above, but there was no breath in them.

9 He said to me, “Prophesy to the breath,—prophesy, son of man—and say to the breath: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these corpses so that they may live.’” 10 So I prophesied as I was commanded, and the breath came into them; they lived and stood on their feet, an extremely great army.” – (Ezekiel 37:1-10 NET Bible)

The Watchman

 

My Dad served in the Navy during World War Two. After basic training, he was assigned to patrol the beaches of California at night. Japanese submarines were known to be off the coast. Consequently, diligence and alertness were required of those on Shore Patrol. One of his additional duties was to guard a checkpoint on a Naval Base in San Diego. As a Seaman second-class, he had the authority to refuse to let anyone (no matter their rank) without proper documentation through his gate. One day an officer tried to get through the checkpoint without his ID. Even though the officer threatened my Dad with court-martial, he refused to let him enter. My Father had to draw his weapon. The highly agitated officer did not want to comply with the command of his subordinate. The incident was investigated, and my Dad was fully exonerated.

Seaman second-class Sparks (who later became first-class} was later assigned to The USS Lexington aircraft carrier in the Pacific. One of his jobs on his ship was as a night watchman. And on one particular night, he saw a Bible on a table open to Isaiah chapter 21. Below are some of the verses from the chapter:

“For thus the Lord said to me:
“Go, set a watchman;
let him announce what he sees…” (Isaiah 21:6 ESV)

“Then he who saw cried out:
“Upon a watchtower I stand, O Lord,
continually by day,
and at my post I am stationed
whole nights.” (Isaiah 21:8 ESV)

“…Watchman, what of the night? Watchman, what of the night?
The watchman said, The morning cometh, and also the night: if ye will enquire, enquire ye: return, come.” (Isiah 21: 11-12 KJV)

While reading the Bible, my Dad realized that he was a watchman that night.

As followers of Jesus, he calls us to “watch and pray” (Matthew 26:40.) God has given us much more spiritual authority than most of us realize. We should never let fear back us down from our assignment as prayer warriors.

“And I sought for a man among them who should build up the wall and stand in the breach before me for the land, that I should not destroy it, but I found none.” – Ezekial 22:30

A spiritual Watchman watches out for the welfare of others through intercessory prayer. Just like a military sentry, we must remain at our post in prayer – spiritually alert on behalf of others. When a person, Church, or nation starts drifting away from God, we become vulnerable to the enemy’s attack. A Watchmen’s call is to warn those we are spiritually responsible for and to pray for revival.

God calls some to stand watch over Nations, geographical regions, cities, and Churches. We all have different assignments. But the Lord expects all of us to pray for those in positions of authority(1 Timothy 2:1-4.) Those who watch and pray sometimes receive revelation or spiritual insights before conflict arises. Such spiritually sensitive people should be accountable to elders in a local Church. It’s important to share with leadership what you believe the Lord is revealing to you. Then leave it to the elders to pray over. It’s their responsibility to accept or reject your guidance.

As we engage in intercessory prayer, we become sensitive to the Holy Spirit’s leading. And God may reveal to us the schemes of the devil (Ephesians 6:11.) I believe God gives us insight so that we can pray God’s kingdom into the situation. As a person of prayer, you can influence the culture around you – if you are diligent and refuse to give up. God is sovereign, but there are some things he will not do until we ask him ( James 4:2-3.)

Our goal is to become discerning, not suspicious. And discernment comes from time spent with God in prayer. Knowing and obeying Scripture is essential to our roles as prayer warriors. We must embrace a wartime mentality while realizing that we are at war with spiritual entities, not people. Philosophies and ideologies that contradict God’s truth are weapons that the adversary uses to destroy societies.

No matter the sphere of spiritual influence that God assigns you, know that your prayers on behalf of others will make a difference.