The hand of the Lord was upon me, and He brought me out by the Spirit of the Lord and set me down in the middle of the valley; and it was full of bones. And He caused me to pass among them round about, and behold, there were very many on the surface of the valley; and lo, they were very dry. And He said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” And I answered, “O Lord God, Thou knowest.”
Again He said to me, ‘Prophesy over these bones, and say to them, ‘O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord.’ Thus says the Lord God to these bones, ‘Behold, I will cause breath to enter you that you may come to life. And I will put sinews on you, make flesh grow buck on you, cover you with skin, and put breath in you that you may come alive; and you will know that I am the Lord.’ ”
So I prophesied as I was commanded; and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and behold, a rattling; and the bones came together, bone to its bone. And I looked and behold, sinews were on them, and flesh grew, and skin covered them; but there was no breath in them. Then 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 come to life.” ’ ” So I prophesied as He commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they came to life, and stood on their feet an exceedingly great army. Ezekiel 37:1–10.
What a miracle! Prophecy became the creative force to bring forth the army of the Lord. Will the army of the Lord come forth in this day as the result of some special teaching or some unique wisdom in building churches? No, it will come forth because we have the faith to stand and prophesy to one another.
We prophesy even when there is the illusion that we are looking at bones. We will prophesy them into being warriors who will do the will of the Lord.
We know there are many problems. Sometimes we must battle an illusion of loneliness. Satan isolates us, telling us that no one really cares very much or is too concerned about us, that we must be prepared to walk on by ourselves. That is not true. It is a lie of Satan. Nothing displeases him as much as our determination to walk together in complete scriptural unity. No longer are we seeking our own interests; our hearts are set on the Lord.
When Satan comes against you, prophesy against him. When he tries to create some illusion in your mind or bring an impression or a lie to cause you to react to a certain situation, remember to react in kindness and in love. When you see people struggling with problems, start prophesying to them. Can these bones live? Is God going to have an army? He will if you prophesy it. Prophesy to those bones until God makes them a great and mighty standing army.
The flow of prophecy is going to become directive and creative. How did Timothy receive his ministry? Elders laid hands on him and prophesied over him, that by those prophecies he might war a good warfare. (1 Timothy 1:18, 4:14). Even though we are in a walk with God, we are not yet aware of the real commission that has been given to us. The New Testament churches that God is raising up have ministries who can lay bands on people and prophesy over them to show them the will of the Lord for their lives. They can prophesy gifts and impart them to people. They have a commission of the Lord. People must be able to come into the churches and say, “Here, behold me. I am an old, dry bone. Prophesy to me. Set me in the Body where I am to be. Cover me over. Put breath in me. Have a vision for me. Have faith for me. Can you speak the word of the Lord to me?”
And we will answer, “Yes, we can speak the word of the Lord to you. Dry bone, hear the word of the Lord and come alive.”
The word must be creative. It must bring divine order. An ear cannot grow on a foot; it must grow where an ear is supposed to be. Every bone must be set in its proper place. God is going to bring divine order through a prophetic flow; He will speak and it will come to pass. This order will not extend to the whole church world. Many will not listen; they do not want anything from God. But often an individual comes who is hungry. He has been exposed to a living, creative word and realizes his need for more of God. He is like an old, dry bone, but as we speak God’s creative word, he comes alive.
A new way of doing things is opened to us. We will not try to change the religious world by oratory or promotion. God’s people will be turned loose. They will be unified and brought into a divine order. We will simply stand and prophesy it. We will speak the word, and hovering over the circumstances will be the Spirit of the Lord.
Read your Bible again, beginning with Genesis 1: “The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep. The Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters, and God said, ‘Let there be!’ ” That is all God has to do—He just speaks it. Today the Spirit of God is hovering over men’s hearts in many churches. Some people are enemies of this move of the Spirit. Prophesy to them, for the Spirit is hovering over the chaos in their lives. Prophesy that there be an order, that the bones come alive and become a part of the army of the Lord. It will not take very much—just a moving and a shaking and a few million miracles—to bring forth the army of the Lord.
Do not give up. Do not give up on your brother. Do not be unkind. Do not tear one another apart. Keep your heart open to love. Do not let the illusion of Satan get through to you. It is all a damnable lie. You must believe for one another!