God's Holy Fire: 'Breathe Life!'

[God] said to me [Ezekiel], "Prophesy to the breath. Prophesy, son of man. Tell the breath, 'GOD, the Master, says, Come from the four winds. Come, breath. Breathe on these slain bodies. Breathe life!'" So I prophesied, just as he commanded me. The breath entered them and they came alive! They stood up on their feet, a huge army.

— Ezekiel 37:9-10 MESSAGE

Key Thought

God took the dust of the ground and shaped it and breathed into it the breath of life, and "the man became a living being" (Genesis 2:7). That is the Bible's account of the beginnings of the human race. Today's verses refer to a time when Ezekiel was held in a foreign land. The temple in which he was to have served had been destroyed, and he lived far from where he longed to serve. God's people were in exile. Things felt hopeless. So, God reached back to the creation story and reminded Ezekiel of this truth: If God's Breath, the Holy Spirit, can transform dust into a person, then the Spirit can also transform a destroyed nation and bring it back to life. God's Breath, the Holy Spirit, brings life. The Spirit brings life where there is none. The Spirit brings life to what is dead. The Spirit brings life to sagging hopes and lost dreams. The Spirit brings life to people who have lost their way and given up. That same Holy Spirit longs to bring life to us, today!

Today's Prayer

O Father, breathe on me and breathe into me your Holy Spirit. In Jesus' name, I ask this. Amen.

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About This Devotional

God's Holy Fire is a daily devotional about the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives.

The Thoughts and Prayer for God's Holy Fire are written by Phil Ware.

Scripture quotations marked (NIV) are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide.

Scripture quotations marked MESSAGE are taken from THE MESSAGE, copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress. All rights reserved. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.