Have you ever felt like parts of your life were beyond change or repairable – lifeless, dry, or perhaps hopeless? In Ezekiel 37, God demonstrates His ability to bring life where there seems to be none. Let me take you on a little journey to shed more light on this topic.

As a medic, I’ve witnessed moments when a person’s heart stops beating, and a crucial decision must be made: do we make every reasonable attempt to restart their heart with chest compressions (CPR), or has a prior decision been made not to attempt CPR?

Here’s a quick biology lesson: when the heart stops beating (Cardiac arrest), blood flow to the brain and other organs ceases. Within seconds, the person loses consciousness. If circulation is not restored quickly, permanent damage or death follows. Even when CPR is attempted, the likelihood of survival depends on multiple factors – how soon it begins, the person’s overall health and the actual cause of the arrest. Despite our best medical efforts, sometimes life cannot be restored. The overall survival rate is approximately 10% – meaning only about 1 in 10 people survive a cardiac arrest outside the hospital.

The hand of the Lord came upon me and brought me out in the Spirit of the Lord, and set me down in the midst of the valley; and it was full of bones. ² Then He caused me to pass by them all around, and behold, there were very many in the open valley; and indeed they were very dry. ³ And He said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” So, I answered, “O Lord God, You know.” Ezekiel 37:1-3

Now back to Ezekiel 37, the bones in the valley were far beyond the reach of CPR. They weren’t just without a heartbeat – they were dry, lifeless and scattered. From a human perspective, there was no hope of a turnaround (revival). And yet, when God spoke, breath returned, bones, tendons and ligaments reconnected and an army arose. The question that the Lord poses to Ezekiel is the same one he asks us today – [Insert your name] Can your spiritual life, live? Can your broken relationships be restored? Can you begin to thrive even in your mundane daily tasks? Can your bank account begin to overflow?

⁴ Again He said to me, “Prophesy to these bones, and say to them, ‘O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord! ⁵ Thus says the Lord God to these bones: “Surely I will cause breath to enter into you, and you shall live. ⁶ I will put sinews on you and bring flesh upon you, cover you with skin and put breath in you; and you shall live. Then you shall know that I am the Lord.”’ V4-6

God instructs Ezekiel to prophesy to the bones, highlighting a crucial principle in breathing life into the year ahead. To prophesy simply means “to speak prophecy,” and prophecy itself is “a message from God.” When combined, to prophesy means “to proclaim a message from God.” The key takeaway here isn’t about making our own predictions about the future but rather declaring what God has already spoken—both in His Word and personally over our lives. So, what is the content of your speech about your circumstances? I’ve previously discussed in previous blog posts that there is power in the tongue (Your Confession is Your Possession). If you have not already done so or have forgotten, my advice is simple – Start speaking life into your situations, then you shall know for yourself that God is the “I AM” -i.e. he is exactly who He thinks and says He is.

Miraculously, when Ezekiel prophesied as he had been commanded, breath came into the bones and “they lived, and stood upon their feet, an exceedingly great army” (v10). I would love to see a real-life re-enactment of this scene. From dry bones to a great army – sounds almost unbelievable. A key point I noted from this is that nothing is too far gone for God to restore – God restores things to their divine design. With CPR when someone’s heart is successfully restarted there may be some complications as a result of doing those chest compressions for example broken ribs. Other cardiac arrest survivors report cognitive impairment, restricted mobility, depression and restricted societal participation after their hospital discharge. The person survives but does not return to their physical or mental health before CPR. This contrasts the Ezekiel 37 dry bones being restored to not only living souls but now seen as an “exceeding great army”. This conveys the idea of being restored to their divine design and then to a stage where they can “fight in an army” and walk in their purpose.

Take a moment to consider – what are the dry bones in your life? As I highlighted at the start these are areas of hopelessness or stagnation. To name a few areas: health, career, finances, education, spiritual life and relationships. An area of my life, that I am always keen on restoring is my spiritual life. Whilst growing up, I noted that there were times when I experienced mountaintop moments – I felt really close to God and my spiritual life was thriving. These moments would then be followed by seasons where I was more relaxed and not as consistent in my daily devotion (I broke my bible streak several times), studying of the word and even prayer. Thankfully over the last few years, I have been more consistent and stable with bible study and prayer. God blessed me with a friend with whom I have been able to have regular fortnightly bible studies. This has helped with my consistency and hunger to study the Word. Additionally, I have a prayer partner who God orchestrated how we became acquainted with one another and now we thrive in our prayer lives. God has breathed into my spiritual life, and as a result, I can confidently walk in my purpose and achieve more goals in relation to my ministry (More news on this soon!). I am persuaded that this year, these areas of my spiritual life will receive more breath and reach greater & higher heights. This is all to encourage and let you know that no area of your life is beyond reviving. In the same way, God breathed life and restored those dry bones, He can breathe life into your ‘dry bone situations’.

The Undiluted Word points for breathing life into your 2025

1. Speak Life over your ‘dry bones’.
   • Declare God’s words and promises over your life
   • Align your circumstances with God’s truth
2. Embrace God’s power to revive and restore.
   • Trust his timing and ability to restore things to their divine design.
3. Seek purpose and walk in it.
   • As always, I am passionate about living life to the fullness God has prepared and destined for us. The book “The Purpose Driven Life” by Rick Warren discusses how to recognise and walk in your purpose, so I highly recommend that book.
   • I have also recorded a podcast episode called – What on Earth am I here for? Listen on this link

I will leave you with this song, which I have had on replay for weeks now. Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments or send me a message or prayer request – I would love to pray with you! Use this prayer point form to send your requests through. As always these will remain confidential.

Stay blessed,

Dara x