We are going to look at a prophecy from Ezekiel. You are likely familiar with this prophecy. It’s the prophecy of the Dry Bones. Recently I was studying this and the Lord showed me something really cool! 

Let’s read the prophecy and then we will discuss it. 

“The hand of the Lord was upon me, and he brought me out in the Spirit of the Lord and set me down in the middle of the valley; it was full of bones. And he led me around among them, and behold, there were very many on the surface of the valley, and behold, they were very dry. And he said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” And I answered, “O Lord God, you know.” 

Then 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, and you shall live. And I will lay sinews upon you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live, and you shall know that I am the Lord.” 

So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I prophesied, there was a sound, and behold, a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to its bone. And I looked, and behold, there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had 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 may live.” 

So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived and stood on their feet, an exceedingly great army. Then he said to me, “Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. Behold, they say, ‘Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are indeed cut off.’ 

Therefore prophesy, and say to them, Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will open your graves and raise you from your graves, O my people. And I will bring you into the land of Israel. And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves, and raise you from your graves, O my people. And I will put my Spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I am the Lord; I have spoken, and I will do it, declares the Lord.” Ezekiel‬ ‭37‬:‭1‬-‭14‬ ‭(ESV‬‬)

What is prophecy?

“Then he  (God) said to me, “Prophesy over these bones, and say to them…

Then he (God) said to me, “Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath…””

Ezekiel‬ ‭37‬:‭4‬, ‭9‬ ‭(ESV)‬‬

“So I prophesied as I was commanded…

So I prophesied as he commanded me…”

Ezekiel‬ ‭37‬:‭7‬, ‭10‬ ‭(ESV)‬‬

Prophecy is declaring what the Lord has already declared over a situation. In each of these times God says to Ezekiel, “Prophecy and say…” Then we see Ezekiel obeying and saying exactly what the Lord told him to say. 

As ambassadors aka representatives of God on earth, we need to be very careful of declaring what God has to say about a situation. When we say God said something we are actually putting God’s identity on the situation. 

God told Ezekiel to declare life and breath over the valley of dry bones. When God saw the valley of dry bones, he didn’t see death and hopelessness. Instead of death God saw life. When God put his identity aka words over the valley of dry bones, suddenly there was hope and life. 

When someone declares that God has said something that he never said, or twists the words of God to mean something completely different, that person is not only misrepresenting God to the people, but he is putting a false identity on that person and situation. 

A prophet in a way is being the voice of God in a situation. This is why I am very hesitant to declare to anyone that God says anything over their life. Likewise, if I don’t know a person, I am very cautious about going to them for a prophetic word.  

I know there are false prophets who are getting information from demons who sometimes try to infiltrate the church to get the church to turn away from God and his will, and turn toward Satan and his will. I want to know for sure that the person prophesying to me actually walks with the true Holy Spirit. 

I never take what anyone says as the gospel truth. I always take those words to the Lord and ask him what he thinks. If you get a check in your spirit, don’t allow that person to speak prophecy into your life. It’s ok to say no to those things in order to protect you from cursing instead of blessing. 

Someone who is truly a prophet from God will be humble and accepting of your hesitation. They won’t or at least shouldn’t take offense to someone not wanting to hear from them. 

What I Do

How do I go about giving a word from the Lord when I am talking to a stranger, or really anyone for that matter? I realize that the person I am talking to needs to hear from the Lord for themselves. Sometimes I will hold back saying what I am hearing in order to allow time for that person to talk to God about the situation. 

Just because I hear a word from the Lord does not mean I have to release it. Oftentimes time is on your side in these things. Giving time for the person to hear from the Lord allows for you to also get confirmation that the word you perceived from the Lord is actually from the Lord. 

Real Life Example

A few years ago a good friend of mine was talking to a man who used to attend the house church my husband and I lead. He was telling her about a possible job opportunity. As I was listening to them talk, I had an overwhelming feeling from the Holy Spirit that she was supposed to pursue this job. 

Even though I had such a strong feeling from the Holy Spirit, I decided to hold onto this word, and wait for the right time to release it. The timing for the release of this word happened a couple of years later. 

You see, there were some things that my friend had to go through, and some things the place where she would eventually work had to change and grow before she would actually work there. If I had jumped on telling her that I felt like God said she was going to work there (which was a true word from God), she may have gone there prematurely and things wouldn’t have been in God’s timing. 

So, waiting for God’s timing to release a word is imperative. When you feel like you are getting a word from the Lord for someone else, ask God if now is the right time to release it. Sometimes now will be the time, and other times later will be the answer. 

People need to seek God for themselves

When I am in a situation and I feel the Lord wanting me to tell someone that will directly affect decisions they will make, I am always careful to say things like, “Take this for what it’s worth.” or “I feel like this may be a good path.” or “Have you thought about this?” and most importantly, “Pray about it. Ask the Lord about this.” 

I never want to be the voice of God to others. While I do believe in asking for guidance and counsel from other believers, I never want someone to take what I say as 100% God’s words. I want them to go to God for themselves and discover what God wants to show and say to them personally. 

It’s more important to me that you have a growing and thriving relationship with God, than for me to clearly hear from God and tell you. 

I am not your mediator. Jesus is. 

“For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,” ‭‭1 Timothy‬ ‭2‬:‭5‬ ‭(ESV‬‬)

I caution you to be leery of anyone who wants to be the voice of God in your life. Watch out for people who come to you with a word from the Lord, but don’t allow you to disagree with them. 

If you disagree and they say something like, “Don’t you want to obey God?” This is a HUGE red flag that they are attempting to usurp your personal relationship with God and they are likely not hearing from the Spirit of God in this situation. 

• True prophets of God are aware of the weight of God’s words and declaring God said something when he didn’t actually say that. 

• True prophets of God will always make room for their own humanity.

• True prophets of God will always encourage you to have your own relationship with God and hear what he has to say for yourself. 

• True prophets are humble, not proud. 

• True prophets encourage people to seek the Lord for confirmation. 

• True prophecy should confirm what the Lord is already telling you. You shouldn’t be getting a word to drastically change your life without having God tell you first!