CPR

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. (Ezekiel 37:9-10 ESV)

Growing up as a kid I used to love watching Rescue 911. I was amazed at the heralding stories of people on the brink of death saved by some unknown hero. The favorite episodes involved CPR. I was captivated by the idea that you could bring someone back to life by simply breathing in their mouth.

Likewise, Ezekiel found that he could perform CPR on a bunch of old dried up bones by merely speaking the words God had given him. In Ezekiel 37:1-14 God commanded Ezekiel, “I want to use you to bring life to these bones and all you have to do is speak what I tell you to speak.” So Ezekiel speaks the word of God and life begins to spring forth.

This scripture goes much deeper than breathing life into dry bones.

It speaks to our need as Christians to speak the life giving words God has given us to others. We have the power and authority to use spiritual CPR on all those we come into contact with every single day.

Jesus commanded Christians, “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you (Matthew 28:19-20).”

Do you recall the person in your life who spoke those life giving words to you? Have you thanked them for speaking God’s truth into your life? Show God how thankful you are for the life-giving gift you have by speaking that same truth into someone else’s life today!

Who can you speak life giving words to today?

Guest devotion by Reid Wood. Reid is a licensed professional counselor and was a United Methodist pastor for 4 years. Learn how you can become a guest writer.