Ezekiel 37:8 I looked, and tendons and flesh appeared on them and skin covered them, but there was no breath in them.
I used to play a lot of squash and would start off well, only to find myself running out of breath halfway through the matches. From there, it was all down-hill. This is a picture of many Christians who start off well but finish poorly because they run out of breath.
In verse 9 it says, “Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to it, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Come, breath, from the four winds and breathe into these slain, that they may live’”.
The word breath in Hebrew is “ruah” meaning “spirit”. What it is referring to is the Spirit of God filling these newly formed bodies. When God first made Adam, He formed him out of the ground and then filled him with breath – or the Spirit of God.
In verse 10 it says, “So I prophesied as I was commanded, and breath entered them, they came to life and stood up on their feet – a vast army.”
This vast army is a powerful prophetic picture of the church. A glorious, redeemed church filled with the power and breath of the Holy Spirit!
A key to continually being filled with the Spirit and not running out of breath – is praying in the Holy Spirit. This type of prayer is oxygen for your soul – your spirit. Praying in the Holy Spirit activates your faith – keeping your faith active and alive.
Jude 1:20 But you dear friends, build yourselves up on your most holy faith and pray in the Holy Spirit.
I wake up early daily to pray in the Holy Spirit and here is a practical reason why you want to pray in tongues. You might recall in James 3, it uses an illustration of the tongue in comparison to the rudder of a large ship. A little rudder can steer the entire ship out of trouble. It also compares the tongue to a little spark, that can set a whole forest on fire.
Well, that little tongue can steer your life away from so much trouble and that tongue can also get you into so much trouble. And praying with this heavenly gift of tongues does both for you – it helps to keep you out of trouble and steers you away from trouble.
So, let me encourage you to be praying in tongues daily. Start by doing it for just 15-20 minutes. Sometimes you will go longer, especially as you start building a regular pattern of prayer, but you will find that you will carry a spiritual life that energizes your faith.
It will help you each day to finish well and not run out of breath!