When You Thirst for a Drink from the Well

Can you recall a time when you felt closer to Jesus than you ever had? How about witnessing the power of Holy Spirit moving? When you thirst for a drink from the well, these memories seem to reignite a little spark in your faith.

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Due to some recent surgery and a longer than expected recovery, I found myself feeling spiritually dry. I missed over a month of church and did not have much energy to read my Bible or devotionals. Some days it felt as if God was far off in a distant land.

As the days passed, I acknowledged what my soul was longing for, and that was more of God, more of the Holy Spirit. Psalm 63:1-5 came to mind:

“O God, You are my God;
Early will I seek You;
My soul thirsts for You;
My flesh longs for You
In a dry and thirsty land
Where there is no water.
 So I have looked for You in the sanctuary,
To see Your power and Your glory.

 Because Your lovingkindness is better than life,
My lips shall praise You.
 Thus I will bless You while I live;
I will lift up my hands in Your name.
 My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness,
And my mouth shall praise You with joyful lips.” NKJV

 

Are you dry and parched, too? Do you come to the Lord begging for just a single drop of water? Or do you thirst for a deep drink from the well of Living Water? Maybe you are somewhere in between the two.

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Currently, I am reading through the book of Ezekiel, and I came to chapter 37:1-14, the section about dry bones coming to life:

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.”

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.”’”

⁷ So I prophesied as I was commanded; and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and suddenly a rattling; and the bones came together, bone to bone. ⁸ Indeed, as I looked, the sinews and the flesh came upon them, and the skin covered them over; but there was no breath in them.

⁹ Also, 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.”’” ¹⁰ So I prophesied as He commanded me, and breath came into them, and they lived, and stood upon their feet, an exceedingly great army.

¹¹ Then He said to me, “Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel.They indeed say, ‘Our bones are dry, our hope is lost, and we ourselves are cut off!’ ¹² Therefore prophesy and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “Behold, O My people, I will open your graves and cause you to come up from your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel. ¹³ Then you shall know that I am the Lord, when I have opened your graves, O My people, and brought you up from your graves. ¹⁴ I will put My Spirit in you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I, the Lord, have spoken it and performed it,” says the Lord.’” NKJV

 

This passage was designed as a message of hope to a despondent people whose Jerusalem was ravaged and whose people were exiled. The bones represented exiles who had given up all hope of reviving the kingdom of Israel because they had been in Babylon for ten years.

We can be the dry bones who have given up hope. You may be in a place like Babylon yourself, a spot where you feel exiled. There are parts or all of your faith that you may have left for dead.

BUT, God can breathe life into dry bones! God can revive our hearts, our souls, and our faith. This is the good news! He makes all things new. Yes, God is able and willing to do all this; however, we are responsible for making our faith an active one.

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How to passionately pursue the presence of God and the power of the Holy Spirit:

• WORSHIP HIM

Graham Kendrick, a worship leader from the UK, writes this: “Worship is a response that will grow or shrink in direct proportion to our view of God.”  In other words, if you think of God in small terms, put Him in a box or choose only to believe He can take care of little things, you will just worship Him in a small way.  The bigger your view of God, the greater your perspective of His majesty, His glory, His wonder –then the greater your ability to worship Him becomes.

Each posture of worship says something about both the one worshipping and the one being worshiped.  Hands held up in praise can show joy, hands laid out can speak of the desire to be refilled.  Being face down in front of the Almighty speaks of a deep desire to acknowledge His greatness and worship Him for being the magnificent God He truly is.  I believe one of our most important acts of worship is indeed to lay face down before God and give Him his rightful place.  It shows not only humility and surrender on our part but also the deep desire to know and be known by the Creator of the Universe.

 

• LIVE WITH EXPECTATION

Ezekiel did as God commanded and prophesied breath into the dry bones, and they lived. He expected God to do just as He said. You can anticipate His presence, His power, His living water filling you up to overflowing. John 7:37-38-

“On the final and climactic day of the Feast, Jesus took his stand. He cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Rivers of living water will brim and spill out of the depths of anyone who believes in me this way, just as the Scripture says.” NKJV

 

• PRAYER

Come honestly before God and admit your feelings, longings, brokenness, and emptiness. Scripture tells us we can approach Him boldly through Jesus, our High Priest because He understands our needs (Hebrews 4:14-16). Dare to pray great things as Elijah did (James 5:17-18). God hears and answers prayer; He is always near to His children. Isn’t that a comfort?

 

• INVITE THE HOLY SPIRIT OFTEN TO WALK WITH YOU

The Apostle Paul wrote to the Ephesians and told them to be filled with the Holy Spirit (Eph. 5:18b). Bible scholars believe this referred to a continuous replenishment, an ongoing and repeated filling. When the greatest evangelist of the nineteenth century, D.L. Moody, was asked why he said he needed to be filled continually with the Holy Spirit, he replied, “Because I leak!” Like Moody, we all run out of gas and need the power of the Holy Spirit to recharge our lives. Seek the Holy Spirit to be your comfort and guide as well.

 

• SOAK IN GOD’S PRESENCE

Find time to immerse yourself with God, with your hands and heart open ready to receive. Come without expectation, except to be filled by Him. Let the sweet aroma of Christ permeate you.

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What have you left for dead? What needs rebirthed or revived in your life? Call out for those dead bones and dead hearts in your life to come alive!

 

Music

Holy Spirit by Jesus Culture

O Come to the Altar by Elevation Worship

What a Beautiful Name by Hillsong Worship

 

Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, I will make a tiny commission if you click through and make a purchase. You may read more about that here.

Further reading:

Facedown by Matt Redman

The Practice of the Presence of God by Brother Lawrence

Forgotten God by Francis Chan

Sacred Rhythms by Ruth Haley Barton