Rooted in God (Ezekiel 47:12)

And on the banks, on both sides of the river, there will grow all kinds of trees for food. Their leaves will not wither, nor their fruit fail, but they will bear fresh fruit every month, because the water for them flows from the sanctuary. Their fruit will be for food, and their leaves for healing.
– Ezekiel 47:12

What a powerful picture, as Ezekiel 47 depicts this river flowing from the throne room of God. Flowing from the glory of God in the sanctuary, the temple. And as this water flows, it brings life and fruit and healing wherever it goes. Oh, there’s so much time we could spend here. But I just want to make the connection with two other places in the Bible.

Ezekiel 47:12 pictures the Spirit’s power to produce life and fruit in us.

One in John 7, when Jesus, on the day of the Feast of Booths at the temple, stands up and cries out on the last day of the feast. This is John 7:37, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said out of his heart, will flow rivers of living water”. Like Jesus just said, “I am the glory of God in the flesh. Come to me and drink from this river”. And not just drink from it. But whoever believes in me out of his heart will flow, out of her heart will flow this living water.

And then verse 39 says, “This, he said about the Spirit, the Holy Spirit whom those who believed in him were to receive. For as yet, the Spirit had not been given because Jesus was not yet glorified”. Jesus is saying, “For all who believe in me, I’m going to put my Spirit in you”. Like you are going to be the place, your body, a temple of the Holy Spirit. 1 Corinthians 6 says, “the place where the glory of God dwells and flowing from your life is going to be life, living, water, and fruit”.

Ezekiel 47:12 shows that the Spirit’s fruit is for others’ good.

And then you just think about all the pictures of that in the New Testament, the fruit of the Holy Spirit flowing from your life, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. All the fruit of God’s Spirit dwelling in you, flowing through you. And then just to keep the connection going all the way to the last chapter in the Bible, Revelation 22 describes this river flowing and bearing all kinds of fruit, yielding fruit every month. It’s the same language that we see in Ezekiel 47, but here it’s describing the picture of the throne room of God in Heaven, and just water flowing that brings fruit for the healing of all the nations.

“No longer”, Revelation 22:3 says, “will anything be cursed as the blessing of God flows to all the nations, to people from every nation, tribe, tongue, who have believed in Jesus”. So, oh, so much to pray here. So let’s do it.

God, we praise you for your glory, for your presence that brings life and fruit and healing and salvation. We praise you for that reality in each of our lives. All of us who have trusted in you, believed in you. Jesus, we praise you for the satisfaction and salvation and love and joy and peace and patience and kindness and goodness, and faithfulness and gentleness and self-control that flows from you, your life into our lives.

This verse pictures believers as channels of healing and hope.

And God, we pray that this fruit would flow from our lives. God, we pray for all of that fruit today in our lives. We pray that your Spirit would produce in us, would flow through us in a way that love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control are evident in our lives today.

God, please may it be so in a way that leads others to experience life, others among the nations, starting right around us. God, we pray that by the power of your Holy Spirit in us, your life would flow through us today. That you would give us power, love to share the gospel, to share the greatest news in the world, to bring healing to people’s lives, souls around us, forgiveness from sin, reconciliation to you.

God, we pray that you would use us to lead people to you today and to lead people to you among all the nations. Lord, help us to be faithful. God, please bear fruit through our lives among all the nations, just like your Word says by the power of your Spirit.

Prayer for the Shabak People

We pray for the Shabak people of Iraq today. For 250,000 Muslim men, women, and children in the Nineveh Plains. Oh God, we know from the book of Jonah, your love for the people of Nineveh there.

God, we pray that you would show your love, your grace, your mercy in bringing salvation through your people to the Shabak of Iraq. God, we pray this for all the people groups of the world. May the river of your Holy Spirit in the lives of your people flow until all the nations are reached with the good news of your grace and your love, with the healing that only comes from you, the life, eternal life that is only found in you.

Jesus, we pray all this according to your Word, which we love in Ezekiel 47 and John 7 and Revelation 2, and so many other places. In Jesus’ name we pray according to your Word. Amen.