Good Morning Sunshine! God Is a Reviver of Dead Things!

1 Kings 17:22 – “And the LORD heard the voice of Elijah; and the soul of the child came into him again, and he revived.”

There are seasons in life where you can feel like something has died, maybe not a person, but a promise, passion, or purpose. It can be a vision that once burned bright but now lies buried under layers of pain and disappointment. It can be a relationship that once flourished but now feels irreparably broken. Or it may even be your own heart that feels numb from grief, loss, or repeated failure. But the good news is this: God is a reviver of dead things. He doesn’t just comfort you in your grief, He breathes life back into what you thought was lost forever.

In 1 Kings 17:21–23, you can find the prophet Elijah confronted with the lifeless body of a widow’s only son. With no natural remedy in sight, Elijah turned to the supernatural. He cried out to God and stretched himself upon the child three times, and the Lord responded. “And the Lord heard the voice of Elijah; and the soul of the child came into him again, and he revived” (v. 22). 

This was not just about a boy’s breath returning, it was about hope returning to a mother’s heart, faith returning to a household, and proof that God hears and God revives. Elisha, Elijah’s successor, carried the same mantle of resurrection. In 2 Kings 4:8–37, the Shunammite woman received a miracle child from God, only to have that very child die unexpectedly. But instead of preparing a burial, she prepared for revival. 

She ran to the prophet, and Elisha responded not with panic, but with power. “He went up and lay upon the child… and the flesh of the child waxed warm” (2 Kings 4:34). What once grew cold was warmed again. The child sneezed seven times, a number of completeness, and opened his eyes. What an image of complete restoration and divine intervention. This power to revive didn’t end with Elijah and Elisha. In the valley of dry bones, God asked the prophet Ezekiel, “Can these bones live?” 

Then He instructed him to prophesy to what was dead. “Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live” (Ezekiel 37:5). Even dry, scattered, long-forgotten bones are not beyond God’s reach. With one word from heaven, death must bow, and life must rise. In John 11, Jesus Himself stood outside of Lazarus’ tomb and declared, “I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live” (John 11:25). This wasn’t just for Lazarus, it is a declaration to the world that resurrection is not just an event, it is a person. Jesus Christ revives not only bodies but souls, callings, faith, and destinies.

What seems buried in your life? Is there a dream you’ve stopped praying about? A ministry you walked away from? A relationship you deemed too far gone? Romans 4:17 tells us that God “quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were.” God doesn’t just remember what died, He calls it by name and commands it to live again. Even when it seems like time has passed you by, Isaiah 55:11 assures you, “So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void.” 

When God speaks revival, you can trust that His Word will not fail. His timing is precise. His reach is eternal. His power is still active today. You may be looking at lifeless areas in your life with sorrow or silence, but God is calling you to believe again. He is calling you to speak, to stretch, to pray, and to pursue, because the God who revived the widow’s son, the Shunammite’s miracle, Ezekiel’s valley, and Lazarus’ body is still breathing life into dead things. You are not too late, and it is not too far gone. If God said it, there shall be a performance (Luke 1:45).

Let’s Pray:

Father, in the name of Jesus, I come before You acknowledging Your Sovereign power over all things, living and dead. You are the God who breathes life where there is none, the God who speaks to tombs and they tremble, the God who restores what has been scattered. I thank You for being the God who revives dead things,,not only bodies but also broken dreams, silenced callings, faded faith, and dry places in the soul. God, I bring to You every part of my life that feels lifeless. I lay before You every buried dream, every shut door, every prayer I’ve stopped praying. Revive my hunger for You. Revive my intimacy with Your Spirit. Revive the calling on my life that I once feared or ignored. Just as You revived the widow’s son through Elijah, and the Shunammite’s son through Elisha, breathe Your breath into my dead places. Let Your Word come alive in me again. Father, forgive me for the times I doubted Your power to restore. Forgive me for settling in graveyards when You were calling me to resurrection. Teach me to trust You again. Teach me to hope in Your Word. I receive the breath of heaven, the wind of Your Spirit, the fire of Your Presence. I declare that I shall live and not die, and every purpose You’ve spoken over me shall come forth in fullness and power. God, I align with what You’ve announced. I respond to what You’ve spoken. And I wait in faith for what You are confirming. I may have walked through valleys of dry bones, but I believe they are rising. I declare that resurrection power is in motion, and what You’ve begun, You will complete. In Jesus Christ Name, Amen! 

Blessings…

Love, Dr. Jean