(excerpt from Leonard Ravenhill)
The need of the Church today is for spiritual
millionaires who can bring down the wealth of
the world above on this stricken church age.
It is my solemn conviction that the Lord put
the Church to groan in this groaning creation
(Rom. 8:26) that she might reach millions who
would otherwise groan for eons in a devil's hell.
Are we (who still have coals of fire on our altars)
measuring ourselves by the fireless altars of
neighboring churches instead of checking on
the praying blaze of our saintly forebearers?
THE NAME OF CHRIST
If we today could rediscover
The virtue in that Name,
The victory in that Name,
The violence in that Name,
We could set this world alight for God.
A sermon born in the head reaches the head;
A sermon born in the heart reaches the heart.
No Christian is greater than his prayer-life.
The pastor who is not praying is playing;
the people who are not praying are straying.
The two prerequisites to successful Christian
living are vision and passion, both of which are
born in and maintained by prayer.
The ministry of preaching is open to few;
the ministry of prayer - the highest ministry of
all human offices - is open to all.
Prayer grasps eternity!
The understanding soul prays;
the praying soul gets understanding.
The secret of praying is praying in secret.
Elijah was a man skilled in the art of prayer,
who altered the course of nature,
strangled the economy of a nation,
prayed and fire fell,
prayed and people fell,
prayed and rain fell.
We need rain, rain, rain!
The churches are so parched that seed
cannot germinate. Our altars are dry,
with no hot tears of penitents.
Oh for an Elijah!
Elijah was a man
subject to like passions as we are,
but alas, we are not men
of like prayer as he was.
His whole life is summed up in two words,
"He prayed." (James 5:17)
Watch and pray,
or rust and decay.
No amount of prayer
will deliver us from temptation,
but it will deliver us in temptation.
Prayer is the language of the poor in Spirit.
The self-sufficient do not need to pray;
The self-satisfied will not pray;
The self-righteous cannot pray.
Prayer produces courage and joy
to do God's will
even if tears are shed doing it.
The man who kneels in prayer
has some standing before the Lord.
Many ask God for help.
Few ask God for mercy.
We need preachers
who can preach up a storm,
but our greater need is for pray-ers
who can pray down the fire.
Most Christians pray to be blest
few pray to be broken.
Prayer is not argument with God
to persuade Him to walk our way,
but an exercise by which He enables us by His
Spirit to walk His way.
Who can tell the measure of God's power?
Prayer is as vast as God
because He is behind it.
Prayer is as mighty as God,
because He has committed Himself to answer it.
