Revival Praying

“Quit playing, start praying. Quit feasting, start fasting. Talk less with men, talk more with God. Listen less to men, listen to the words of God. Skip travel, start travail.” – Leonard Ravenhill

This week’s quote is from a man named Leonard Ravenhill. I am not sure where I first learned about Leonard Ravenhill, but his book Why Revival Tarries was one of two books God used to ignite a desire to give myself to prayer (The other book was Power Through Prayer by EM Bounds for those who are interested.) It has been years since I read Why Revival Tarries but the fire it ignited has continued to burn.

The quote above shows why I found Ravenhill’s writing so powerful. He was not a scholar – but his words sliced through my excuses to call me to prayer. It is so easy to give ourselves to play, to feasting, to talking with other people, to seeking the opinions of others. And there is nothing wrong with these things in themselves – but they must never be at the expense of prayer. Better to pray than play. If we seriously want revival we will need to fast, to spend time crying out to God. In short, Ravenhill noted there was a price to revival, and too many of us simply do not want revival bad enough.

Such words are still convicting. Am I guilty of saying I want revival with my words, but denying it by my actions? Am I willing to pray, fast, travail, and wait upon God until He pours out His Spirit to revive His Church and awaken the lost? Humbling questions indeed.

If you are looking for books to fire up a desire for prayer, the books of Leonard Ravenhill and EM Bounds are worth considering. They are short quick reads, but they are full of fire to fuel a life of prayer.

Let’s continue to pray together in this summer of prayer in 2022.

In Christ,

Bret