Leonard Ravenhill (1907–1994)

Really important book. Christian books can sometimes be hit or miss and this was a 'hit'. The main theme of this book is why we lack a Christian revival. Now he was writing this in the 1950s and this question still applies today. There has not been a great Christian revival and my generation is the most ungodly group of people ever I would say. Thus, he argues that this is the fault of the Christians themselves; while he does criticise Catholics and communists (definitely feeling the 1959 show more vibe!), he reasons that the issue is that Christians are too inactive and apathetic, mainly that they do not pray. He argues that we do not pray enough, we should be praying people, and not just pray, but pray in faith and the Holy Spirit. This was a bit of a wake-up call to me as I've only been praying for about two or three minutes every day which is not enough. He notes that a preacher ought to be praying two hours minimum! If the preacher is to pray for two hours minimum, the congregation should not be left behind. The preacher does not bring us to heaven but rather helps us get there.

Really important book in terms of my spiritual development. show less

Ravenhill unsheathes his sword, points it directly at your chest, and critiques Christianity’s preaching, prayer and priorities. More accurately, Ravenhill castigates the motives, apathy and sub-celestial propensities that serve as backdrops to my so-called Christian life.

Although written in 1979, much of what Ravenhill writes is applicable to the modern American Church today. It is a call to repentance. It is a call to revival. It is a call for the church to end its charade and get serious about living for the King of Kings. This book is a much-needed message in our world today, evermore so than when it was first penned.

Ravenhill has shown himself to be quite the strong author with writing in such a way that you want to immediately follow his advice. I have found my prayer life to be quite poor recently and this book gave me a good push towards rectifying this.

I rather like his style of personal anecdotes and referencing great figures of the faith. It shows him as a learned and experienced individual rather than a textbook preacher.

This pairs nicely with his most famous book, Why Revival Tarries, and show more compliments one another with this book mentioning and elaborating the role of prayer from the individual to the preacher. show less