Last night in church, my pastor quoted some of Leonard Ravenhill's thoughts on prayer and revival. I've done a lot of reading but realized I've never read any of Ravenhill's writings. So this morning, I decided to search him out (with the help of Google). AW Tozer (who I have read), said Mr Ravenhill (1907-1994) was "...the man sent from God to battle the priests of Baal on their own mountain top, to shame the careless priest at the altar, to face the false prophet, and to warn the people who are being led astray by him."

Here's just a small sampling of some of Leonard Ravenhill's thoughts on the state of the church ...

"There's one thing we need above everything else; it's something we don't talk about these days. We need a mighty avalanche of conviction of sin."

"David had one of the most blessed experiences in the world, and the blessedness was that he was miserable about his sin."

"I'm concerned in my spirit (that) the reason the world goes to hell-fire tonight is because we've (the church) lost Holy Ghost fire."

"I'm sick and tired of (only) reading about church history; let's make (some) by the grace of God!"

"Someone asked me, "Do you pray for the dead?" I said, "No, I preach to them!" I think every pew in every church is death row. Think about that! They're dead! They sing about God; they talk about God, but they're dead! They have no living relationship (with God)."

"You hear people say in church, "Lord, You're welcome!" If the Holy Ghost came to some churches, there would be a stampede to the door."

"Do you go to church to meet God or to hear a sermon about Him? How many come to church expecting a confrontation with Deity?"

"When did you last tip-toe out of the sanctuary? (When) you couldn't say a word to anybody (because) you were so overwhelmed (with the glory of God)."

"He wants to move you into the place where your steadfast and unmovable and always abounding in the love of God. Only a risen, exalted Christ can make that possible. He's got to have pre-eminence in my living... in my thinking... in my time... in my language... in all things, not some things. Everyday (every second) should be holy for a man who has the Holy Ghost."