======================================================================== (CLIP) THE PRAYER MEETING HAS TO BE FIRST by Leonard Ravenhill ======================================================================== Summary: This sermon emphasizes the rise of cults and the occult in today's world, highlighting the decline of churches and the growth of mosques, particularly among Muslims who are willing to die for their faith. The speaker challenges the lack of passion and commitment among Christians, urging a return to fervent prayer and a deep, intimate relationship with God. The importance of a powerful prayer life, like that of Charles Spurgeon, is underscored as essential for spiritual impact and influence. Duration: 3:01 Topics: "Spiritual Commitment", "The Power of Prayer" Scripture References: Matthew 16:24, 2 Chronicles 7:14, James 5:16, Ephesians 6:12, 1 Thessalonians 5:17 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ DESCRIPTION ------------------------------------------------------------------------ This sermon emphasizes the rise of cults and the occult in today's world, highlighting the decline of churches and the growth of mosques, particularly among Muslims who are willing to die for their faith. The speaker challenges the lack of passion and commitment among Christians, urging a return to fervent prayer and a deep, intimate relationship with God. The importance of a powerful prayer life, like that of Charles Spurgeon, is underscored as essential for spiritual impact and influence. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ CONTENT ------------------------------------------------------------------------ difficult us today. We've never had all the cults that we have now. I see the nations being squashed like this. This wall is moving in this way, it's cults. This way, wall is moving this way, it's the occult. And these things are rampant. My dear country of England again, in the last 25 years they've closed 600 branch churches of the Church of England alone, leave out the Methodists and others, but in the place of 600 churches we have now 600 mosques. The greatest revival in the world right now is amongst the Muslims. Why? Because they're prepared to die. You can't scare them. We're prepared to die. Our folk are not prepared to live. Sure they'll come to a camp, they think, ride horses or have, play tennis or some other thing. I know there's nothing wrong in that, but where's the passion? It's young men that receive it. I'm not trying to escape it. I want to tell you for God, I'm in my 83rd year now. I have a bigger fire burning in my belly, if you like, and my heart than ever in my life. And I'm determined by the grace of God to wage war. And I say I've got young men coming 300 miles to our prayer meeting, that's my consolation. I know that Manly's stirring people in his area, building his area. Still, God has a remnant, but the remnant is not enough. We've got to return to the old ways. The fire has to burn. Dear God, the prayer meeting has to become the most attractive thing in the church. You fire the deacons. When I went to the last church, I was there and said, listen, every deacon has to meet me half an hour before the service, any meeting. Friday night we meet at 9 o'clock and pray till midnight. You tell me about Spurgeon. Paul was showing me a little book the other day. Yes, sure he was a great man. Do you know in all the 20 years he was in that church, he never once made an altar call? Do you know what the deacons did for him? They went in the side room where he prayed and wept and groaned before God. Every time he went in the pulpit, the deacons put their arms under his armpits and carried him to the door to get him on the platform. One old lady that visited him, knew him, told me about his prayer life. It's amazing. And no man is greater than his prayer life. I don't care how many church members he has. Somebody told me the other day, you like a favorite verse. I don't know, I'm drumming around a bit. But you know, I think the greatest honor, I don't have any doctorates, either begged or borrowed or burned or anything else. I have no degrees, you can have 32 and still be frozen. But one thing I covet, I want to be one of the ten most wanted men in hell. I want the demons to say, Jesus I know and Ravenel I know, Jesus I know and Del I know. That's why the devils are part of me. ======================================================================== Video: https://sermonindex2.b-cdn.net/koub_18JXqg.mp4 Source: https://sermonindex.net/speakers/leonard-ravenhill/sermon-clip-the-prayer-meeting-has-to-be-first/ ========================================================================