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(Compilation) Prayer Is the Secret
Leonard Ravenhill

Leonard Ravenhill (1907 - 1994). British-American evangelist, author, and revivalist born in Leeds, England. Converted at 14 in a Methodist revival, he trained at Cliff College, a Methodist Bible school, and was mentored by Samuel Chadwick. Ordained in the 1930s, he preached across England with the Faith Mission and held tent crusades, influenced by the Welsh Revival’s fervor. In 1950, he moved to the United States, later settling in Texas, where he ministered independently, focusing on prayer and repentance. Ravenhill authored books like Why Revival Tarries (1959) and Sodom Had No Bible, urging the church toward holiness. He spoke at major conferences, including with Youth for Christ, and mentored figures like David Wilkerson and Keith Green. Married to Martha Beaton in 1939, they had three sons, all in ministry. Known for his fiery sermons and late-night prayer meetings, he corresponded with A.W. Tozer and admired Charles Spurgeon. His writings and recordings, widely available online, emphasize spiritual awakening over institutional religion. Ravenhill’s call for revival continues to inspire evangelical movements globally.
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This sermon emphasizes the importance of ceaseless prayer and the challenges that come with dedicating time to prayer, highlighting the need for private, intimate communion with God. It stresses the significance of being alone with God, allowing Him to search our hearts and read our disposition. The sermon encourages preoccupation with God Himself in worship, rather than just focusing on personal needs or blessings, and emphasizes the transformative power of Holy Ghost fire in our lives.
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But prayer is a ceaseless, you know that. You make up your mind you're going to give time to prayer, the devil will fight it more than anything else. Your phone will ring off the hook, visitors will come. Somebody will say, come and preach at our church. Why don't you conduct a revival in somebody else's church when your own is dead? Moses is up in the cloud there with God, in a blazing fire and wrapped in blackness so nobody can see it, it's private. You see, God takes us to the greatest things in our lives, we're not in prayer meetings usually, it's alone with God, the world forbidden. Alone with God, oh blessed retreat. Alone with God and with him hidden to hold with him communion sweet. I have some of the greatest times of prayer when I say nothing. When I'm too full up, I'm choking. I stammer through my tears. Oh, I could talk and shout like a bull and roar and people say that man's praying and not mean that much to God. God reads our disposition. God reads our heart. There's nothing in us that's not knowing totally to him. I think it was Montgomery wrote the hymn in which he says, prayer is the burden of a sigh, the falling of a tear, the upward glancing of an eye when none but God is near. The man who is intimate with God will never be intimidated by men. There's nothing on earth or hell will scare him. He has a divine commission. The child grew and waxed strong in spirit and was in the deserts. He's in the wildest places that there are. He's alone. You know the thing that most of us can't stand is to be alone. Or you say boy I'd like a quiet hour. You get the off the school, you send the TV on the crazy thing. Listen to somebody babbling about the Bible and prophecy instead of getting alone with God. When did you get alone in your room and put up your hands and say the spirit of the bride say come Lord Jesus not to get me out of this lousy world that's heading for destruction faster than a plane can go through the sky. But Lord your church is so polluted and I'm part of the pollution. As I tell you prayer is preoccupation with our needs. Praise is preoccupation with our blessings. Worship is preoccupation with God himself. My goal is God himself not joy not peace not even blessing but thee. And to get there he's going to do a lot of pruning so be cautious be careful. But if you mean business God means business. Friends we're not going to have revival our way we're going to have it God's way. He may not come in the middle of preaching. He may come in the middle of the presidency. You say well when will he come to me? When you acknowledge your poverty. When you acknowledge he says listen I don't be a hot or cold but if you're mediocre forget it. The church is cold. Maybe you're the key to revival in your church. I'm not going to ask you to close your eyes. Jesus didn't say to his disciples close your eyes I'm going to the cross it's embarrassing they're going to crucify me between thieves. I don't believe there's anything that the devil hates more than praying men and women. You decide to pray your church will be against you. I don't claim to be a prophet or the son of a prophet but I know that the weakest smallest meeting in every church is a prayer meeting. Again if you want to know how popular the church is you go Sunday morning. If you want to know how popular the preacher is you go Sunday night. If you want to know how popular God is you go Wednesday night. Who loses? Well the congregation sang a couple of hymns and somebody prayed and then they said we're glad to have principal George Jeffers he was the head of the bible school and he came on the plant stood there he never raised his voice. You could feel the power of God emanating from him. The whole congregation was ignited. There was an expectation. They did with him what they did with this man. They brought cripples off the street. Women that a woman had been in bed 31 years and they laid her at his feet and he spoke and she jumped straight up. And everywhere they went they had people jamming the streets. They had the most horrible cases of twisted, deformed, demented people. There was no fundraising. There's no asking for money. They just pass the basket around is when they give you gifts. But the point to me is this. There was no magic. There was no show. No pretty girls with tambourines slapping their hips like they do in shows. The glory of God filled the temple. I had the biggest fire burning in my belly if you like of my heart than ever in my life and I'm determined by the grace of God to wage war and I say I got young men coming 300 miles to our prayer meeting that's my consolation. And Paul says when I said goodbye to the world I said goodbye to a filthy thing the world is crucified to me. And he said you know he said one afternoon if you'd come and put all on the altar and let the Lord burn up your fear and your own silly plans and everything else and fill it with the Holy Ghost. And he said you know every time people said something like that Satan said to me it's not for you all you do is sweep the floor of a factory anyhow it's only for special people. Like deacons in churches or or ministers or missionaries it's not for ordinary people. And then he said brother Amos said why don't you bring what you have you don't have much bring it and let God's fire burn it down. He said you know that stirred something in me. I was sweeping the floor of a factory. But he said I when he gave me a chance he said I just bolted down and I got down in that room and I said Lord I'm going to take the preacher's word because I believe it's your word look here I am this is me on the altar. Everything everything Lord. There's not much. You see the devil will torment you you don't have much to bring to God that's not the problem it's how much he has to bring to you. There's nothing more attractive on this earth than fire. Whether it's physical or spiritual fire is the most attractive. Our God is a consuming fire. And the only answer to hellfire is Holy Ghost fire. I don't really want his protection I want my heart my spirit over the habitation of God. We're all in a primary we're all on probation here. Graduation day is there. Not for being a famous preacher or write wonderful books but our Christ like we are. Doesn't doesn't devil care what we have? All he's worried about is that you catch fire and then your church catches fire. You see God used the same material before they were flesh and blood many of them were fallible. Paul was saying this morning some of them made great mistakes but God looks on the heart and they were able to see great movings of the spirit of God. But prayer is a secret you know that. But prayer is a secret you know that.
(Compilation) Prayer Is the Secret
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Leonard Ravenhill (1907 - 1994). British-American evangelist, author, and revivalist born in Leeds, England. Converted at 14 in a Methodist revival, he trained at Cliff College, a Methodist Bible school, and was mentored by Samuel Chadwick. Ordained in the 1930s, he preached across England with the Faith Mission and held tent crusades, influenced by the Welsh Revival’s fervor. In 1950, he moved to the United States, later settling in Texas, where he ministered independently, focusing on prayer and repentance. Ravenhill authored books like Why Revival Tarries (1959) and Sodom Had No Bible, urging the church toward holiness. He spoke at major conferences, including with Youth for Christ, and mentored figures like David Wilkerson and Keith Green. Married to Martha Beaton in 1939, they had three sons, all in ministry. Known for his fiery sermons and late-night prayer meetings, he corresponded with A.W. Tozer and admired Charles Spurgeon. His writings and recordings, widely available online, emphasize spiritual awakening over institutional religion. Ravenhill’s call for revival continues to inspire evangelical movements globally.