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Approaching God One Thought At A Time

The world out there is not waiting for a new definition of Christianity;
it's waiting for a new demonstration of Christianity.
- Leonard Ravenhill

Stacks Image 1970
Leonard Ravenhill

Few men have spoken to the frailty and failings of modern Christianity so frequently and succinctly as Leonard Ravenhill. His was one of the last voices bridging the gap of yesteryear's wisdom of the saints and champions of revival, to today's challenges and opportunities. As exemplified in his contribution to the Revival Hymn's infamous call to Churchianity, "Don't Wake Me Up!"


A.W. Tozer said of Ravenhill:

  • "To such men as this, the church owes a debt too heavy to pay. The curious thing is that she seldom tries to pay him while he lives. Rather, the next generation builds his sepulcher and writes his biography – as if instinctively and awkwardly to discharge an obligation the previous generation to a large extent ignored."
  • Sounds like it's high time that our generation, and the next, revisit the treasure trove of Godly insight and anointing offered by men like Leonard Ravenhill.


Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.

- James 4:8-10 NIV


Poignant and pithy, Ravenhill quotes are second to none. Equally impressive was his body of work. Written and spoken. With a ministry spanning 60 years, he spent decades waiting on and wrestling with God for his fellow man. Standing in the gap, as a watchman on the wall, for both Christian and secular society. Always with a mind to Scripture's admonition:

  • "But you, dear friends of mine, build yourselves up on the foundation of your most holy faith and by praying through the Holy Spirit keep yourselves within the love of God. Wait patiently for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ which will bring you to the life eternal. For some of these men you can feel pity and you can treat them differently. Others you must try to save by fear, snatching them as it were out of the fire while hating the very garments their deeds have befouled.I Jude 22-25 J.B. Phillips
Holy Spirit Unction, a favorite phrase, was a hallmark of Leonard Ravenhill's life, and let's pray a lasting legacy of this wonderful man of God. And pray he did, at the end of his life sometimes for as much as 18 hours at a time.

A legacy need more now than ever. An anointing that may yet awaken modern Christianity to the dangers surrounding our most holy faith, and humanity itself. All the more given the unprecedented social-political realities now gripping the entire world since the onset of the Covid-19 plandemic, the emergence of the New World Order's previously clandestine iron triangle of governmental, corporate and media overreach and the onset of the Great Reset. A shocking degeneration of the Times and Seasons in which we live, all but assuring the end of the pseudo Christian/American Dream and the beginning of judgment, if not persecution.

Like David Wilkerson, Ravenhill's friend and contemporary, his was a call for Prophetic Christians to enter the crucible of James 4's Prayer of Anguish, and emerge victorious, having fully recovered the Divine Fruit and Gifts of the Holy Spirit. As exemplified by James 5's elders once again routinely and miraculously healing the sick, with the power of Elijah! Thereby transforming what has and will continue to be our darkest hour, into our finest!

As A.W. Tozer noted, the generation of such men took little notice of the trumpet call to battle sounded by such men. Unfortunately, the next generation is following suit. Greatly lacking in many forms of Biblical understanding and spiritual discipline, we've become Laodicea's most consummate and recent rendition. As Keith Green sang, "The world is sleeping in the dark that church just can't fight, cause it's asleep in the light. How can you be so dead, when you've been so well feed? Jesus rose from the grave, and can't get our of bed."

"Well feed" indeed. Not only have we been surrounded by unprecedented prosperity and technology, but we take pleasure in spiritual blessings galore. So much so, we have plenty of reasons to say, "we are rich and have need of nothing."

Then again, that's exactly the very deception the glorified Christ warned was the downfall of Revelation's last of seven churches, Laodicea. Believers representing not only existing Christians in that day, and a tragic mindset throughout church history, but the final church age. Which may well be our own:

  • "Write to Laodicea, to the Angel of the church. God’s Yes, the Faithful and Accurate Witness, the First of God’s creation, says: “I know you inside and out, and find little to my liking. You’re not cold, you’re not hot—far better to be either cold or hot! You’re stale. You’re stagnant. You make me want to vomit. You brag, ‘I’m rich, I’ve got it made, I need nothing from anyone,’ oblivious that in fact you’re a pitiful, blind beggar, threadbare and homeless. “Here’s what I want you to do: Buy your gold from me, gold that’s been through the refiner’s fire. Then you’ll be rich. Buy your clothes from me, clothes designed in Heaven. You’ve gone around half-naked long enough. And buy medicine for your eyes from me so you can see, really see. “The people I love, I call to account—prod and correct and guide so that they’ll live at their best. Up on your feet, then! About face! Run after God! “Look at me. I stand at the door. I knock. If you hear me call and open the door, I’ll come right in and sit down to supper with you. Conquerors will sit alongside me at the head table, just as I, having conquered, took the place of honor at the side of my Father. That’s my gift to the conquerors! “Are your ears awake? Listen. Listen to the Wind Words, the Spirit blowing through the churches." Revelation 3:14-22 MSG
Christ's comments to Laodicea are as interesting as they are telling. Every sentence is filled with layers of meaning, all the more crucial to modern Christianity, greatly lacking in many forms of Biblical understanding and spiritual discipline, we've become Laodicea's most consummate and recent rendition.

Taken as a whole, the passage posses a simple yet unnerving question, "When is good bad?" When appearing as enough yet far from it. Hence Jesus' warning, "I know you inside and out, and find little to my liking. You’re not cold, you’re not hot—far better to be either cold or hot! You’re stale. You’re stagnant. You make me want to vomit."

A dwindling percentage of believers today dare take the Resurrected and Glorified Christ at His world. Who among us would rather have a wayward child be spiritually cold rather than lukewarm? Yet Scripture reveals a different viewpoint.

Apathy, in this case a product of self deception and demonic resistance is hard to recognize, and harder to overcome, "You brag, ‘I’m rich, I’ve got it made, I need nothing from anyone,’ oblivious that in fact you’re a pitiful, blind beggar, threadbare and homeless."

Throughout these verses, and a myriad of others, the New Testament warns that presumption is not living faith, nor assumption Biblical salvation. Such passages include Christ's harsh saying, as well as His promotion of Godly fear and in conjunction with His apostle's application of fear as a vital virtue.

Yet rather than obey and "Listen. Listen to the Wind Words, the Spirit blowing through the churches" we promote more pleasant doctrines and distractions. Preferring the meek and mild Suffering Servant to the mean and wild Conquering King, we imagine Jesus as our Personal Savior, a phrase absent from Scripture.

A point illustrated by the late great Keith Green, whom Ravenhill mentored. In "What's Wrong With The Gospel? Section 2 The Added Part" Keith complains, "It's as if as if when He returns, He will not have two, but three titles written across His thigh: King of kings, Lord of lords, and PERSONAL SAVIOR! (See Rev. 19:16.)
Modern Christendom can be accurately divided into two groups. Those taught to work and play, pray and worship, fellowship and live as largely distracted civilians; or those recognizing the Biblical mandate to become Kingdom citizen soldiers.

While you won't find it taught in many if any of today's seminaries or churches, Conflict Theology is actually the underlying context of Scripture. Widely recognized for nearly two thousand years, the modern world long ago changed course, sailing far from puritanical definitions of repentance and morality, faith and discipleship, sanctification and holiness. The result has been the nearly wholesale substitution of assumed salvation for repentance, presumption for faith and inappropriate worship for sanctification.

So much so, the Cruise Vs. Battleship analogy is an apt metaphor. If Christianity’s a cruise ship, sailing merrily from here to Heaven, then certainly Christ’s costly atonement is more than sufficient passage. The cross of Jesus is indeed all anyone could ever need. If however, Heaven and Earth are at war with fallen angels and devils, Christianity is a battleship and we must follow our Commander and Chief’s example and directives by daily shouldering our own.

Even if Christianity could be likened to a pleasure cruise, given Churchianity’s collision course with so many modern temptations and deceptions, up to an including immorality and the blood red mountainous iceberg of abortion, in certain respects might even many well intended ministries be reduced to simply arranging deck chairs on the Titanic?

So is Christianity a cruise or gunship? We must decide. And do so quickly and carefully. Military directives and drills, cramped quarters and sea rations, would be absurd on a pleasure cruise. So too, civilian itineraries and activities, opulent suites and sumptuous banquets, would be anathema during a time of war. See QC's Water World Parable: Cruise Vs. Battleship.

This doctrinally destructive habit is skillfully addressed by Søren Kierkegaard, of whom Wikipedia notes was a 19th century "Danish theologian, philosopher, poet, social critic, and religious author who is widely considered to be the first existentialist philosopher" noted:

  • "The matter is quite simple. The bible is very easy to understand. But we Christians are a bunch of scheming swindlers. We pretend to be unable to understand it because we know very well that the minute we understand, we are obliged to act accordingly. Take any words in the New Testament and forget everything except pledging yourself to act accordingly. My God, you will say, if I do that my whole life will be ruined. How would I ever get on in the world? Herein lies the real place of Christian scholarship. Christian scholarship is the Church’s prodigious invention to defend itself against the Bible, to ensure that we can continue to be good Christians without the Bible coming too close. Oh, priceless scholarship, what would we do without you? Dreadful it is to fall into the hands of the living God. Yes it is even dreadful to be alone with the New Testament."
Unfortunately, Scripture could hardly be clearer. Our privileged position in the unfolding of the Kingdom of God comes at great cost. And as Jesus warned, "Great gifts mean great responsibilities; greater gifts, greater responsibilities!"

The following sampling of Ravenhill quotes are offered by way of introduction. Below these are several links to hearing and/or seeing his teaching for yourself. GB highly recommends listening to/and or watching (low video quality on most large screens) at least a few to familiarize oneself with a kind of passion for radical discipleship and sanctification all but lost to modern Christianity.


Leonard Ravehill Quotes

  • No man is greater than his prayer life.
  • Are the things you are living for worth Christ dying for?
  • The early Church was married to poverty, prisons, and persecutions. Today, the church is married to prosperity, personality, and popularity.
  • 5 minutes inside eternity, and we will wish that we had sacrificed more!!! Wept more, bled more, grieved more, loved more, prayed more, given more!!!
  • How can you pull down strongholds of Satan if you don’t even have the strength to turn off your TV?
  • The true man of God is heartsick, grieved at the worldliness of the Church, grieved at the toleration of sin in the Church, grieved at the prayerlessness in the Church. He is disturbed that the corporate prayer of the Church no longer pulls down the strongholds of the devil.
  • When there’s something in the Bible that churches don’t like, they call it ‘legalism.’
  • If Jesus came back today, he wouldn’t cleanse the temple, he’d cleanse the pulpit.
  • Prayer is not a preparation for the battle; it is the battle!
  • I’d rather have ten people that want God than 10,000 people who want to play church.
  • 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.
  • The pastor who is not praying is playing; the people who are not praying are straying. We have many organizers, but few agonizers; many players and payers, few pray-ers; many singers, few clingers; lots of pastors, few wrestlers; many fears, few tears; much fashion, little passion; many interferers, few intercessors; many writers, but few fighters. Failing here, we fail everywhere.
  • You know, we live in a day when we are more afraid of holiness than we are of sinfulness.
  • The world out there is not waiting for a new definition of Christianity; it’s waiting for a new demonstration of Christianity
  • Great eagles fly alone; great lions hunt alone; great souls walk alone-alone with God. Such loneliness is hard to endure and impossible to enjoy unless God accompanied. Prophets are lone men; they walk alone, pray alone and God makes them alone.
  • If you want to be popular, preach happiness. If you want to be unpopular, preach holiness.
  • Paul never glamorized the gospel! It is not a success, but a sacrifice! It’s not a glamorous gospel, but a bloody gospel, a gory gospel, and a sacrificial gospel!
  • If Jesus had preached the same message that ministers preach today, He would never have been crucified.
  • In the revival, God is not concerned about filling empty churches, He is concerned about filling empty hearts.
  • Jesus did not come into the world to make bad men good. He came into the world to make dead men live!
  • Most Christians pray to be blessed. Few pray to be broken.
  • Prayer is not an argument with God to persuade him to move things our way, but an exercise by which we are enabled by his Spirit to move ourselves his way.
  • A man who is intimate with God will never be intimidated by men.
  • Entertainment is the devil’s substitute for joy. The more joy you have in the Lord the less entertainment you need.
  • If you’re going to be a true Christian, I’ll tell you one thing amongst others: it’ll be a lonely life. It’s a narrow way and it becomes narrower and narrower and narrower.
  • You never have to advertise a fire. Everyone comes running when there’s a fire. Likewise, if your church is on fire, you will not have to advertise it. The community will already know it.
  • You know, people say that today. “I am a saved sinner.” That is like saying you are a married bachelor. That is like saying you are an honest thief or a pure harlot. you can’t be a saved sinner. You are either saved or you are a sinner. He came. “Thou shalt call his name Jesus. He shall save his people from their sins.”
  • “I’ve got The Father on my side, Jesus Christ, The Holy Spirit and 2/3 of the angels. What do you think I’m going to do? Sit down and cry?”
  • There are three persons living in each of us: the one we think we are, the one other people think we are, and the one God knows we are!
  • The tragedy is that we have too many dead men in the pulpits giving out too many dead sermons to too many dead people.
  • Five minutes after you die you’ll know how you should have lived.
  • If there are a million roads into hell, there’s not one road out.
  • If I was to ask you tonight if you were saved? Do you say ‘Yes, I am saved’? When? ‘Oh so and so preached, I got baptized and…’ Are you saved? What are you saved from, hell? Are you saved from bitterness? Are you saved from lust? Are you saved from cheating? Are you saved from lying? Are you saved from bad manners? Are you saved from rebellion against your parents? Come on, what are you saved from?
  • My main ambition in life is to be on the Devil’s most wanted list.
  • A popular evangelist reaches your emotions. A true prophet reaches your conscience.
  • “Tell me what time you spend alone with God… and I’ll tell you how spiritual you are.”
  • The less power a church has, the more entertainment it has.
  • The Church used to be a lifeboat rescuing the perishing. Now she is a cruise ship recruiting the promising.
  • There’s only one proof of the Holy Ghost in your life and that’s a holy life.
  • The secret of praying is praying in secret. A sinning man will stop praying, and a praying man will stop sinning.
  • Prayer is preoccupation with our needs. Praise is preoccupation with our blessings. Worship is preoccupation with GOD Himself.
  • You can have all of your doctrines right—yet still not have the presence of God.
  • How do you learn to pray? Well, how do you learn to swim? Do you sit in a chair with your feet up drinking coke learning to swim? You get down and you struggle. That’s how you learn to pray.
  • All you have to do is get in a closer walk with God and you’ll find your enemies are in your own church.
  • The church that is man-managed instead of God-governed is doomed to failure. A ministry that is college-trained but not Spirit-filled works no miracles.
  • My goal is GOD HIMSELF. Not joy, not peace, not even blessing but HIMSELF…my GOD.
  • The self-sufficient does not pray, the self-satisfied will not pray, the self-righteous cannot pray. No man is greater than his prayer life.
  • Smart men walked on the moon, daring men walked on the ocean floor, but wise men walk with God.
  • You won’t become a saint by studying your Bible; you’ll become a saint by living it.

Reminiscent, and an extension of the Puritan Holiness Church model, Leonard Ravenhill's clarion call continues to be as neglected as it is sorely need. Click a link below and judge for yourself:




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