If you haven't heard of Leonard Ravenhill, roll out from under the stone you sleep beneath and YouTube his name. Ravenhill was one of the most passionate evangelists of the 20th Century, and that is saying something of a century full of false revivals fueled by false-teachers and cash-bought revivals led by craze-bought preachers.
Sorry. That's my attempt at mimicry. If you listen to many of Ravenhill's sermons or pick up a copy of his book Why Revival Tarries, you'll see that while he has a knack for speaking the truth, he tends to rely perhaps a bit too-heavily on alliteration or consonance.
What use is deeper knowledge if we have shallower hearts? What use is greater standing with men if we have less standing with God? Why strut with physical strength if we have spiritual weakness?
There can be no mistake made about the topic and intent of Why Revival Tarries. Ravenhill is first, foremost, and to the uttermost convinced that the reason that we do not experience revival in our day is because of our unwillingness to pray. Prayer and prayer alone is what Ravenhill says will bring revival, and without it all of our work is vanity. I truly don't think he would disagree with that statement - so read it again and understand the weight of it. Without prayer, all of our work is vanity. Our preaching is in vain. Our evangelism. Our reading the Word of God. Our Sunday Schools. Our vacation Bible Schools. Our seminaries. Our tract ministries. Our prison ministries. Our radio and television ministries - Vanity. All is vanity without prayer.
That is a serious accusation, and Ravenhill bears the weight of it by elaborating on what he presents as the only prescription for a soul-sick and dying people. He speaks from the testimony of scripture from time-to-time, looking to Elijah (who the Bible summarizes with two words, "he prayed"), Ezekiel (whose prophecies over the valley of dry bones raised the dead), and Paul (whose eyes seemed always to be lifted heavenward). Elsewhere, Ravenhill references the great men of faith throughout his lifetime and in those generations previous, such as William Boothe (the founder of the Salvation Army), Richard Baxter (the Puritan and English kidderminster), Hudson Taylor (the founder of the China Inland Mission), George Mueller (of the Plymouth Brethren movement), and Rees Howells (founder of the Welsh Bible College) - all of whom Ravenhill said may as well be amended into Hebrews 11 as having lived "through faith."
In the shadow of these monumental figures, Ravenhill exposes the shrunken and piteous status of Christianity in the modern world, which will spend not two minutes in prayer but two hours in a theatre watching filth.
If Thou canst not do something with us and through us, then please, God, do something without us! Bypass us and take up a people who now know Thee not!
While little can be said about Ravenhill's doctrinal beliefs (perhaps by design), one can tell by a cursory reading of his book that the greatest desire of his heart was to see a true revival brought by God after seeing countless man-led revivals in his lifetime. The constant trend of this book, chapter after chapter, is the greatest of a powerful God in Heaven and his willingness to send His Spirit to do wonders, juxtaposed against a "sleepy, sluggish, selfish Church" that will not submit to Him. He laments the status of the Church in his day, especially in America. His lamentations are only more true today.
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