“But my life is worth nothing to me unless I use it for finishing the work assigned me by the Lord Jesus—the work of telling others the Good News about the wonderful grace of God,” Acts 20:24.

Leonard Ravenhill, was one of the twentieth century’s greatest authorities on Revival. He was born in 1907 in England. It is stated through his biography that his Mother sang over him and prayed over him everyday while he was in her womb, and that he was in a prayer meeting two hours after he was born. His Mother stated that after the midwife left the room, she reached her hands over onto her newborn son and prayed to The Lord to make him a Preacher or not to allow him to live. He did give his whole heart to The Lord, and he was trained for the ministry at Cliff College. It soon became evident that evangelism was his forte, and he engaged in it with both vigor and power. He sat under the ministry of Samuel Chadwick. Leonard was an avid student of Church History, passionate in prayer, and a practical authority in the field of revival. Eventually he became one of England’s foremost outdoor Evangelists. His meetings in the war years drew traffic jamming crowds in Britain and great numbers of his converts not only gave their hearts to The Lord but also went into Christian Ministry and the World’s Mission fields. He immigrated with his family to the United States in mid-life, where he continued his ministry. He and his wife, Martha, raised three sons. He went home to be with The Lord in November 1994.

He was raised in a God-fearing home that believed in the power of prayer. His earliest recollection of school was that of being taught the Ten Commandments as a five year old as well as having to memorize and recite many of the Psalms. At the age of fourteen he was attending all night prayer meetings, and this was indeed a passion he carried through out his life. He recalled: “ They prayed with tears, they prayed with brokenness. They prayed for a lost world, they then began to pray for Nations I knew little about. They had signs of Niagara Falls, but instead of water falling over, it was people dropping down.”

David Ravenhill writes that his father’s ministry started in England at the age of sixteen. His burden for the lost took him into the streets, where he began to preach to the local gypsy community, and then seventy one years later he was on the streets of Glory. David states, “My father was a powerfully anointed preacher who could bring down the convicting presence of God in a way that very few can. People would begin making their way to the altar even before any type of invitation was given, their hearts pierced by the Word of God. His preaching was superseded only by his passion for prayer. Like the Apostle Paul, “he carried the daily pressure of concern for the Church.” Prayer was his life. Prior to his death in 1994 he told me he had received a number of requests from seminary students who wanted to come and see him for the sole purpose of having him lay his hands upon them in order to receive his “mantle” With his typical dry British humor, but at the same time deadly serious, he said, “ Everybody wants to have my mantle but nobody wants my sackcloth and ashes.”

Leonard Ravenhill stated, “ The Church is dying on its feet because it is not living on its knees., We need to pray for The Power of The Holy Spirit to empower us to pray. Only The Spirit can lay on our hearts a prayer burden for souls. We need The Holy Spirit of Prayer, for it is HE who makes Intercession for the saints according to The Will of God.” He also stated that “Many do not even know about binding and loosing in modern Christianity, though the onus is on us, “WHATSOEVER YOU BIND”….Have you done any of that lately?” “ The Ministry of Preaching is open to few, But The Ministry of Prayer, which is the Highest Ministry Office of all is open to all.” “ The two prerequisites to successful Christian Living is Vision and Passion, both of which are born in and maintained by prayer.”

Leonard Ravenhill was a prolific writer. Some of His writings include why Revival Tarries, Sodom had no Bible, and his mini Revival Portraits.

He was blessed with an exceedingly dry wit with an ability to turn a phrase, an intense love for God, and the desire to see a Holy Church. Ravenhill was one of the true unsung heroes of modern faith under fire.

Sitting at his bedside only days after the stroke that would take his Dad’s life, David Ravenhill wrote this…Tribute to a Godly Man: "I knew a man who gave his life to see Revival Fire. He prayed by day, he prayed by night to birth this one desire. He had but one obsession to see a glorious Bride arrayed in spotless purity brought to her Bridegrooms side. His power while in the pulpit was matched by very few and yet he loved the closet, there with The God he knew. While others strove for man’s applause for fortune and for fame, He had but one ambition, to exalt his Master’s Name. For eighty seven years he lived just for Eternity, a man of faith and wisdom and true humility. He knew one day he would have to stand before God’s judgement seat and so he ran to win the prize, His mission to complete. The fortune that he left behind was not in stocks or gold, but lives transformed and challenged, their stories yet untold. There is no greater privilege than this that I have had, of knowing this great man of God and having him as Dad.”

*** The information above has been shared from Leonard Ravenhills’ Book, Why Revival Tarries and also from The Revival Study Bible. If you have not read Why Revival Tarries we urge you to do so, and if you have, we encourage you to reread it. (Read it and Pray.)