Where are the Pray-ers?

I was browsing through an old book of Leonard Ravenhill's today and came across this statement:

"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."

Oh how our hearts should be gripped by prayer. I have heard prayer described as the invitation into the realm of impossibility. It is altogether sad that many Christians never come to understand the importance of prayer. Prayer to the Christian is like fuel to the car. Without fuel, a car cannot go anywhere. Without prayer, the Christian can never grow. Prayer is life to the Christian, it is our very vitality. If there is ever a time that Christians need to return to prayer, it is now.

Jesus did not spill His blood so that converts can be part of a weak, pacifistic, anemic, social club known as "church." Jesus died so that converts can become disciples and embody the very meaning of church in order to redeem the earth.

When will we learn that going to a building twice a week is not enough? Instead of trying to ease our conscience about the sin in our life why not get the sin out! Ravenhill is known also to have said, "A sinning man will stop praying, and a praying man will stop sinning." We will never rise to our full potential as Christians if we never pray! In Genesis when Jacob desired a change in his life he had to wrestle with God. If Jacob had quit and given up when the angel of God first touched his hip, then he would have never experienced the change that made him Israel. Are you in need of change? Then pray. Are you sick? Then pray. Are you depressed? Then pray. Are you fearful? Then pray. Are you worried? Then pray. Do you have need? Then pray. Do you have lack? Then pray. Are you hopeless? Then pray. Pray, pray, pray! And when you are done, PRAY!