My goal is GOD HIMSELF. Not joy, not peace, not even blessing but HIMSELF...my GOD.
No man is greater than his prayer life. 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.
Interpretation
What this quote means
A strong prayer life is essential for spiritual strength and effectiveness.
This quote emphasizes the fundamental importance of prayer in the life of an individual, particularly in a spiritual context. Leonard Ravenhill compares different roles and activities within the church, suggesting that without a genuine dedication to prayer, all other actions may lack depth and genuine impact. The metaphorical language draws attention to the scarcity of true commitment among spiritual leaders and followers, underlining that prayer is the cornerstone of true spiritual life and effectiveness.
Themes
In practice
Example use cases
In a sermon about the importance of spiritual discipline, a pastor might say, 'As Leonard Ravenhill reminds us, no man is greater than his prayer life.'
More from Leonard Ravenhill
All quotes →Prayer is not a preparation for the battle; it is the battle!
Everyone recognizes that Stephen was Spirit-filled when he was performing wonders. Yet, he was just as Spirit-filled when he was being stoned to death.
I find it most intriguing to contemplate the fact that while men are considering what place to give Jesus Christ in history, He has already decided what place to give them in eternity.
The tragedy in our colleges and seminaries right now is that we turn men out who know the word of God. That is never going to turn the world._x000D_ The question is not whether they know the Word of God...._x000D_ The question is......Do they know the God of the Word?
Some women will spend thirty minutes to an hour preparing for church externally (putting on special clothes and makeup, etc.). What would happen if we all spent the same amount of time preparing internally for church—with prayer and meditation?
Similar quotes
All too often people come to meditation in the hope of extraordinary results, like visions, lights, or some supernatural miracle. When no such thing occurs, they feel extremely disappointed. But the real miracle of meditation is more ordinary and much more useful. . . .
But perhaps when you were too obedient, and did not do openly what others did, and were quiet in church and hard-working at school, then some unknown rebellion brewed in you, doing harm to you, though how I do not understand.
I honestly felt no envy or resentment, only astonishment at how much of a world there was out there and how much of it others already knew. The agenda for self-cultivation that had been set for my classmates by their teachers and parents was something I'd have to develop for myself.
A man must not only have faith but intellectual faith too. To make a man take up everything and believe it, would be to make him a lunatic.
I am a human being, not a human doing. Don't equate your self-worth with how well you do things in life. You aren't what you do. If you are what you do, then when you don't . . , you aren't.
Let not a man guard his dignity, but let his dignity guard him.