The Lord's Prayer — Leonard Ravenhill

Christ's Resurrection and Witnesses

Of your Holy Word. We think of the Apostle writing that 15th chapter in Corinthians there, where he declares the resurrection that Jesus was seen of women and men and men of five hundred brethren at once and he says finally last of all he was seen of me also.

Christ Holds the Keys of Death and Hades

But Lord we thank you that right at the end of the line in Revelation you declare it yourself I am he that liveth and was dead and behold I am alive forevermore and I have the keys of death and of hell.

Lord our destiny is not in the hands of the government, not in the hands of the politicians not in the hands of Russia not in the hands of flu germs or anything else. You have the keys of death and of hell for every one of us.

Jesus as the Resurrection and the Judge of All

We thank you Lord you said I am the resurrection and the life we think how startled they must have been when Lazarus walked out from the grave. How startled they must have been Lord when you rose from the dead because it says many that slept that have been asleep.

They rose also and walked around the city. But Lord we think of that awesome day because you said everyone shall hear the voice of the Son of God whether they were popes or princes or poverty stricken whether they were savages or cultured.

Nobody from Adam to the last person before the final trumpet sound will escape your word. Your voice is the key to every tomb in the universe. Whether it's the great tombs that we had in England of kings and famous people or whether it's the man that was rubbed out by Moses and pushed under the under the sand or the voice of the Son of God they're going to rise Lord this world is reeking with injustice injustice and corruption.

But we thank you that one day there's going to be a reign of righteousness that one day Jesus shall reign wherever the sun doth its successive journeys run his kingdom stretch from shore to shore till moon shall wax and wane no more.

The Remnant and the High Priest

How we bless you tonight that this is true in our lives. What we've already sung is an anthem of praise and gratitude. Years we spent in vanity and pride. We think of others Lord in areas tonight Las Vegas and elsewhere even many churches full of amusement and sport still in vanity still in pride.

But Lord we bless you that there's still a remnant and will be a remnant till Jesus comes who love the Lord with all their heart, soul, mind and strength. We thank you appointed a place and we thank you that because of Calvary we're able to draw nigh to thee tonight.

For the one who at the end of the age appeared after millions of bullocks had been slain after thousands of priests and high priests had died. There came one who became the supreme high priest. He became the altar, he became the sacrifice, he became the priest.

We thank you that he made one payment in his own blood as the writings of the Hebrew says he hath by himself. We're glad Lord he doesn't need the Virgin Mary to help him or anybody else. He hath by himself.

Adam, the Last Adam, and Holiness

By one man's sin disobedience sent into the world and made us away from God born with our faces from God. But we thank you for a more stupendous miracle that by one man not the second Adam but the last Adam came.

As one has said O loving wisdom of our God when all was sin and shame another Adam to the fight and to the rescue came. O wisest love that flesh and blood which did in Adam fail should rise again. We thank you that the last Adam restored everything that the first Adam destroyed.

As Isaac Watt said in his hymn, in hymn in Christ the tribes of Adam boast more blessings than their fathers lost. We cannot be restored to innocence but we can be restored to purity. We can walk in holiness, we can walk in the same relationship with God that Enoch had.

We can cry to the same God Elijah cried to on Mount Carmel. The same God that heard the prayer of Jonah when he was at the bottom of the Mediterranean. And he said from the belly of hell. I cried, Lord there are people crying from the belly of hell in Russia tonight.

From the belly of hell in Afghanistan. From the belly of hell in China. Lord I thank you for every blood-bought person tonight. I see a verse of that is a fountain filled with blood. Dying thief. You may be a living thief but the dying thief rejoiced to see the dying thief, dear dying lamb my precious blood.

Dear dying lamb my precious blood. The ransomed church we've got a good brother here. From where, where are you from brother, Nigeria? Are you from Nigeria brother? Well I'm going to ask him to pray, I'm going to tell him not he could pray all night, but I want you to thank God for the precious blood tonight brother.

Thank him for what it means in your life and your people what it has to mean for our generation. If it doesn't we're damned. We're going to have to get out of our straight laced, straight jackets. We're going to get moved by the Holy Ghost, that word is haunting me today that holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.

It's not doctrine and creed that we want, God knows it's stacked to high heaven everywhere. It's the very life of God we need, the life of God in the soul of man. And this dear brother is from a foreign country, they're having blessing there but I'd love to hear him pray, I'm going to ask him to pray now if he prays more than 10 minutes I'll say amen.

Pray dear brother, bless you.

Prayer for Salvation, Adoption, and God's Power

The Lord God of, while you were listening, Christ died. Yes, yes. And scripture says this is the wife, faithful faith, that Christ came. Yes yes. We thank you for the freedom that we have in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Yes. We thank you for the authority in his name. Yes. We thank you for the seal and power in his blood. We thank you for your promises that are near and dear. Yes we thank you God because of your kindness and your patience.

Because when we look, if you want, I do, I do ask questions within my heart. Why is God still preserving the world till today? Why are the children of men still alive? The scripture says God does not want anyone to perish but to come to the blessed family first.

Yes because it is the will of the Lord that all men be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth that this God preserves the world for nothing else but that they might be saved. Yes, yes. So dear father, we thank you Lord that when we are still alive we hear this glorious gospel.

Yes we thank you Lord that by your special grace we can cry unto you as our father. Yes. We thank you God, we thank you God for the spirit of adoption. Yes. We thank you God for the privilege we have in prayer.

Yes whenever we come before you. Yes you are the Lord God that was and is and is to come. Yes you are the Lord God of Jehoshaphat. And you are the Lord God of today. Yes. All the children of Moab and the people from other places came to wage war against Jehoshaphat.

Jehoshaphat went into the house of God with the people of Israel. And they cried unto God with passion and prayer. And God like ambushed against Jehoshaphat. Yes, yes. The God who answered the cry, answered the cry of Ezekiah and God is great.

The host of Sennacherib. You are the Lord God who heard the cry of Esther and Mordecai and the whole Jews. And the blood of Haman was prostrated. Yes Heavenly Father you say you are the Lord, you change not.

We trust in your grace. Yes. We trust in your power. Yes we trust in your love. We do not disown you but because you love us. Yes. You know that through our cry, our prayer, through the, because of the suffering, death and recovery.

Yes Jesus Christ in our time we can move mountains. In our time we can turn the rest into fire. In our time we can close the mouth of lions. In our time we can spread the serpent and scorpion and over all founts of the enemy.

For it is written that the earth is the Lord and his fullness thereof. So we believe that the whole earth belongs to him. Because of this simple fact Father, thou the King of the nations thou the head in the kingdom of men we gather here tonight.

A Prayer for Cleansing and Revival

We pray first of all that you look into our heart. You are holy God who cannot behold sin. Sin cannot stay with you. We pray. We pray that for Christ's sake. Yes, in his name for Christ's sake. Lord, let a new walk be wrought in our hearts tonight.

We do not want to shed crocodile tears. We do not want to cry hypocritically. We want to be sincere. We want to cry as you will answer. Yes. Because we are loving God. Because we are kind God. Because we are patient God.

We pray that you walk in the path of every person that is present here tonight. That our request, our fear, our prayer will come up to thee. That wherever we ask you to walk you will begin to walk right from this night.

That wherever we ask you to close door you will close the door right from this night. That wherever we ask you to open the door for the gospel you begin to open the door for this night. Father in heaven in the name of Jesus Christ.

We pray that you cleanse every heart. We pray that you forge our whole life. We pray that you kindle the fire of revival within us. Because we want to pray for others before we pray for others that I must be fully resurrected.

The Heavenly Father Almighty God the Father of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Look down on us for this night with the eyes of mercy with the eyes of compassion and cleanse every heart and forge our whole being in the name of Jesus Christ.

Dry Bones and Spiritual Resurrection

You know where we are at. You know where we have gotten licked like fire. You know where we are blind. You know how little foxes are eating up our vines every day. You know where we are careless. We are blind.

We are deaf. You know where we are ignorant. But God thou the only white God we believe you can make us white. You can open our eyes to see. You can open our ears to hear. You can open our heart to understand in the name of Jesus Christ as your hand was upon Ezekiel and your spirit in him you took him to the body that was full of dry bones and he prophesied to the dry bones and the dry bones came to life.

We believe you can do the same in our lives this night. Yes in the name of Jesus Christ. We see God again in this place God in the name of Jesus. Yes we need you in our life. We need you in our home. We need you in our church.

We need you in our ministry. We need you from morning to the night. Yes we need you throughout the night. We need you every day every Friday. Bless him. Resurrect our lives in the name of Jesus Christ.

Resurrect our lives and make us alive indeed in the name of Jesus Christ. As I could understand this is a mountain. Moses went to the mountain. He did not remain the same. Joshua followed him. He was not the same.

All the people that went to the mountain they came back. Changed. We want to leave this house changed this night. Yes my son father in the name of Jesus. We pray before we begin to spread our prayer to outsiders to people outside their home before that once your word in our whole being rise from the head to our toes in the name of Jesus Christ.

Please be taught afresh in Jesus name. Yes thank you lord father this flesh. We don't know what we can call it but you know you are told us that when we walk in spirit we shall not fulfill. Amen. Good father.

Crucifying the Flesh and Seeking God's Will

We want this flesh to be totally crucified. We want it to be totally dead. We want to move by the spirit not the flesh moving up. Not the flesh controlling us not the flesh directing us. If the spirit is directing the body and the soul.

Father in the name of Jesus Christ. This is the miracle. This is the surgery the surgical work we want you to perform in our lives. This is the dawn this week this time this day in the name of Jesus Christ.

I have said I read in the scripture that those people that are going to be martyred he said lord advise them for they shall receive me in time. He tells me how to do his work. He's working every day. He has a lot of his ambassadors who will represent you.

God if you don't walk in our lives. If you don't unify us all. If you don't raise us up. If our eyes is truly open we shall be able to say like I said here am I lord send me in the name of Jesus Christ.

We beseech you God Almighty that you resurrect our lives totally in the name of Jesus Christ. I remember when Elijah was translated to heaven. Elijah followed him from Bethel to Jericho from Jericho to Jordan.

And all the sons of the prophet were laughing. Did you know that so and so is going to happen this day. Elijah said I know hold your peace. I don't ask you stories. I don't ask you anything. Elijah knew what he was pursuing.

He knew that Elijah was about to go but he wants to succeed. Elijah Father in heaven. We must be successors of the apostles. We must represent you here Father in the name of Jesus Christ have mercy on us this night.

Prayer for the Fire of the Spirit

We want you to perform a miracle in our lives individually in the life of every brother in the life of every sister so that our eyes will see clearly and start from on high. We depend on us that our eyes, our faces will be able to deny.

We will not be able to hide. But we shall be what he wants us to be in the name of Jesus Christ. Let it be so this night.

Let it be so this night.

Oh God in the name of Jesus Christ. Many times so fire of the spirit is cleansing within us within a short time is cleansing him. We are beseeching you heavenly father. We are expecting the fire that is the kingdom and it will not quench it here.

It will be burning continue burning burning our faith. It will sunny our home. It will be known everywhere. When Elijah come back from where Elijah was translated the whole sons of the prophets they came and they bowed down before Elijah.

They said Elijah has God the spirit of Elijah. Father. Father apostle Paul is no more here. Apostle Peter is no more here. Stephen is no more here. We are the ones to have the same spirit the same vision the same power the same body the same compassion which they have got from their lord and savior Jesus Christ in the name of Jesus Christ.

Lord I ask you so the grave of Lazarus and Lazarus came out of the grave. Can you speak to our lives this night in the name of Jesus Christ that every one of us have been resurrected with the God voice of our grave in man.

Wake us up in the name of Jesus Christ. Yes. Yes. Thank you father. Yes thank you. We thank you. Yes son we thank you holy spirit. We thank you have said that anything according to the will of God is bearable.

Yes. So we believe you have passed. We believe you have started working. Now by faith in the name of Jesus Christ we can go up. We can rise up against the devil. Not by our minds not by our power not by our principles not by our methods.

Pulling Down Spiritual Strongholds

But as you finish the work of redemption of the cross of Calvary. Yes yes. Where you can tell the devil you have no place to stay here. We belong to God and he has given us authority over you that we shall resist the devil and he will flee away from us.

Father he tells us we are much concerned about our mission in this country. Even the groups of many churches where the devil is really working blinding people are closing. People are here. They don't hear the cry of the needy.

They don't see there that the devil has locked in his cage. They don't have the mind the heart to grow and to reach. Father in heaven. We call this night against the devil. Against principality and power against every walk of darkness against all the representatives of the devil in the name of Jesus Christ.

Be gone the devil in Jesus' name wherever you have built your stronghold. We remind you this night that the weapons of our warfare are not cannon but powerful in the living God to break down strongholds.

Therefore the stronghold of the enemy Satan in many churches in our time we begin to pull them down in the name of Jesus Christ. Stronghold of worldliness. Stronghold of charnel living charnel Christian life.

Easygoing Christian life. Say, you see, I'm weak. I can't do that. I am weak. I am weak. When Paul says I can do all things. Where do we get our own philosophy of weakness? Weakness, weakness. Weakness becomes rich.

Weakness becomes far. Weakness becomes rich. Weakness becomes in the Bible weakness of everything. All forces of darkness that are responsible to weakness to charnel, to worldliness in the name of Jesus Christ we are pulling down strongholds of the enemy in Jesus' name.

Spiritual Awakening and Cleansing the Church

We pray that the Spirit of God should call to the Bible in different churches in different times that they will see the true spiritual picture of our nation of our country. They will see the true spiritual picture of every land how the devil is covering the land here and there all the day.

Father in heaven we are praying for the spiritual awakening of churches. Father let in the soul in Jesus' name. We believe you can do it. We believe it is your will to do it. Our heart is to speak the faith.

Our heart is to pray. Our heart is to decree. Our heart is to long after you. And so we are doing by your special grace this day. We pray in the name of Jesus Christ. That you enter into churches and you enter into the temple in those days.

And when you enter the temple you see they that were selling that were buying and they that were making exchange of money. And you say what? In my father's house. In my father's house that we call the house of prayer.

Enjoy it. What is happening on the street on the marketplace and you overlook but in your temple you can't enjoy it. You say you will and you whip out those that were selling that were buying. So we are spreading our hand of prayer tonight into churches where the devil is setting on fire full on persecution.

Many thousands of church members are sitting on the fence. They are neither for the kingdom of God and they do not accept that they are yet sinners. They don't agree that they are still loved. Father in heaven in the name of Jesus Christ we beseech you that you send your Holy Spirit in our time into all these churches.

That you will lead the God's ritual away in every path right from the church leaders pastors, referees, bishops, church workers and so on. That you will lead the God's ritual awakening in the name of Jesus Christ.

Now Lord, I beseech you to do it. You have power to do it. Your spirit your spirit for an hour in the churches can make all the enemies of the Christian friendly. Your spirit in our churches for one week can make many, many representatives of Satan resign.

Father, we cry out to you this night have mercy on thy church because you redeemed this church with the precious blood of Jesus Christ. We are no more of our own. We are born with a friend so we pray that in the time of wrath remember mercy.

Forgive thy church revive thy church in the name of Jesus Christ. All the forces of darkness we pray that you drive them out of your mighty power in the name of Jesus Christ. Ritual awakening in the heart of everyone every member every minister every elder in the name of Jesus Christ.

Let it be so oh God let it be so almighty Father let it be so Jesus Christ our Savior. Let it be so Holy Spirit our Father free this every church and God's ritual awakening.

In the name of Jesus Christ.

We believe when disaster happens when the spirit of revival comes down it is something people cannot deny it is not possible.

Let's sing a chorus thank you Lord for saving my soul. And then let our brother pray after. Thank you. Let's say at the beginning of the meeting or at least the beginning of the prayer meeting not casting any aspersions on this brother.

I love him so much. But what we need to do is it's better to pray two short prayers than one long one. We get tired maybe. And some of us pray a long while like Spencer and myself. And it's good to have this dear brother has a heart for God.

I hope he doesn't lose his power and vision while he's here doesn't get Americanized or Englishized either. I'm just going to pass some thoughts on from John 17. Some of the writers have said that this is the longest prayer that Jesus prayed.

I'm not sure that's true. It's the longest recorded prayer that Jesus prayed. But maybe he prayed hours and hours and hours. The scripture says as it was his custom he went into the mountains to pray while they went somewhere else.

Jesus' High-Priestly Prayer and the True Vine

This is a magnificent prayer. Somebody has called the gospel of John the holy. What do you call it? The holy place. And someone else said that John 17 is the holy of holies. I've asked you sometimes if you could live just one day with Jesus see one thing that he did.

What would you do? Usual that students say I'd like to see him walk on the water. I'd like to see him raise Lazarus from the dead. If I could relive one day it will be the day when Jesus prayed this prayer.

In the 13th chapter there's been the Lord's Supper. In the 14th chapter we have those amazing promises. At the end of the 14th chapter he says arise. Let us go hence and then you get the 15th chapter which is one of the most popular chapters in the whole of the word of God about the vine.

And according to tradition when Jesus came from the supper room the upper room or supper room he walked down the valley that was flanked another side with vines. And he immediately cast their mind onto the fact that Israel had been a vine.

But she'd run wild. But he was the true vine. He says I am the true bread. I am the true light. I am the vine the true. But then also there's that beautiful gate at the temple. One of the I think about 60 feet high it was very ornate and then it was woven the vine again.

Now Jesus says here he lifted up his eyes to heaven. I think he's still outside. I suppose that posture has something very emphatic to say. We read when he went into the garden of Gethsemane he walked in he knelt down and then he prostrated himself.

But here he lifts his eyes up to heaven and says father Moses never said that Abraham never said that David the king never said that. This is entirely new. But can you see the difference. If you come down the street you would have seen the high priest of the day in garments of glory and beauty.

The word of God says with a bell and a pomegranate at the bottom and so forth just dignified and respected. Jesus here has no garments like that. He builds no altar. He sheds no blood. Immediately he cries father the hour has come.

I think I didn't check that today. I think this is the seventh time in this gospel that he says father the hour has come. His disciples wanted to go somewhere. He said no the hour is not yet come. Mine hour is not yet come.

But then he says later for this hour I came into the world. And now remember from here he is going to get semen. Father glorify thy son. That thy son also may glorify him. That has given him power over all flesh that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him.

And this is life eternal. What is it a creed a dogma a formula. No this is life eternal. What is it that they may know thee the only true God. You know there's this menace threatening America right now this new age movement.

Knowing the True God Against False Religion

Maybe we can get some copies of it. It says in one clause. I read the other day the new age movement says well let me go to Turner. Turner the multimillionaire billionaire maybe that owns all the TV stations.

He's made all his money in America. But he says America is the stumbling block. The one stumbling block to a world government. Well I hope she is and I hope she'll be so. But you see the no age group says we have to get rid of one obstruction.

Obstruction number one is the church of Jesus Christ. We're not going to be free much longer. We're going to be saying to countries like this brothers from asking them pray for our freedom. We don't value it.

You know if we knew God's timetable this place will be packed out tonight. We don't know God's time. We're presuming. We're presuming on grace. We're presuming on mercy. But God says my spirit will not always strive with man.

Now Jesus says I came into the world not to save you from hell not to do miracles. I came to tell you this that you may know the living God the true God. How many times do you stop in the day and think of millions of people around the world bowing down two thousand years after Jesus died.

And there are thousands of billions of people now bowing down every day to gods of wood and stone. They have the slightest idea who the living God is. I remember a friend of mine years ago before China fell.

He went into a temple there and he picked up some little buddhas that were on the was it buddha that they have there or whatever god they have. And he picked up these little China things. There were thousands of them around the building.

He picked them up and it said underneath made in Birmingham, England. I'll tell you what. He was blazing mad. He was shocked. So you see they've got these people. They're not just in bondage to a strange god.

They're terror strickers. They're fear of power demon power. Oh we think our country's so good. Thank God for it. A lady here told us tonight she came from Oklahoma yesterday or today. And there's a little town up there no bigger than Lyndale.

Spiritual Warfare and the Call to Prayer

And recently wasn't it recently. This week. This week they found somebody just going to sacrifice a child. And somebody rushed in the room and cut the little thing that was strapped up cut it down before they sacrificed it.

Because there's a church there that worships Satan. I understand the church of Satan in California. They don't begin till midnight and the service goes on till six o 'clock. And they laugh about the blood.

And they walk on the cross. And they fast and they pray. I understand they have a league of prayer every Wednesday praying for the overthrow of Christianity in America. You see we're up against the wall as our dear brother said principalities and powers rulers of the darkness.

I'm asking God to launch us this winter into prayer that we've never prayed. The like of this precious brother goes to meetings where they pray for hours. No wonder he prays. I think we're going to leave all the prayer meetings open-ended in the future.

Let these fellas get going and really pray. It's not the length of prayer that matters. But you can't have a man like that and not be aware of the fact he's touching God. He has a burning compassion to see strongholds pulled down.

Africa is going to be one bloody mess from one end to the other. Unless there's revival there. People are already being killed there. But Jesus here lifts his eyes up to heaven. And he says father the hour has come.

Eternal Life, Repentance, and the Knowledge of God

He came into the world to save sinners. He came in the world to reconcile us to God. He came into the world that we might know the true God. Remember there were vast religions in his day. There were false Christs in his day.

People asked John the Baptist art thou he that should come or look we for another. It was expectant that messiahs would come. And yet he's concerned that they may know the living God. How many people do you know who know God?

We know about God. Do we know him? He says that they may know thee. Whom to know is life eternal. We've made this thing so simple. A nod of the head. A simple prayer. I think the biggest advantage the devil has in America tonight maybe is evangelism.

It's so false. It's so empty. Just say a word nod your head. What about repentance? Sin broke the heart of God. Shouldn't it break my heart to confess it? That I've been a rebel against him so long. Rebelling against his law.

Rebelling against conscience. Every steeple you see on the church will one day rise up in judgment against us. Every bible will rise up in judgment against us. But Jesus says I want them to know thee the only true God.

I'm going to leap that back now to where we were last week and the week before. Where Paul in his letter to the Philippians chapter 3 he says that I may know him. And the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of his suffering being may conform the one to his death.

That's verse 10. Remember where is I said first of all remember his position. Where is he? He's in a filthy maritime prison. A prison they won't let dogs live in today. And here is the prince of men outside of Jesus Christ in a stinking prison.

But why in God's name. Isn't God wasting the man? This man raises the dead. This man casts out devils. This man does all the miracles that other people are aching for. And here he is rotting in a prison.

Is God wasting him? He did far more than that. Paul says that I may know him. He knew him. He met him on the Damascus road face to face. Isn't that enough? No he said it isn't. And what did Jesus say to him?

Paul's Confrontation, Identification, and Suffering

Saul why persecutest thou the church? Why persecutest thou me? Why? Because Christ is the head of the church. Everybody you slander every Christian you hurt. You hurt Jesus Christ first. If somebody steps on your toe if you have an anesthetic you won't feel it.

But normally if somebody stamps on your toe your mind breaks. This is immediately. Immediately. We hurt the body of Jesus Christ. It telegraphed to heaven first. We hurt Christ first. And Paul on the Damascus road.

His face. Jesus says why persecutest thou me? He met Jesus Christ first in confrontation. When you read his account of his testimony to Agrippa in Acts 26 he says he did so many horrible things. What would have happened if God hadn't met Paul on the Damascus road?

Can you imagine? He would have been another Pharaoh already. He was tearing families up his bloody hands. He stood there and heard the crunching bones of a young man. Maybe not 20 years of age. They put him in a corner and stoned him.

And he hears the crunching of the bones. He doesn't do a thing about it. Not long after he's in the same position. And nobody comes to his help. I think he must have relived the fact when he never even stirred a hand to go and release that young man.

But the fact is again there who were watching? A crowd of people the hierarchy of the church were there and they thought well now we're doing something. Well this is the most adventurous zealous young man there is in the Christian church.

His name is Stephen. Tradition says he wasn't 20 years of age. Anyhow they stone him to death. What happens? The heavens open. What does he say to those unbelieving men who crucified Jesus and said he's dead and done with.

And he says I see Jesus. He's risen. That must have staggered them shocked them. It didn't make any difference to the Apostle Paul. It doesn't say Paul saw him. You see sometimes when you're getting stoned to death it's so you may see Jesus Christ.

Nobody else will see him. Stephen needed to see him. He's dying. His ministry is cut off his life is finished. He's no friends. He's nobody at all. And there he has been destroyed. And yet the heavens open.