“Preacher, keep your knees on the ground & your eyes on the throne.” ~Leonard Ravenhill
My friends, I have been hanging around Pentecostal/Charismatic churches since 1979. It wasn’t until about 10 years ago, that it seemed the only ones who were praying in the churches were women. They are still the strongest prayers! Oh, don’t get me wrong, they should be praying, but so should men! Our churches should never allow the women do all of the praying, while the men run the churches!
I guess the point I want to make is that men who don’t pray, have no right to lead any church! (In fact, they shouldn’t be husbands or fathers, either. But that is another message). Our leadership should be earned by spiritual worth!
The original leaders instructed the church to, “choose seven men who are respected and wise and filled with God’s Spirit. We will put them in charge of these things” (Acts 6:3). Huh? “Respected and wise and filled with God’s Spirit? The only way we can become “wise and filled with God’s Spirit,” is if we spend time on our knees! Leadership always requires vision, and where are they going to gain any vision? From hours spent in the presence of our Father in humble and fervent prayer!
Leonard Ravenhill taught,
“No man is greater than his prayer life. The pastor who is not praying is playing; the people who are not praying are straying.”
Everything else being equal, a woman who prays will know the will of God for the church far better than a man who doesn’t pray! What is true for a church, is true for our families.
I am not advocating that we turn the churches over to the women, per se, but that whoever is guiding the direction our churches, must possess the proper spiritual qualifications for leadership. Just being good looking, or fashionable, or entertaining, or charming is not enough! As Ravenhill continued, “We have many organizers, but few agonizers; many players, 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!” If we fail here, we fail everywhere! We need our leaders to be people who spend more time in prayer than they spend in front of their TV!
If you are not going to spend your time diligently seeking wisdom from the Scripture, you will never understand it! Even if you are one of those who tries to memorize it without applying it to your lives, are missing the treasure that comes from the Word of God! 
