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Prayer: Asking and Receiving
God still answers prayer! Dr. John R. Rice opens the Bible to help believiers better understand prayer and develop a relationship with their Lord.
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First published January 1, 1970
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About the author
John R. Rice
326 books40 followersJohn R. Rice was a Baptist evangelist and pastor and the founding editor of The Sword of the Lord, an influential fundamentalist newspaper.
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April 1, 2021
When I was nearly finished reading this book by Dr. Rice, I thought that this man sure knows a lot about the subject of prayer, only to read that he claims to know very little about it (p. 330). I suppose that is just him being humble or not wanting to seem braggadocios, or he would not have written a book about prayer.
Let me say this was an enjoyable, easy read. I would say adults and children both could read this book and learn a lot from it. Dr. Rice explores the subject of prayer from all angles, with examples and evidence of answered prayer throughout. To his credit, he quotes large amounts of Scripture, chapter and verse. I am a strong believer in the Bible as the Word of God, so I was impressed with that. Prayer is an area in my life that could use a lot of improvement. A dear friend recommended this book and that's how I came to read it.
Dr. Rice makes the case that God loves answering prayer and wants to give us our heart's desire. In fact, throughout the book he expresses that it is offensive to God for us to acquire things on our own or seeking help from others when He stands ready to give us what we want. He says that prayerlessness is one of the worst sins of the church. We have not because we ask not (James 4:2). We are commanded in the Bible to pray all the time.
In the early chapters, I came to believe that the author was declaring that every time you pray, you should expect God to give you what you want. That was a novel concept to me, having been taught there are three answers God could give you to your prayer: yes, no, or wait, and sometimes he will answer by giving you more than you ask for, or a better thing than what you asked for. The author uses Matthew 7:7, “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.” to support the idea of a God that answers prayer with absolutely no conditions attached. So, I should be able to ask for a big lottery win, or that God bring someone back from the dead, or make me irresistible to women, right? Not so fast.
Dr. Rice introduces the concept of “praying the will of God”. Honestly I was feeling somewhat confused by this idea at first. I mean, why are we praying for God's will? If God wants something He gets it. If He wants something done, He does it or sees that it gets done. If I only pray for the things God wants, why pray at all. He is God and he always has the last word on things. As I read on, my understanding of the matter became that a Christian, who is filled with the Holy Spirit, will only be led to pray for the things that God wants hi/her to have. When we pray “in Jesus name”, what we are saying is that we believe that Jesus Christ would pray for the same thing. After all, most Christians believe that Jesus is our Intercessor and He pleads on our behalf before the Father. So we Christians would not pray selfishly, or as the Bible puts it, “asking amiss so we can consume what we want for our own lusts” (James 4:3).
So in order to get our desire of our hearts granted, it has to be honoring to God, something that he wants. It has to be in Jesus' name, as though He is the one asking for it. What else? Well specificity is discussed. It is weak to pray general sweeping, non specific prayers. Asking God to give you something, like “God I need some money to pay these bills” is not as good as saying, “God, I need $900 by Tuesday to pay my rent so I am not evicted.” So praying in God's will, in Jesus name, and with specificity. What else?
The next condition is persistence or “praying through”. Or the proper word is importunity. Using a couple of parables from the Bible (I am not going to keep quoting scripture or I will never finish this review, read the book if you want all the references), Rice instructs that if you really want God to answer your prayer, you will keep praying for it, over, and over, and over, and over, ad finitum. The exception to this rule is the sinner's prayer for salvation. When someone sincerely prays for God to save them, God instantly grants them salvation. Other things you will have to persist in prayer for. Then he explains that you may not be quite ready for what you ask for. For example, if you want the Holy Spirit's empowerment to win souls for Christ, you might lack the maturity, wisdom or whatever. By persisting in prayer over the matter, you are gaining the wisdom, etc. that will enable you to receive what you ask for. Rice says that you should keep on praying for things until God grants you what you are asking for, or shows you something that is hindering your prayers from being answered.
One thing that hinders your prayers, according to the author, is holding grudges. Another hindrance is having debt that you have no intention or paying back. Then just sin in general is going to block your prayers. I was somewhat confused on this point because Rice says that God often answers the prayers of the unsaved. The biggest sin I can think of is rejecting Christ, and that's the state of the unsaved. Maybe there is a difference in the conditions for the saved as opposed to the unsaved to have prayers answered. That is one thing I might have asked Dr. Rice if I had been given the opportunity. I guess it all boils down to God's sovereignty. If He wants to answer the prayer of the unsaved, He has every right to do so. I am just trying to understand.
Then there is the matter of having faith vs. having perfect faith. I have been under the impression that you have to have perfect faith, with no doubt at all in order to get your prayers answered. Dr. Rice says that this is not so. You only have to have a little faith, and he cites examples all through the Bible of people with weak faith who had their prayers answered. I found this concept interesting and encouraging. I know some of those “perfect faith” people, who apparently never doubt, getting purple in the face if someone told them that you didn't have to have perfect faith, only the faith the size as a mustard seed (tiny) to get your prayers taken care of.
One other thing he addresses is praying for lost people (unsaved) that God would save them. I guess whether or not the idea that this prayer could be answered, or would be answered depends on which theology you follow. I am a free will believer, that you choose to receive Christ and be saved or not. That is the tradition I have been raised in. Some traditions teach that if God wants someone to be saved, He gives them “irresistible grace”. In that tradition, the unsaved sinner has no choice at all. What I am getting at here is will God overrule the free will of someone so that they are forced to be saved if someone is praying for their salvation? I have no answer, only the question.
OK so that gives you a general idea of what you can expect if you read this book. This review is in no way comprehensive, but the book is. There are no spoilers here. I felt this was a worth while read and I learned a lot on the subject. There is a good bit of repetition in there, so if that annoys you, maybe read another book on the subject. Also some might be turned off by the fact that Rice is a fundamentalist and a dispensationalist, but you shouldn't be. We are in a time (2021) when many people have come to consider fundamentalist Christians as haters, bigots, etc. I assure you, this is not the case. Dr. Rice gives a fair, sane treatment in his book. It is a joy to read and I highly recommend it.
Let me say this was an enjoyable, easy read. I would say adults and children both could read this book and learn a lot from it. Dr. Rice explores the subject of prayer from all angles, with examples and evidence of answered prayer throughout. To his credit, he quotes large amounts of Scripture, chapter and verse. I am a strong believer in the Bible as the Word of God, so I was impressed with that. Prayer is an area in my life that could use a lot of improvement. A dear friend recommended this book and that's how I came to read it.
Dr. Rice makes the case that God loves answering prayer and wants to give us our heart's desire. In fact, throughout the book he expresses that it is offensive to God for us to acquire things on our own or seeking help from others when He stands ready to give us what we want. He says that prayerlessness is one of the worst sins of the church. We have not because we ask not (James 4:2). We are commanded in the Bible to pray all the time.
In the early chapters, I came to believe that the author was declaring that every time you pray, you should expect God to give you what you want. That was a novel concept to me, having been taught there are three answers God could give you to your prayer: yes, no, or wait, and sometimes he will answer by giving you more than you ask for, or a better thing than what you asked for. The author uses Matthew 7:7, “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.” to support the idea of a God that answers prayer with absolutely no conditions attached. So, I should be able to ask for a big lottery win, or that God bring someone back from the dead, or make me irresistible to women, right? Not so fast.
Dr. Rice introduces the concept of “praying the will of God”. Honestly I was feeling somewhat confused by this idea at first. I mean, why are we praying for God's will? If God wants something He gets it. If He wants something done, He does it or sees that it gets done. If I only pray for the things God wants, why pray at all. He is God and he always has the last word on things. As I read on, my understanding of the matter became that a Christian, who is filled with the Holy Spirit, will only be led to pray for the things that God wants hi/her to have. When we pray “in Jesus name”, what we are saying is that we believe that Jesus Christ would pray for the same thing. After all, most Christians believe that Jesus is our Intercessor and He pleads on our behalf before the Father. So we Christians would not pray selfishly, or as the Bible puts it, “asking amiss so we can consume what we want for our own lusts” (James 4:3).
So in order to get our desire of our hearts granted, it has to be honoring to God, something that he wants. It has to be in Jesus' name, as though He is the one asking for it. What else? Well specificity is discussed. It is weak to pray general sweeping, non specific prayers. Asking God to give you something, like “God I need some money to pay these bills” is not as good as saying, “God, I need $900 by Tuesday to pay my rent so I am not evicted.” So praying in God's will, in Jesus name, and with specificity. What else?
The next condition is persistence or “praying through”. Or the proper word is importunity. Using a couple of parables from the Bible (I am not going to keep quoting scripture or I will never finish this review, read the book if you want all the references), Rice instructs that if you really want God to answer your prayer, you will keep praying for it, over, and over, and over, and over, ad finitum. The exception to this rule is the sinner's prayer for salvation. When someone sincerely prays for God to save them, God instantly grants them salvation. Other things you will have to persist in prayer for. Then he explains that you may not be quite ready for what you ask for. For example, if you want the Holy Spirit's empowerment to win souls for Christ, you might lack the maturity, wisdom or whatever. By persisting in prayer over the matter, you are gaining the wisdom, etc. that will enable you to receive what you ask for. Rice says that you should keep on praying for things until God grants you what you are asking for, or shows you something that is hindering your prayers from being answered.
One thing that hinders your prayers, according to the author, is holding grudges. Another hindrance is having debt that you have no intention or paying back. Then just sin in general is going to block your prayers. I was somewhat confused on this point because Rice says that God often answers the prayers of the unsaved. The biggest sin I can think of is rejecting Christ, and that's the state of the unsaved. Maybe there is a difference in the conditions for the saved as opposed to the unsaved to have prayers answered. That is one thing I might have asked Dr. Rice if I had been given the opportunity. I guess it all boils down to God's sovereignty. If He wants to answer the prayer of the unsaved, He has every right to do so. I am just trying to understand.
Then there is the matter of having faith vs. having perfect faith. I have been under the impression that you have to have perfect faith, with no doubt at all in order to get your prayers answered. Dr. Rice says that this is not so. You only have to have a little faith, and he cites examples all through the Bible of people with weak faith who had their prayers answered. I found this concept interesting and encouraging. I know some of those “perfect faith” people, who apparently never doubt, getting purple in the face if someone told them that you didn't have to have perfect faith, only the faith the size as a mustard seed (tiny) to get your prayers taken care of.
One other thing he addresses is praying for lost people (unsaved) that God would save them. I guess whether or not the idea that this prayer could be answered, or would be answered depends on which theology you follow. I am a free will believer, that you choose to receive Christ and be saved or not. That is the tradition I have been raised in. Some traditions teach that if God wants someone to be saved, He gives them “irresistible grace”. In that tradition, the unsaved sinner has no choice at all. What I am getting at here is will God overrule the free will of someone so that they are forced to be saved if someone is praying for their salvation? I have no answer, only the question.
OK so that gives you a general idea of what you can expect if you read this book. This review is in no way comprehensive, but the book is. There are no spoilers here. I felt this was a worth while read and I learned a lot on the subject. There is a good bit of repetition in there, so if that annoys you, maybe read another book on the subject. Also some might be turned off by the fact that Rice is a fundamentalist and a dispensationalist, but you shouldn't be. We are in a time (2021) when many people have come to consider fundamentalist Christians as haters, bigots, etc. I assure you, this is not the case. Dr. Rice gives a fair, sane treatment in his book. It is a joy to read and I highly recommend it.
August 17, 2018
I took a long time to read this book, as there was such a lot in it to digest. A very inspirational read.
Third reading - same as before! Such a good reminder of the importance and effectiveness of prayer.
Third reading - same as before! Such a good reminder of the importance and effectiveness of prayer.
July 22, 2012
At one time this was America's best selling book on prayer. It is certainly one of the dozen books every Christian should read.
October 8, 2011
This is a book every Christian should read. The best book on prayer I have ever read. John R. Rice lived what he preached. One of the greats of all time!
Currently reading
June 22, 2012This book has been on the shelf for awhile. I have free time to read this book.
May 11, 2021
Prayer, Asking and Receiving by John R. Rice, Sword Publishing, 1942, 328 pages
I remember reading somewhere that this was the first book Warren Wiersbe bought when setting out to fulfill God’s call to ministry. I bought my copy in October of 1978 when Dr. Rice came to speak at Tennessee Temple. I have read bits and pieces of it through the years, but I never sat down to read it from beginning to end.
Like the title suggests it is a book about prayer and I think that the author covers every significant passage about prayer in the Bible. He doesn’t really exegete those passages, he uses them polemically. I would think that each of the chapters probably began as a sermon, perhaps even a series of sermons. The evidence of that is the conversational style of the writing. He also illustrates many of his points with personal experiences which makes his points both more compelling and memorable.
This book was well worth reading. It is not the best book that I have read on the subject, but it did achieve the purpose of making me want to pray more. It was time well invested.
I remember reading somewhere that this was the first book Warren Wiersbe bought when setting out to fulfill God’s call to ministry. I bought my copy in October of 1978 when Dr. Rice came to speak at Tennessee Temple. I have read bits and pieces of it through the years, but I never sat down to read it from beginning to end.
Like the title suggests it is a book about prayer and I think that the author covers every significant passage about prayer in the Bible. He doesn’t really exegete those passages, he uses them polemically. I would think that each of the chapters probably began as a sermon, perhaps even a series of sermons. The evidence of that is the conversational style of the writing. He also illustrates many of his points with personal experiences which makes his points both more compelling and memorable.
This book was well worth reading. It is not the best book that I have read on the subject, but it did achieve the purpose of making me want to pray more. It was time well invested.
March 20, 2025
Prayer, Asking, and Receiving was the right book at the right time for me. I have carried this book unread on my shelves for 30+ years and, for some unknown reason refusing to discard it. When the student is ready, the teacher will arrive. The ache in my heart over my unanswered prayers finally got to the level I was ready for, and Dr. Rice's book "Prayer, Asking and Receiving" was waiting for me. I know there are many other good books on prayer, but this one gave me the basic nuts and bolts of prayer. Some might find the book dated, but for me, I have received many insights, nuggets, principles, and precepts about prayer, asking, and receiving, which I will build on.
November 14, 2024
My bookclub rating was 4.04
If you are looking for a better prayer life, PRAY for one!!! This book was a great guide to what prayer is and how to do it. I’m sure I will continue to learn more about prayer as I talk to God and look forward to a closer relationship. I plan to read this book again.
If you are looking for a better prayer life, PRAY for one!!! This book was a great guide to what prayer is and how to do it. I’m sure I will continue to learn more about prayer as I talk to God and look forward to a closer relationship. I plan to read this book again.
December 14, 2020
I was doing a study on prayer and came across Rice's book. It covered everything I wanted to know. It is a rare find that a book published in 1942 is still around and helping people to better understand prayer.
August 2, 2019
Read a much earlier book of this edition. One of the best books about prayer I have read.
December 17, 2022
read the book when I was young. Certainly don't agree with everything but it will motivate you to pray
February 13, 2023
A veritable thesis on the scriptural practice of prayer, an easy read and a real blessing.
June 25, 2024
Bro Rice tells us all that he can about prayer and gives examples. A book for anyone hoping to improve their prayer life
December 5, 2025
Great book on prayer and what the Bible teaches about prayer. I love how he uses the scriptures and explains in such a way to make anyone understand.
August 10, 2016
There is a reason this is one of the best sellers on prayer. It is that good! There is a reason that out of all the great books by this author that this one is one of his best sellers ever. Same reason. Scriptural, solid, sound, soul-stirring, encouraging, excellent, inspiring...
December 28, 2023
This is one of the best books I’ve read on the topic of prayer. I don’t necessarily agree with everything, but it has encouraged and inspired me to pray more. I find myself going back to re- read sections of this book.
May 12, 2009
Really great book - I find pretty much anything by John Rice is worth reading - but this one especially!!!
March 28, 2014
Very inspirational.
February 16, 2016
Though this is a small book, it's packed with a lot of information about prayer. It's thought-provoking, convicting, and an important read for all Christians.
Read
April 26, 2017Grandpa's copy
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews