John R Rice "Prayer is asking"; "If it is not asking, it is not prayer in the Bible sense."

[Truth Seeker]

John R Rice was a godly man but he wasn't always correct on some topics. Take the topic of prayer, his best selling book was "Prayer Asking And Receiving" published in 1942. According to Rice, prayer was simply asking God for your needs. Rice rejected the teaching that prayer also has some other components. For instance, prayer is also adoration, praise, intercession, confession and thanksgiving. The error that John R Rice makes in his book is that he narrows down prayer to just asking God. Prayer includes supplication or "asking" to God but it is also much broader than just simply "asking." I believe many IFB's today would not agree with how Rice defined prayer in this book. But to be fair, the book also has some good gems about prayer.

 

[Van]

I think the OP alluded to ACTS, our prayer model summary, where

A = Adoration - our worship and praise of the excellencies of God

C = Confession - our thoughtful consideration of where we have fallen short of the glory of God plus our commitment to strive to do better.

T = Thanksgiving - our recognition of God's blessings, specifically, as we walk with Christ.

S = Supplication - our asking not what God can do for us, but what we can do for God. Prayer is our source for strength and guidance (insight into God's word) as we strive to become more like Christ and more effective Ambassadors for Christ.

 

[Van]

Pray like this:

Pray to the Father
and recognize His authority.

Ask for an understanding of His will,
and the willingness to follow.

Ask only for what you need,
and the wisdom to avoid needless desires.

Forgive anyone you think has sinned against you,
and ask for forgiveness for your sinful thoughts and deeds.

Ask for guidance to overcome temptation, and
for insight to keep falsehoods and lies far from you.

(Matthew. 6:9-15 Application)
​

 

[Marooncat79]

I illumination asking God to illuminate our hearts with the truth of His Word as we read sceiprure

 

[Deacon]

John R. Rice’s book is partially available on the internet.

Prayer Asking And Receiving [Google Link]

“Prayer is not praise, adoration, meditation, humiliation, nor confession, but asking.”

John R. Rice deals with a single topic.
He acknowledges that there are various ways to talk with God but defines prayer as the act of simply “asking”.

Today we use a much broader definition of prayer that encompasses adoration, confession, thanksgiving, as well as supplication (asking).

But the purpose of the book was to simply encourage people to pray.

Although with the title, Rice establishes prayer as a simple act, he fleshes the act of prayer out more fully, saying that every attribute of God is implied in the fact that he hears and answers prayer.

Rob

 

[Van]

Pray like this:

Pray to the Father
and recognize His authority. [Adoration and Thanksgiving]

Ask for an understanding of His will,
and the willingness to follow. [Supplication]

Ask only for what you need,
and the wisdom to avoid needless desires. [Supplication]

Forgive anyone you think has sinned against you,
and ask for forgiveness for your sinful thoughts and deeds. [Confession and Contrition]

Ask for guidance to overcome temptation, and
for insight to keep falsehoods and lies far from you. [Supplication]

(Matthew. 6:9-15 Application)