These are my notes/thoughts from John R. Rice’s Prayer: Asking and Receiving
In this chapter, Mr. Rice gives 7 reasons why people should pray, some of which include:
- We are commanded to pray.
- It’s the way for Christians to get things fro God.
- Answered prayer is an argument against unbelief.
Prayer, then, is a duty expressly commanded for every Christian, all the time, and about everybody and everything.
We are commanded to pray. This should be our number one reason for praying, pure simple obedience to Christ.
Men, we must pray. So much of our lack is because we fail to pray.
James 4:2 says,
You want something but don’t get it. You kill and covet, but you cannot have what you want. You quarrel and fight. You do not have, because you do not ask God.
Have we really considered what this means?
We are in financial debt because we fail to pray.
Marriages are in trouble because we fail to pray.
Children run off and do wild things because we fail to pray.
Churches are not seeing souls saved because we fail to pray
We are not seeing souls saved because we fail to pray.
Our country is in trouble because we fail to pray.
People hate God or choose to deny His existence because we fail to pray.
Mr. Rice tells the story of a time he was preaching, and he felt led to single a young guy out about whether or not he had a job. When the guy said he didn’t, Mr. Rice told him to go home and ask God for a job, and that he would also pray for him.
The next night, Mr. Rice called him out again: “Have you got that job, yet?”
“I got a job, but not the one I want, and it’s not permanent.”
Mr. Rice then said, “Tonight you go to a secret place alone and stay there until God gives you assurance about this matter and I will pray with you.”
Mr. Rice later got a letter from the young man saying that he got the exact job he prayed for.
This is good advice for us. If we’re facing a need, let’s go to a secret place and pray until we get assurance about the matter.
The third thing that stood out to me in this chapter is something that I have believed for a very long time: The best argument against atheism, agnosticism, unbelief, and the like, is answered prayer.
If we prayed, and kept records of the answers to our prayers, it would be a tremendous testimony that there is a God, and that He answers prayers.
Here at the beginning of our school of prayer, why don’t we begin keeping a prayer journal that records the date of our prayers, and the date God answered them. When appropriate, share them online. Let our non-Christian friends see that there truly is power in prayer.
Let’s pray, men. Let’s pray.