John R. Rice Quotes of the Week

A Holiness woman preacher said, "Brother Rice, I am praying that you will be filled with the Holy Ghost." I replied, "I am glad you are. Keep on praying for that. As God is my witness, I pray more for the power of the Holy Ghost than for anything else." But I told her, as I tell you, that I was not seeking what would meet her standards but what would meet the Bible standards in the power of God and souls saved. - John R. Rice

It has always been true that in great times of revival blessing when multitudes are saved, God did some wonderful things in answer to prayer. Oh, I have seen it, thank God, many times - the healing of the sick, the control of the weather, even sometimes the taking out of the way by death men who oppose the work of God. I do not believe God ever intended wonderful, amazing answers to prayer and manifestations of God's power to go with nonchalant, lukewarm, halfhearted Christians. These blessings follow those that obey the Great Commission. It would not be right to teach that the coldhearted, the unfaithful, the backslidden Christian could have the same kind of blessings as those believers who are in the will of God and have the power of God to win souls. - John R. Rice

Every time God answers a prayer and brings about something that would not have occurred had we not appealed to God - that means a divine intervention, a controlling of the forces of nature so that it is not ordinary but extraordinary, not natural but supernatural. It is a miracle for God to intervene in the affairs of men even to answer prayer. The Christian religion is a miracle religion. Oh, how sad is the state of those who leave out a miracle-working God from Christianity today! - John R. Rice

My wife felt greatly bereft when our six married daughters and theirs husbands moved away from us. Now gone were the big Sunday dinners with all the chattering, happy group together!
We soon moved to Murfreesboro and she said, "I don't like Murfreesboro! I am not happy here!"
I said to her, "You will not be happy anywhere until you get accustomed to being without your daughters."
Once she said to me seriously, "My back jurts! The doctor says there is nothing wrong with me but I know there is! What shall I do?
Her distress was real but I knew the problem. I said, "Go visit one of the girls and it will be well!"
She made the visit an was well and happy as a result.- John R. Rice

They do great harm who teach falsehood about anything. And they play with griefs and broken hearts of people in trouble when they teach people to expect what God did not promise and when they claim what God does not give, that is, He does not give always healing to everyone who calls upon Him the best he can. It is not always God's will to heal the sick. And those who teach so do great harm and cause great suffering. - John R. Rice

I am distressed everywhere I go. I know people are building great soul-winning churches and they are going out house to house spending hours to build up a bus ministry and bring people in. I am glad they are.
You can do all that, but if you do not raise godly children, if you do not have old-time, heartfelt Bible-preaching, Bible-reading religion in the home, the family altar kind and the disciplined kind, then another generation is going to find we have gone to Hell in America for lack of good homes. - John R. Rice

You ask, "Was Eli to blame?" Yes, he was, for the Bible says, "... his sons made themselves vile, and he [Eli] restrained them not."
And God sent a prophet to say to Eli, I chose you out of all Israel to be of the priesthood with your family to serve Me forever. But, you honored your sons above Me, to make yourselves fat with the chiefest of all the offerings." He said, "Your sons made themselves vile and you did not restrain them, so there is a curse on your family forever."
Yes, God said Eli was to blame. And whoever hears me today has as well face it. Quit lying and excusing yourself. If your children turn out bad, you are to blame. You could have raised them right, with praying and burden and discipline and teaching and example, making it sure your children walk after the Lord. - John R. Rice