And when you do ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may squander it on your pleasures.You ask, and don’t receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures.Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may spend it in your pleasures.
3 sermons cite this verse
… God doesn't answer your prayer because you got lustful motives. This is in the book of James chapter 4 verses 2 through 3. James 4 verses 2 through 3. This is an important thing too. He says, you lust, verse 2, you lust and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war, yet you do not have because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive because you ask amiss that you may spend it on your pleasures. you ask and do not receive because you ask amiss that word amiss means you're asking for the wrong reasons you're asking for selfish reasons you're asking for personal motives see what God wants us to do is to live our life for his glory to advance his kingdom you want a new car but you ain't driving nobody in the car that you got right now This used to be my go-to section right there. I used to come over here when it was getting weak and low, and people stopped clapping. …
… Here's number three. James chapter four, verse three. James four. verse 3 says this. You ask and do not receive because you ask amiss that you may spend it on your pleasures. James 4, 3. Let me read it again. You ask and do not receive because you ask amiss. The key word is the word amiss. What does that word mean? It means worthless. It means you're asking for something that's worthless. that you may spend it on your pleasures. You're asking for something to consume it on or waste it on your own desires. It's not about the kingdom of God. It's not about helping somebody else. It's not about advancing the name of the Lord. It's about you. You're asking for a new car, but it's not because you want to pick up people to bring them to church. It's because you want a profile in it. You want to have a diamond in the back, sunroof top. come on talk to you look at me How does it go? …
… And what you're going to find is, if your prayers are all about what you want, You have a promise in James 4.3 that you're not going to get the answer you want. So in reality, it's the opposite of what people are told. The Lord is not just going to give you what you want, and no sensible father would. This idea that you can demand things from God, this idea that God has sort of boxed Himself into a corner from which you cannot escape, and He trapped Himself into becoming subject to you, and he's sort of like the genie in the bottle that you call on for whatever you want. This is a mockery of God. But when the gospel is not God-centered and salvation is not God-centered, then prayer is not God-centered either. And I just want to show you the difference between that kind of praying and the kind of praying that we're taught here that begins with Your name being hallowed, Your kingdom coming, and Your will being done. …