James 4:3

3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, in order to spend what you get on your pleasures.

James 4:3 Meaning and Commentary

James 4:3

Ye ask, and receive not
Some there were that did ask of God the blessings of his goodness and providence, and yet these were not bestowed on them; the reason was,

because ye ask amiss;
not in the faith of a divine promise; nor with thankfulness for past mercies; nor with submission to the will of God; nor with a right end, to do good to others, and to make use of what might be bestowed, for the honour of God, and the interest of Christ: but

that ye may consume it upon your lusts;
indulge to intemperance and luxury; as the man that had much goods laid up for many years did, to the neglect of his own soul, ( Luke 12:19 ) or the rich man, who spent all upon his back and his belly, and took no notice of Lazarus at his gate; ( Luke 16:19 ) .

James 4:3 In-Context

1 Those conflicts and disputes among you, where do they come from? Do they not come from your cravings that are at war within you?
2 You want something and do not have it; so you commit murder. And you covet something and cannot obtain it; so you engage in disputes and conflicts. You do not have, because you do not ask.
3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, in order to spend what you get on your pleasures.
4 Adulterers! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God.
5 Or do you suppose that it is for nothing that the scripture says, "God yearns jealously for the spirit that he has made to dwell in us"?

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New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.