You Have Not Because You Ask Not. Let’s talk about many questions you may have.
“You do not have, because you do not ask. 3 You ask, and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your passions” (James 4:2-3).
The Bible book of James was written to believers in Jesus. He called his readers ‘beloved brothers’(1:16) whom ‘He (God) brought …forth with the word of truth’ (1:18).
Ask Jesus
Our High Priest
Jesus is the believer’s High Priest, so His children have a right to come to His throne in prayer and make requests. (God also hears unbelievers’ prayers, but they have a different relationship with Him because, until they believe in Jesus, they are enemies, members of Satan’s kingdom.)
The Rich Man
James addressed the problem of the ’rich man’ several times. When he called someone a ‘rich man,’ he addressed the person’s attitude problem more than their financial situation. James’s ‘rich man’ is self-sufficient, therefore selfish, and full of pride. They don’t need anything, including Jesus’ salvation.
Ask Humbly
The Humble
Humility is needed to enter and live in Jesus’ Kingdom (including His Kingdom in ‘mystery form,’ namely His Church). Jesus said,
“Children, how hard it is for those who trust in riches to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God” (Mark 10:24-25).
Impossible?
When Jesus’ disciples heard this, they were stunned because they thought rich men were blessed by God (Mark 10:26). They wondered, If the rich can’t be saved, who can? However, Jesus assured them that all things are possible with God, but God will need to change their attitude (Mark 10:27).
Our Provider
When we have a ‘rich man’s’ attitude, we don’t ask God for anything because we believe we’re self-sufficient and have everything we need. We can’t achieve anything meaningful or lasting for God without His provision. He promises to supply all our needs:
“My God shall supply your every need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19).
God demands we know that He is our Provider, no one else, and certainly not ourselves.
Asking Amiss
So, ‘rich men’ don’t receive because they don’t ask. But they also don’t receive because they ‘ask amiss.’ I.e., for the wrong reason.
Their Passions
When they do ask, they ask for more ‘riches;’ to spend on their passions. A rich man never has enough money or enough possessions and is never satisfied with forbidden pleasures. God doesn’t answer prayers offered by those motivations unless He allows them to teach His child a painful lesson.
It’s Vanity
King Solomon was the wisest man, had hundreds of wives and concubines, and every earthly pleasure was at his fingertips. Yet, what did he conclude after indulging himself in every earthly pleasure?
“The dust returns to the earth where it was, and the spirit returns to God who gave it.
It is all vanity, says the Preacher; all is vanity” (Ecclesiastes 12:7-8).
Friend or Enemy?
The rich man asks not to have a friendship with God but to befriend the world. God won’t answer that prayer – He’d be helping His enemy!
“Do you not know that the friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God” (James 4:4).
So, why won’t God answer a ‘rich man’s’ prayer?
Often, he won’t even ask because he’s self-sufficient.
He doesn’t see God as his Provider.
He asks ‘amiss’ to follow his passions.
He doesn’t value a friendship with God; he pursues it with God’s enemy.
Ask God for What You Need
God invites you to ask Him for what you need. He is everyone’s Creator and Provider and He has Provided eternal salvation through faith in His Son Jesus.
