Prior Book | Prior Chapter | Prior Verse | Next Verse | Next Chapter | Next Book | Viewing NASB and Amplified 2015 | |
NASB | James 4:3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | James 4:3 You ask [God for something] and do not receive it, because you ask with wrong motives [out of selfishness or with an unrighteous agenda], so that [when you get what you want] you may spend it on your [hedonistic] desires. |
Bible Question:
When we ask God for something and we don't get what we want is it because our motives are wrong or do we want the wrong thing? Is wanting the wrong thing the same as having a wrong motive? How does one avoid "wrong motives?" How does one align himself as Jesus did when He said, "Not My will but Thy will be done."? (Luke 22:42) PS:Does anyone know who said: "Disappointment is God's hint that He has something better in mind?" |
Bible Answer: Mommapbs, being the fallen and finite creatures that we are, it is hardly our lot to be able to separate with unerring accuracy our good motives from our bad ones. Man's ability to deceive himself into believing that his motives are pure, his desires unselfish, and his prayer supplications noble is legendary. Thus we have the words that Jesus supplied for our use in prayer. Jesus knew the human heart and He thus knew perfectly well what He was doing when He, in the model prayer of Matthew 6, taught His disciples to use the words "Thy will be done" when they addressed the Father in prayer. The four words, "Thy will be done," are, aside from prayers of praise to God, easily the most important words of any prayer that has ever come from the lips of man. Following close to the heals of "Thy will be done" comes the petition for forgiveness, and in that connection one does well to remember that attached to the petition for God's forgiveness comes the confession "as we have forgiven others." One should shudder to pray the model prayer who has not forgiven his debtors. It is blasphemy to lie to God ..... Sorry, I can't help you to identify the author of the quote about disappointment. But don't be disappointed: perhaps God has something better in mind! :-) --Hank |
Up | Down View Branch | ID# 82912 | ||
Questions and/or Subjects for James 4:3 | Author | ||
|
Searcher56 | ||
|
Mommapbs | ||
|
Hank | ||
|
Hank | ||
|
Mommapbs | ||
|
buzzkiller101 | ||
|
reverendheidi | ||
|
biblenovice |