James 4:2b, 3 - Keys to A Richer Prayer Life.
James 4:2b, 3: Keys to A Richer Prayer Life.
James 4:2b, 3 (NIV) You do not have, because you do not ask God.
3 When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong
motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.
James 4:2b, 3 (CWR) You dont get what you want because you
dont ask God for it. 3 Even if you do ask God, He doesnt give it
to you because you ask for the wrong reason, so you can have it for
your own selfish pleasure.
COMMENTARY PEARL
The Privilege of Prayer
I frequently read books on prayer because I want to stay
stirred up to pray throughout each day. Prayer is one of the most
powerful things we can do, and it produces great results, as long as it
is offered in faith.
It has been said that every failure in life is the result of
a failure to pray. God is ready to save, help, heal, and restore,
but someone has to pray in order for Him to work. That is rather
amazing if we think about it.
God, who can do absolutely anything, waits for us to pray! He
hears the faintest cry and answers even childlike, simple prayers.
Prayer need not be eloquent or even long, it just needs to be sincere
and offered in faith that God hears and answers. Why should we live
weak and powerless lives when we have all power available to us
through asking and receiving?
God is good and He wants to do more for us than we can even
imagine. I urge you to pray bold, courageous prayers. God is waiting to
do greater things if we will ask Him to.
Lord, my prayer is that You will teach me to pray and help me
understand more fully how powerful prayer is. [My Time with God by Joyce
Meyer]
COMMENTARY
James mentions the most common problems in prayer: not asking,
asking for the wrong things, asking for the wrong reasons. Do you talk
to God at all? When you do, what do you talk about? Do you ask only
to satisfy your desires? Do you seek God's approval for what you
already plan to do? Your prayers will become powerful when you allow God
to change your desires so that they perfectly correspond to his
will for you (1 John 3:21, 22). [Life Application SB]
God wants us to ask for what he wants (1:5), not what we want or
think we need (cf. Matt. 6:31, 32). That way, our needs are taken care
of and we stop wanting the things we do not need. [Jamieson,
Fausset, And Brown Commentary]
God has made access to Himself possible for all who know Jesus
Christ as Savior. He draws us, stirs our hearts, and causes us to be
able to speak freely and boldly to Him. Our posture is really a
responsive one. Are you resisting His call to pray? If you can approach
God anytime with freedom and confidence, what is holding you back?
Do you really believe that your prayers will be heard and answered?
If you have a less-than-satisfactory prayer life, try writing
down specific prayer requests and continue praying for them until you
get an answer. Then record your answer and use these as records for
praising God. You will be amazed at how quickly and how often God
answers your prayers. This will, in turn, build freedom and confidence
to press on in prayer. Try it! [In His Time; Walk With Wisdom re
Eph.3:12]
God has said many things in Scripture that bring strength and
encouragement to our hearts. But we can also gain comfort by what God has not
said. In Isaiah 45:19, He declares, "I have not said to Jacob's
descendants, 'Seek me in vain." In these very words, you have the
assurance that God will hear and respond to your prayers. If you are
seeking the Lord over some matter close to your heart, it will not be in
vain. Let your doubts and fears say what they will, but if God has not
cut you off from mercy - and He hasn't! - there is no room for
despair. So today, seek Him with assurance; seek Him with all your heart.
As Pastor Timothy Keller writes, "God will either give us what we
ask or give us what we would have asked if we knew everything he
knows.
Again and again, Lord, I have poured out my heart's desires
to You and You have answered in ways I could have never predicted.
Your answers have far exceeded my requests. You have made my prayers
and my seeking matter because You choose to respond. [A Spectacle of
Glory by Joni Eareckson Tada and Larry Libby]
PRACTICAL APPLICATION
I am a God who heals. I heal broken bodies, broken minds,
broken hearts, broken lives, and broken relationships. My very Presence
has immense healing powers. You cannot live close to Me without
experiencing some degree of healing. However, it is also true that you have
not because you ask not. You receive the healing that flows
naturally from My Presence, whether you seek it or not. But there is more
- much more - available to those who ask.
The first step in receiving healing is to live ever so close to
Me. The benefits of this practice are too numerous to list. As you
grow more and more intimate with Me, I reveal My will to you more
directly. When the time is right, I prompt you to ask for healing of some
brokenness in you or in another person. The healing may be instantaneous,
or it may be a process. That is up to Me. Your part is to trust Me
fully and to thank Me for the restoration that has begun.
I rarely heal all the brokenness in a person's life. Even My
servant Paul was told, "My grace is sufficient for you," when he sought
healing for the thorn in his flesh. Nonetheless, much healing is
available to those whose lives are intimately interwoven with Mine. Ask,
and you will receive. (Psa. 103:3; Jam. 4:2; 2 Cor. 12:7-9; Mat. 7:7
[Jesus Calling by Sarah Young]
ONE LINERS
Problems in prayer are often clues that wrong motives are at
work. [Life Application SB]
Asking prepares us to receive the blessing. [source unknown]
CROSS REFERENCES
Matthew 7:7 (NKJV) Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and
you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.
James 1:6-7 (NKJV) But let him ask in faith, with no doubting,
for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the
wind. 7 For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything
from the Lord;
LINKS FOR FURTHER STUDY
http://www.abible.com/devotions/2008/20081007-0017.html
http://www.abible.com/devotions/2018/20180131-1035.html
LINKS WORTH CHECKING OUT
Most Important Decision in Life:
http://www.youtube.com/embed/WGnEuGwvXqU?rel=0
A Man without Equal by Bill Bright:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NiVa7UoruIo [old, but one of the best]
Importance of Choice:
http://creationhealth.com/CREATION-Health/Choice [click on video]
Seeking God Made Real: http://vimeo.com/31489782
Prayer Made Real: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tc8VdMV26VE
Musical Devotional On Christian Living:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OcotY5K7T0c
Medical Seminar on Healthful Living by David DeRose, MD, MPH:
https://www.smartlifestyletv.com/lifestart
LINKS FOR BIBLE STUDIES
Lifting Up Jesus Bible Studies: http://www.liftingupjesus.net/
Amazing Facts Bible Studies:
http://www.amazingfacts.org/bible-study/bible-study-guides.aspx
Discover Bible Studies: http://studies.itiswritten.com/discover/
Glow Tract Video Bible Studies: http://www.bibleresearch.info/
ABible.com: http://www.aBible.com
LINKS FOR BIBLE PROPHECY SEMINARS
The Last Day of Prophecy by Pastor Doug Batchelor:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLmGvdtMCf1aJTiC59-lPtuUMEq_uEn0BK
Restoring The Power by John Bradshaw:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLRogO1SxoZN15Boa7BMon4BouVMdteVaq
Prophecies Decoded by Pastor Ron Clouzet:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL1A435C5373550657
Last Day Prophecy: His Other Sheep by Pastor Gerald Babanezhad:
https://vimeo.com/162267518
