James 4:3

3 You ask and don't receive because you ask wrongly, so that you may spend it on your desires for pleasure.

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 What is the source of the wars and the fights among you? Don't they come from the cravings that are at war within you?

2 You desire and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war. You do not have because you do not ask.

3 You ask and don't receive because you ask wrongly, so that you may spend it on your desires for pleasure.

4 Adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? So whoever wants to be the world's friend becomes God's enemy.

5 Or do you think it's without reason the Scripture says that the Spirit He has caused to live in us yearns jealously?