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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