James 4:1-3 (NKJV) 1 Where do wars and fights come from among you? Do they not come from your desires for pleasure that war in your members? 2 You lust and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war. Yet 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 pleasures.
As James addressed fellow believers, and the things he was seeing taking place among them, he felt it necessary to address the conflict that was happening among some of them.
James had observed that there was much strife between some people in the body of Christ, and he saw by the Holy Spirit exactly what it was that caused it; pride, and a lack of true submission to God.
Pride will cause us to do so many things that do nothing more than promote chaos in our lives. That chaos may not necessarily be evident outwardly in our lives, but it is definitely there inwardly!
In addition to chaos, pride will also cause us to covet and lust after what others have. And as believers, we will even pray and ask God for those very same things.
Because we ask for these things amiss, out of wrong motives, we will not receive them by God’s hand. He will deny our requests.
If we are carnal in our thoughts and our methods, we may just push through and take action to obtain what we are requesting by natural means, ignoring God’s leading and the fact that He is not answering our prayers. This is where we often get ourselves into trouble.
So, if we have been praying and asking God for something, whether a material item or otherwise, and we are not getting whatever it is that we’re asking for, we may very well need to examine our motives.
Are they pure? Do they serve God, or do they serve our own desires?
These are good questions that will teach us a lot about ourselves.
Pastor Curt & Pastor Ellie
Seven Seas Ministries
P.O. Box 272
Bradford, RI 02808
401-315-0902
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