Because You Do Not Ask...

"You want something but don't get it. You kill and covet, but you cannot have what you want. You quarrel and fight. You do not have, because you do not ask God." James 4:2

I know we all walk around questioning life sometimes. We wonder why things happen, we wonder why things don't happen. We wonder why it seems some people are always displaying the good fortune in life, while others spend every day in despair, crying out for change. Do you ever wonder if the answers are more simple than what we make them out to be? We ask why we get sick with a disease, why, oh why does God want us to suffer- and we think that there is some great, hidden purpose or some complex reason behind it. But maybe it's just so much more simple than that. What if we don't have the things that we desire because we simply do not ask?

James 4 says right there at the end of verse two, "You do not have, because you do not ask God." What if all this time we've been agonizing over meaning and direction, and being patient, wondering when God will reveal himself to us, and really, all we needed to do was ask Him? It changes my perspective to think in this manner. For years Andy and I have been keeping an eye out for a sign, for direction, anything, that would give us some clue as to where and how we are to serve our God. And sure, we've asked God for direction- but for what purpose? Honestly, for selfish reasons. We want to know where God's going to want us for security purposes, we want to know that our children are going to be taken care of- that their needs will be met. We want to know what God has in store for us because we're selfish, and tired of being patient.

Perhaps though, it's in the how we ask as well. We do not have because we don't ask, but we ask for selfish reasons, and that is not a good reason to approach the mighty throne of God. Check out the first part of James 4:3

"When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives"

And then look at verses 13-15:

"Now listen, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money." 14Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. 15Instead, you ought to say, "If it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that."

We should ask for direction from God according to His will and His timing. When we seek His face and come before Him with an earnest heart- one that truly desires to serve Him, then He will answer. My life is nothing without God, it is void and without meaning. But with my life, I desire to serve Him in whatever way He needs me to serve. I don't deserve to have the opportunity to serve, really. None of us do. But it's quite the thought that when I truly want to seek God's direction for my life, that there is a correct way to do it. Moaning about, desiring revelation isn't enough. I also need to humble myself, I need to come to God with the correct attitude, with my sins repented of, and turned away from, and then, only then, may I present my requests to The King. And I know He will answer. Sometimes He will answer with direction, sometimes He will answer with a resounding yes. Sometimes, the answer will be a resounding no- or as the case often is, the answer will be "not yet" or "wait". But God always answers. Always, and as His servant, I will accept whatever the answer is and follow it accordingly, for my heart, soul, and life is secure in His Hands.

Yet I can also think before I ask. Why am I asking God for this? I have asked God in the past for the ugly varicose veins on my legs to be removed. They seem to get worse all the time, and as I get older they get uglier and more pronounced. Wearing shorts has become an embarrassment to me, they've become so bad. Yet, why am I asking for God to take these veins away? Honestly, I am embarrassed by them, they are ugly and unbecoming. Sure, they make me uncomfortable from time to time, but ultimately, I think I have been asking for selfish reasons. I want to look better, I want to feel better about myself. That is selfish reasoning, and I should be asking, what would it mean for God if these veins went away? I don't know the answer to that. I do know that a healing or a miracle should show the caring and loving nature of God. I also know that such a thing should bring glory to God. Now I can pray and say "for your glory God, heal the veins on my legs" but really... in my heart I selfishly just want them gone for aesthetic reasons. So I've stopped asking for God to take away my varicose veins. In His timing, if it were to serve His purpose, and reveal His glory and nature, I do believe that the veins could simply disappear. But I don't deserve to be asking for something superficial for selfish reasons.

I need to remember that. Before I take a petition before My Lord, I need to pray on the petition itself, and really give thought behind my request. Why am I asking this of God? Why? What purpose does it serve? I do not receive, because I do not ask. Yet when I ask, I ask selfishly. Instead I need to remember this:

"Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up." James 4:10