James 4:3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures.
How often do we ask God for things not because we intend to honor Him with it, but because we just WANT it to make ourselves happy. This could apply to all kinds of request we ask of God. We can learn our true motives for asking God for answers to our prayers by answering a few questions.
1. Why do I want God to answer this prayer request in the way I want?
2. Am I wanting this particular answer because it will make me feel better some how?
3. Am I wanting Him to answer my prayer a particular way because I want to protect His reputation (i.e. I don't want to have to defend His actions)
4. Am I going to be happy and content no matter what the answer is?
Hard questions. I often find myself wanting a particular answer because I want Him to do things the way I think they should be done instead of allowing Him to be God and make the decisions how it should be done. I want control.
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