Bible Verse of the Day Monday October 4th 2021

James 4:3 When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.

There was a pastor who had a parrot. All the bird would say was, “Let’s pray, let’s pray.” The pastor tried to teach him to say other things but to no avail. Then, he learned that one of his deacons had a parrot. The deacon’s parrot would only say, “Let’s kiss. Let’s kiss.” So, the pastor decided to invite the deacon and his parrot over to his house. When the deacon arrived, they put the parrots into the same cage to see what would happen. The deacon’s parrot said, “Let’s kiss, let’s kiss.” The pastor’s parrot said, “Thank you, Lord, for answering my prayers”

Many people view God as some sort of genie in a bottle that stands ready to grant their every wish and command. For example, the parents of a child at a ball game pray to let their child’s team win the game, or someone who slept in a few minutes too long and is running late for work prays that they will get there on time.

Folks engrossed in their self-interest hold an extremely superficial outlook of who God is and His plan of redemption for His children. They believe that God is there to serve them and their wants and desires, quench the fires of their pain and suffering and assure their life is as pleasurable as they desire. These people know God only as the world sees Him and not as the Bible reveals who God is.

In our text today, James points out that we will not receive from God if we pray with the wrong motives. He tells us in verse 4 that if we choose to be a friend to the world, we will become an enemy of God (James 4:4). James points out here in verse 4 that we cannot be friends with the world and friends of God simultaneously (Matthew 6:24). All human actions begin with a thought that morphs into a desire, so even a thought of being friends with the world will lead to enmity with God. Any friendship with the world will place us on a path of destruction that is out of the will of God for our lives. No matter how we choose to dress it up it is a confrontation and dispute with God.

We should take a long serious look at our own prayer life. If we find that our prayers are most often offered for our advantage, wellbeing, or gratification, it is past time to readjust the way we pray. Our time of prayer is not a time to ask God for something for ourselves, but a time to ask God what we can do for Him.

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