Tuesday 22 Feb 2022

February 22: James 4:1-3

Key Verse: 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.

Devotion:
How many times have you asked God for something and never seemed to have your prayers answered? Who are you deceiving? Because of our different lives, friends, enemies and the way we live, each of us has desires within us which continue to grow until they are satisfied in some manner. When they do not get satisfied, we long more and more until we take steps we would not normally take just to satisfy ourselves.

Our problem is God knows us better than we know ourselves. He knows the desires we have and the situations we are going to put ourselves in when we don’t get what we want. He also knows what is best for us and will not give in to our petty wants when there is something more pressing or greater for us ahead.

We do things we ought not to because we don’t have what we want. We covet things more when we cannot have them. The wants and desires grow inside of us and spill over as such things as greed and pride – none of which is good for us in any manner. When we don’t have it we grow quarrelsome and stubborn, our feelings spilling over in ways we don’t want them to – because we are giving in to the world instead of including God in our lives.

Most of the time we lose out on things because we don’t ask God. We don’t listen and we don’t obey. When we do get things we waste them on frivolous spending or use; we don’t know any better because we are not listening out for God in all parts of our lives. We need to trust in our Lord more and listen to Him more...

Points to Ponder:
What desires get you in trouble?

Will you ask God to guide you in the right direction instead?