http:\/\/www.blueletterbible.org\/Comm\/guzik_david\/StudyGuide_Jam\/Jam_4.cfm<\/a>).<\/p>\nAre you living in a state of \u201cme vs. him\/her\/them\u201d? Check your carnality gauge. It\u2019s probably through the roof. Guzik goes on to quote New Testament scholar Douglas Moo, \u201cJames seems to be bothered more by the selfish spirit and bitterness of the quarrels than by the rights and wrongs of the various viewpoints” (ibid.) Amen to that.<\/p>\n
You lust and do not have; so you commit murder. You are envious and cannot obtain; so you fight and quarrel.<\/em><\/p>\nThe apostle John said, \u201cWe know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love abides in death. Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer; and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him<\/em>\u201d (1 John 3:14-15). Lust\u2014whether for someone else\u2019s stuff, status, position, relationship, or anything else\u2014can lead you into jealousy or indignation bordering on hatred. You’ve got to learn to recognize the signs of envy in your own heart so you can stop it before it takes root. Don\u2019t let yourself flirt with that green-eyed monster! If you discover you are dealing with jealousy, then acknowledge it before God,\u00a0and receive His mercy and grace to deal appropriately with it. If you don’t, you will be held accountable.<\/p>\nYou do not have because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures.<\/em><\/p>\nMany Bible teachers cite this section to diagnose underlying causes for unanswered prayer. It\u2019s important to recognize, though, that James specifically wrote this portion of his letter to contentious Christians involved in conflicts and quarrels due to their lust for what each other possessed. Therefore, this admonition should not<\/em> be universally applied to all cases of lack and unanswered prayer. Have you prayed for something and have not yet received it? Don\u2019t automatically assume you have asked with the wrong motive; a number of reasons exist for unanswered prayer; this is but one of them.<\/p>\nHowever, if your prayers remain unanswered and<\/em> you find yourself in a constant state of conflict with one or more believers, then check your heart. Are you jealous? Are you angry that someone else has attained a position or status that you think you deserve? Do you feel slighted because of someone else’s blessings? Are you fuming because someone did not listen to your advice or go along with your opinion? Are you stewing because someone has snubbed or overlooked you? James just might be talking to you. Both jealousy and a misplaced sense of \u201crighteous\u201d indignation are definitely prayer hinderers\u2014and blessing blockers.<\/p>\nYour job? Guard your heart, watch over the state of your soul, and yield to the correction of the Lord whenever that familiar conviction arises within you. Leave it to the Lord figure out everyone else’s heart, soul, and motives, and don’t get your hackles up over the distribution of God’s blessings, abundance, and wealth. There’s enough for everyone, and He’ll never run out. Only believe.<\/p>\n
Dorothy<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
What is the source of quarrels and conflicts among you? Is not the source your pleasures that wage war in your members? You lust and do not have; so you commit murder. You are envious and cannot obtain; so you fight and quarrel. You do not have because you do not ask. You ask and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6155","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-james-4"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.firstofallpray.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6155","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.firstofallpray.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.firstofallpray.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.firstofallpray.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.firstofallpray.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6155"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/www.firstofallpray.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6155\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6158,"href":"http:\/\/www.firstofallpray.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6155\/revisions\/6158"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.firstofallpray.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6155"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.firstofallpray.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6155"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.firstofallpray.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6155"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}