James 4:3 (GNV)

Passage

Ye aske, and receiue not, because ye aske amisse, that ye might lay the same out on your pleasures.

Nearby Context

James 4:1 From whence are warres and contentions among you? are they not hence, euen of your pleasures, that fight in your members?

James 4:2 Ye lust, and haue not: ye enuie, and desire immoderately, and cannot obtaine: ye fight and warre, and get nothing, because ye aske not.

James 4:3 Ye aske, and receiue not, because ye aske amisse, that ye might lay the same out on your pleasures.

James 4:4 Ye adulterers and adulteresses, knowe ye not that the amitie of the world is the enimitie of God? Whosoeuer therefore will be a friend of the world, maketh himselfe the enemie of God.

James 4:5 Doe ye thinke that the Scripture sayeth in vaine, The spirit that dwelleth in vs, lusteth after enuie?

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "aske", "receiue", "amisse", "might", "same", and "pleasures". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "aske" and "receiue", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 2's "Ye lust and haue not ye enuie..." into verse 4's "Ye adulterers and adulteresses knowe ye not...", so "aske" and "receiue" belong inside that flow. In James context, the local focus is Christ, faith, and discipleship.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "aske" and "receiue" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.