James 4:3

Plain English Version

And even if you do ask God for something, he doesn’t listen to you. He knows that you are just thinking about yourself. He knows you just want to make yourself happy, and you don’t care about anybody else, so he doesn’t give you that thing you want.

Cross References

Mark 10:38

Jesus said, “You 2 don’t understand what you are asking me. People will give me a really hard time. Do you reckon you can stay strong for God even when people give you a really hard time? I will have really bad pain. It’s like I will have to drink really bad drink, like poison. I will even die.”

Luke 11:10

You see, everyone that asks God for something will get it. Everyone that looks for something will find it. God will open the door for everyone that knocks on it.

Luke 15:13

A few days later, that youngest son sold all those things that his father gave him, then he took the money and went away to another country, far away. In that country he soon spent all that money. He just wasted it on all sorts of things that made him feel good.

Luke 15:30

But this other son of yours, he took your money away, and he wasted it. He even paid women to sleep with him, like a woman does with her husband. And then he came back here, and now you are good to him. You even killed a young cow and gave him a party. That’s not right.’

James 4:1

Why do you always fight and argue with each other? I’ll tell you why. It is because you only think about things that you want for yourself, to make yourself happy, and you don’t care about anyone else. So you fight everyone else to get the things you want.