Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary James 4:3

"Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may spend [it] in your pleasures." — James 4:3 (ASV)

Even when James’s readers did ask God for things, they did “not receive” what they requested. Why? They asked “with wrong motives.” Their purpose was to “spend” what they got for “pleasures” (same word as “desires” in v.1). The prodigal son exemplifies one who spent his money in this way . It was the desire of James’s readers for pleasures that was battling within them for satisfaction (v.1) and even leading them to try to use prayer as a means of gratification. They wanted to gratify themselves rather than help others and please God.