Anchor Verses
James 4:6, Matthew 6:8-9, John 16:24
Focus Statement
Our Father loves to give, so stop fighting for what you want and start asking for what He’s glad to give.
Introduction
- Ask: What did you want underneath your last argument?
- Preview: Why we fight, why we don’t have, and why even our prayers miss.
Part I: We fight because we want (vv. 1–2a)
- Explain: Before there’s a war between us, there’s a war inside us.
- Illustrate: My son, two dollars of plans, one dollar in hand. Stop on his face.
- Apply: “I fought about ___ because I wanted ___.” Confess the traffic example first.
Part II: We don’t have because we don’t ask (v. 2b)
- Explain: God already knows (Matt 6:8), but He wants the conversation. Sons ask; robots don’t.
- Illustrate: The Renaissance Festival, a dad eager to give and waiting to be asked.
- Apply: Thank Him while asking, not instead of asking (Phil 4:6). What have you never said out loud to God?
Part III: We ask wrongly (vv. 3–5)
- Explain: Kakōs means wrong aim. Hēdonais and dapanaō (the prodigal’s “spend”) show us using the Father to get away from the Father. God’s jealousy is love, not insecurity.
- Guardrail: Not every unanswered prayer means bad motives.
- Illustrate: The dollar on the ground. He wanted the candy, not his dad.
- Apply: Motive check. Would this draw me closer to Him or let me need Him less?
Landing (v. 6)
- “But He gives more grace,” literally greater grace.
- The reveal: I was already looking for the second dollar.
- When the Father hands you one dollar, it’s not because He’s short. It’s because He’s not done.
Next Week…
- James 4:7–17 Pride to Humility
- “Verse 6 says God opposes the proud. Next week, James tells us what to do about it, starting with one word: therefore. We’ll ask a simple question: who’s sitting in God’s chair?”
