James wrote by THE SPIRIT in chapter 4 of his epistle:
3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures.
And Jesus spoke in John chapter 15:
7 If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.
8 By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.
FATHER looks forward to blessing each of us in all that we do. However, the key to receiving our requests from HIM is to ask according to HIS Will. HE will not answer our prayer if it promotes “self” and does not glorify Our Heavenly Father. It is HIS good pleasure to bless and prosper us in a manner consistent with HIS Word. As we focus on HIS Word and not man’s soulish interpretation of HIS Word, we will be blessed and produce good fruit for the Kingdom. We will enter into the flow of life coming forth from the Throne of Our Heavenly Father.
FATHER’S orientation is that of abundance, not scarcity. When HE spoke to Abraham, HE affirmed this in Genesis chapter 17:
1 When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am Almighty God; walk before Me and be blameless. 2 And I will make My covenant between Me and you, and will multiply you exceedingly.”
And Paul wrote by THE SPIRIT in Ephesians chapter 3:
20 Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us
The issue in being blessed by FATHER lies with us, not HIM. HE is forever willing to increase our provision as long as it serves the purpose for properly expanding the Kingdom both internally and externally. HE has given us The Word to live by containing the roadmap to success. HE is not opposed to us having abundance as long as it serves a righteous purpose and does not derail us from our maturing process. We have been warned of those who would take advantage of us by their doctrines of half-truths and are told to beware. HE calls us to be fruit inspectors as simply one way to determine if we are on track as well as those who claim to be HIS prophets and/or teachers. FATHER’S Love is expressed in HIS Word and HE is more than willing to meet all our needs according to the riches in Christ Jesus. The Amplified version of Ephesians chapter 3 points this out quite well:
16 May He grant you out of the riches of His glory, to be strengthened and spiritually energized with power through His Spirit in your inner self, [indwelling your innermost being and personality],
17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through your faith. And may you, having been [deeply] rooted and [securely] grounded in love,
18 be fully capable of comprehending with all the saints (God’s people) the width and length and height and depth of His love [fully experiencing that amazing, endless love];
19 and [that you may come] to know [practically, through personal experience] the love of Christ which far surpasses [mere] knowledge [without experience], that you may be filled up [throughout your being] to all the fullness of God [so that you may have the richest experience of God’s presence in your lives, completely filled and flooded with God Himself].
20 Now to Him who is able to [carry out His purpose and] do superabundantly more than all that we dare ask or think [infinitely beyond our greatest prayers, hopes, or dreams], according to His power that is at work within us
Reread these verses and contemplate the Truth and reality of the promises contained therein. We must dig deep down and find what it is preventing us from walking in HIS fullness and ask The Holy Spirit to reveal any issue causing us to ask amiss. The Word purifies us and if given the opportunity, It will cleanse us of all unrighteousness. We must not allow ourselves to be taken off track by erroneous teachings of man and allow The Holy Spirit to intervene and remove our blindness of those false teachings. Otherwise, we will continue to ask amiss.