James 4:2
Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not. Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not.
Frustrated lust and covetous desire drive people to fighting and warring and even to killing, yet even then they cannot obtain what they want. Wars and fightings come from selfish lusts warring within, as people covet and pursue what they want without success. The failure exposes selfish desire and conflict as matters demanding self-examination.
Among church members this appears as jealousy, faultfinding, talebearing and gossip, sowing seeds of dissension, stirring up strife, meddling in others' matters, and tearing down brethren to build up self. Such members show they are not branches of the true vine but manifest the attributes of Satan rather than union with Christ.
The reason for the lack is failure to ask God, for people do not have because they ask not. They lack what they need and desire because prayer has been neglected. God may grant in answer to the prayer of faith what He would not bestow if it were not asked. Asking in prayer is a source of strength, and those who ask receive.
Not receiving also comes from asking amiss to consume it upon lusts, which makes friendship with the world that is enmity with God. It comes from failing to ask with whole-hearted earnestness and fervency and genuine faith, since lack of faith weakens petitions. Self-sufficiency for wisdom and goodness likewise undermines asking, and God's people are called not to limit Him but to seek with faith.
What is lacking includes spiritual blessings and what God offers, with needed strength among the gifts withheld when prayer is neglected. Especially lacking are the Holy Spirit and His special gracious influence, and the joy of Christ, when believers do not pray in faith. Those who truly seek God through Christ's mediation receive the Spirit's gracious influence so they can share saving truth, grow heavenward into Christ, and be awakened to serve.
The verse is a rebuke and a lesson every church member must learn through close self-examination in the light of God's Word. That examination is needed in order to do the work that must be done and to comply with the conditions for acceptance with God. Acceptance comes by trusting belief in God rather than by feeling.
The remedy is to submit to God, resist the devil, draw nigh to God, cleanse the hands and purify the heart, mourn over sin, humble the self to be lifted up, and speak no evil of one another. In disagreements this means not brooding over suspected wrongs or nursing resentment but humbling the self, seeking reconciliation, and going directly to the person. So division and lingering wounds can be healed.
As a guard, especially for young men and women leaving school, the verse calls for daily placing oneself under God's watchcare, refusing self-sufficiency, committing the soul to His keeping, and holding fast the distinct and clear scriptural light already received. True manliness and true womanliness in the Christian life require this daily dependence.