One of the hardest things for a person to do is to submit and wait on God or on the flip side of this is to admit that we actually need help and then ask for it. In both instances, it’s our pride that gets in the way. I believe that God loves it when His children actually ask Him to provide for them because when we do, we admit that we actually need Him. We need to remember Jesus’ words in Matthew 7:9-11 “Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!”
But, we when ask, we need to check our motives in why we are asking, as James 4:3 warns us, “When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.” It’s not that God doesn’t want us to enjoy life, God loves to celebrate. But His concern is broader than just us. He is also concerned about the people around us, those in which He is calling us to be salt and light to by loving and sacrificing for them for the sake of the Gospel. God is all about raising up for Himself a people after His own heart which means followers who are concerned about loving and caring for those around them. James does gives us a good warning, but don’t ever let this verse stop you from actually asking God for what you need. Don’t let this verse stop you from acknowledging your dependency on God by telling Him what your needs are because the whole point of the passage that this verse rests in is about submitting to God and understanding that we need to humble ourselves before Him by embracing the reality of our dependency on Him.