James warns against worldliness. He says that passions wage war within us. He says, “You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so your fight and quarrel. You do not have because you do not ask” (James 4:2 ESV). He also says that when we do ask we don’t receive because of poor motives: “You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions” (vs. 3).
The opposite is true, though. We will receive if we ask with proper motives. James says, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble” (vs. 6). When we humble ourselves and ask with proper motives, God will grant it to us. God wants us to be able to help others. He wants us to have abundance so that we can provide for the needs of others.
If we humble ourselves, distance ourselves from worldly desires, and genuinely want to help others God will provide for our needs and grant us what we ask of him. God’s will is that people be taken care of and ultimately be saved. When we work to this end, God blesses abundantly.