Contradictions and Paradoxes in James 4:3

Check out Contradictions Catalog of James 4:3 for the comprehensive list of verses that contradicts James 4:3. Some key contradictions and paradoxes are described below.

According to James, you don't get what you ask for because you want things just to make yourself happy, not for the right reasons. It's like asking for candy all the time, even when it's not good for you.

James 4:3: Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume [it] upon your lusts. [lusts: or, pleasures]

Contradiction with Matthew 7:7

This verse promises that asking will lead to receiving, without mention of improper motives, potentially contradicting the condition in James 4:3 regarding motives.

Matthew 7:7: Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:

Contradiction with Mark 11:24

This verse states that whatever you desire, when you pray, believe you will receive them, seemingly unconditional on the motives which contrasts with James 4:3.

Mark 11:24: Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive [them], and ye shall have [them].

Contradiction with John 14:13-14

These verses indicate that whatever is asked in Jesus' name will be done, which could contradict James 4:3's implication that asking with wrong motives leads to not receiving.

John 14:13-14: And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.

Contradiction with 1 John 5:14-15

These verses suggest that if we ask anything according to God's will, He hears us, which implies conditions not based solely on motives.

1 John 5:14-15: And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: [in: or, concerning]

Paradox #1

James 4:3 talks about asking with wrong motives and not receiving. A moral conflict might arise from the idea that people could feel their prayers are unanswered, not because of the content, but because their intentions are judged as impure. This could create confusion or frustration about how to know one's motives and whether it's fair for prayers to depend on something internal and subjective like intention.

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