Ye ask and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts, Jas 4:3.

A few years ago our news media was reporting a national concern about a drought that had come upon our nation. It was reported in our daily paper that, "Several administration officials have said soberly that the only real solution is to pray for rain." On the surface it does seem to be a great blessing to have public officials in such high places who recognize that it is the Lord who gives or withholds the rain, and that we should humble ourselves to pray for rain. However, our text says, "Ye ask and receive not because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts."

God tells His servants to, "Cry aloud, lift up your voice like a trumpet, and shew my people their transgression . . . and their sins," Isa 58:1. The Lord told his people in De 28:15, 24, 38, why He made the, "rain of thy land powder and dust." He also told His people in Jer 3 why, "the showers have been withholden, and there hath been no latter rain," Jer 3:3, but He also told them upon what conditions their prayers would be answered!

Now we must identify our national sin to understand why God is withholding the rain. Is not the sin of America as the sin of Sodom? We read in Eze 16:49, "Behold, this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom, pride, fullness of bread, and abundance of idleness was in her and in her daughters, neither did she strengthen the hand of the needy." These were the sins of Sodom that caused God to send His judgments upon them. Those vile affections are the judgments God sends for pride, fullness of bread, idleness, and for worshiping the, "creature more than the Creator," Ro 1:25-32.

Has not our nation become guilty in these things? Has not idleness, entertainment and amusement captivated the lives in our nation? The Lord's house is forsaken for pleasure and entertainment and idleness, "doing thy pleasure on my holy day, Isa 58:13-14. The Lord makes such beautiful promises if we will, "honour Him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words," on His holy day. Read Isa 58:13-14 and He 4:9-10.

The Lord has also said under what conditions He will answer our prayers when we pray for rain. Certainly we must understand that if God withholds the rain as a reproof for our sin, we must repent of that sin before God will answer our prayer for rain. Our text says, "Ye ask and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts." We cannot ask for rain without repentance, so we can return back to our evil ways, to consume it upon our lusts, and expect our prayers to be granted.

God says, "If I shut up heaven that there be no rain . . . If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and heal their land," 2 Ch 7:13-14. In Jer 3:13-14 the Lord calls for repentance with such a gracious plea. "Only acknowledge thine iniquity, that thou hast transgressed against the Lord thy God." . . and ye have not obeyed my voice, saith the Lord"--and then

See how gracious He is to such sinners, "Turn O backsliding children, saith the Lord; for I am married unto you."