Consume it Upon Your Lusts

James wrote the following about prayer to the Saints of his day, “Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts” (James 4:3).  Moroni used similar language in his exhortation to us of the last days: “Be wise in the days of your probation; strip yourselves of all uncleanness; ask not, that ye may consume it on your lusts, but ask with a firmness unshaken, that ye will yield to no temptation, but that ye will serve the true and living God” (Mormon 9:28).  We see the language again about not consuming on our lusts in the Doctrine and Covenants in the section on spiritual gifts: “For verily I say unto you, they are given for the benefit of those who love me and keep all my commandments, and him that seeketh so to do; that all may be benefited that seek or that ask of me, that ask and not for a sign that they may consume it upon their lusts” (D&C 46:8).  As we seek answers to prayers as well as spiritual gifts from God, we must not seek them to satisfy our own lusts.

                 These verses highlight the need for us to be humble and selfless as we pray and seek to develop spiritual gifts.  Perhaps if we struggle to find answers to prayers we need to focus more on asking how we can help others instead of thinking only of our own blessings that we lack.  We of course need to ask for help and blessings from the Lord, but we must be careful that what we seek is not rooted in lust or selfish desires to just make our own lives easier.  The “help me win the lottery so I can live a life of ease” type prayers are much less likely to be answered than those prayers in which we plead for strength to help and serve others.  The scriptures also teach that answers to prayers come to us easier as we can rid ourselves of sin and evil: “And if ye are purified and cleansed from all sin, ye shall ask whatsoever you will in the name of Jesus and it shall be done” (D&C 50:29).  The less sin and selfishness we have in us, the more the Lord can pour out His Spirit upon us to bless us.  Perhaps the prayers of Enos give us an example of what we should pray for.  He first “cried unto him in mighty prayer and supplication” for his own soul until he received a remission of his sins.  After being cleansed and receiving this strength from the Lord, he pled in behalf of the Nephites: “I began to feel a desire for the welfare of my brethren, the Nephites; wherefore, I did pour out my whole soul unto God for them (v4).  After this selfless prayer He turned outward further still: “I prayed unto him with many long strugglings for my brethren, the Lamanites” (Enos 1:4, 9, 11).  First he sought for his own forgiveness before the Lord, then he sought to bless the lives of those he loved, and then he prayed fervently for even his enemies.  The more the Lord answered his prayers the more outward he turned trying to help others through his petitions to the Lord.  His is an example for us to follow as we try to purify our own hearts before the Lord.