Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.
Some are supposed to object, But we do "ask" (cf. James 4:2). James replies, It is not enough to ask for good things, but we must ask with a good spirit. "Ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it (your object) upon (literally, in) your lusts" (literally, pleasures): not that ye may have the things you need for the service of God. Contrast James 1:5 with Matthew 6:31-32. If ye prayed aright, all your proper wants would be supplied: the improper cravings which produce "fightings" would cease. Even believers' prayers are often best answered when their desires are most thwarted.