In chapter 4 of his letter, James gives us two reasons why prayer is not answered. The first is: you do not have because you do not ask (4:2). So basic, but so true. In many churches, we don’t make much time for prayer; we don’t see it as a necessity for life, let alone a daily source of joy and sanity. The second reason for unanswered prayer is: … you ask wrongly, in order to spend what you get on your pleasures (4:3). The solution to our self-focus in prayer is to shift our focus onto God: Draw near to God and he will draw near to you (4:8). Humble yourselves before the Lord and he will exalt you (4:10). James tells us that the way up to God in prayer is down through the valley of humility. There, we let prayer begin to change us rather than focusing our prayer on changing God (4:5-7).