You Have Not Because Why?

I have often heard the scripture "you have not because you ask not" used in ways that seem like if we just ask God then He will supply, right? But today I want to challenge that mindset a little bit. First by saying that God does not just supply the things we ask for, and second by saying that we can ask all we want, but we must remember that as we ask God, He is searching our heart.
The first point that I want to go into is that God does not just supply the things we ask for. Not things in the natural or the supernatural. He is not a God that is waiting on our requests so He can hand things out to us. God has one concern when it comes to us as individuals, and that is to draw us closer to Him. No matter what it is we are asking for, it must line up with His will for our life, it must be something that is going to draw us closer to Him and it must be something that is going to bring honor and glory to His name (not ours). IF we remember those things then it will make it so much more clear what we should be asking for, and why it seems like some things we ask for never seem to come about. It is not that God is holding back from "you", it might just be that God is growing you and the thing you "think" you need right now is not going to get you to the place the desires for you to be. Even if in our own natural minds it makes perfect sense for God to just answer this prayer, we have to trust and believe that He sees far beyond what we can and if that prayer it taking a while or just not happening, it is because He knows what we need better than we do.
The second point I mentioned is that God searches out heart when we come to Him asking. And I believe this is the most important of the 2 points. Why? Because sometimes we have a hard time getting honest with ourselves and we can justify things in our hearts and in our minds that God can see right past. Like I stated early, people tend to quote the end of James 4:2 a lot saying "You have not because you ask not", but then they leave out the very next verse, verse 3. I love the way the New Living Translation (NLT) puts it...."And even when you ask, you don’t get it because your motives are all wrong—you want only what will give you pleasure". You see God sees deep into the heart of man, and the only way God is going to grant us things is when He sees that we are ready for them. Picture it like this: A good farmer would not go plant seed in the ground if the ground was not ready to grow the seed into what it is meant to be. A good farmer knows the soil in which he is planting into, and he knows the condition it needs to be in and the exact time in which "the planting" needs to take place. That is God....He knows us better than we know ourselves. And He knows when is the right time to grant us certain things and when is not. Even the spiritual gifts He has waiting for us cannot come until the condition of our heart is ready for them. What kind of God would He be if He just said "ok, because you ask and ask I will give you this, but I really don't think you are ready for it"? He is a good good Father who does not want to give to His children just to satisfy them, but to teach them, grow them, bless them, and enable them to bless others through Him.
He has one goal, and that is to advance His kingdom...and He wants to use you to do that. So when you are thinking about going into a time of prayer to ask God for something, first go into a time of preparation asking God to search your heart so that when you come asking, you will be prepared to receive. A good parent does not spoil their child, but instead teaches their child to appreciate the things they have, so when they do receive more they will feel the blessing behind it, not just the satisfaction of getting it. Ask God today to help you feel truly blessed for what you have right now, so when the time is right and the heart is right, He can bless you with the "more" that you He has waiting for you.
I certainly wouldn't want to rewrite scripture, but maybe if we could put those 2 verses together into one sentence it would like something like this: "You have not because you have not prepared your heart in a way that you can ask and receive".
God, thank You that You are a good good Father. Thank You that You have blessings for us, but You will not ruin us by just handing them out. Holy Spirit prepare our hearts for ALL that God has waiting for us, so that when we coming asking, He searches a prepared heart, and is able to bless us. Then allow others to seen the glory of God in every blessing we receive. In Jesus name, Amen