Is it OK to ask God questions?

The quick answer is yes, we should have questions, and we should take them to God.  But while it’s okay to have and ask questions, it is not okay to doubt.

Asking God Questions 

We should take our questions to God in prayer. We can come boldly to the throne of grace with whatever is on our minds or in our hearts (Heb 4:16).

God desires that we seek to know Him better. And when our minds find confusion in the world or even in the Bible, we can turn to Him for answers.  And while He might not give us an immediate or clear answer, He will give us peace while waiting for a clearer understanding.

So questions are good! But don’t let your questions turn to doubt because doubting God is a sin.

God is sovereign in everything, and His will and ways are perfect. Therefore, we must not doubt that which He allows or that which He brings about in our lives or in the world.  Instead, when we lack understanding or when uncertainty, fear, or worry arise, we must choose to trust Him!

Created to Grow in Grace and Knowledge

2 Pet 3:18  …grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever. Amen.

God, in His grace, has revealed Himself to man since the beginning of time when He walked in the Garden (Gen 3:8). As time continued, He revealed more of Himself through His chosen people, the Law given to them, and a sacrificial system that made it possible for them to come to Him.  Through the prophets, God told of His purpose and plan and gave miracles, signs, and wonders to reveal His working in their lives.  And finally, God revealed Himself then and now through His Son and in His written Word.

“Come let us reason together” (Isaiah 1:18)

As we grow in grace and knowledge, we will have many questions.  But God created us with minds that can reason, and God has told us that He will help us to reason (Isaiah 1:18).  We see an example of this in the prophet Habakkuk.

Observing grievous sin all around, Habakkuk had many questions. He did not understand what God was doing, why things were as they were, and why, it appeared, God was not judging the sins of His people.  Unlike other prophets, to whom God spoke and they prophesied to the people, Habakkuk questioned God.  Habakkuk’s name means to “wrestle” or “embrace,” and the book that bears His name accurately reveals the tension we all experience when we wrestle with unanswered questions and try to embrace the revelations of God in His Word.

Habakkuk asked four questions that we all have: 

1. God, where are you when I need you? (Hab 1:1-11)
2. Why do bad things happen to good people? (Hab 1:12-2:4)
3. Why do good things happen to bad people? (Hab 2:4-20)
4. Will I make it through this trial? (Hab 3:1-19)

God, in His patient kindness, graciously responded to Habakkuk’s questions, and Habakkuk went from questioning God to trusting God.  From Habakkuk, we can learn three important principles that we should remember when we have questions of God:

1) God’s ways are not our ways, and we will never fully understand everything.  

Isaiah 55:8-9  For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD.  For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.

2) God is Sovereign, and His purpose and plans are perfect. 

Ecclesiastes 3:1  To everything there is a season and a time to every purpose under the heaven.
Psalm 18:30  As for God, His way is perfect; The word of the LORD is proven… 

3) God is Faithful and True, working all things for our good and His glory.

Romans 8:28  And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

Questions for God

It is good to bring questions to God because God loves us and wants us to understand His will and ways. He wants us to know Him better and love Him more. Jesus, Paul, and Peter confirm this.

John 17:3  And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.
Eph 1:17  that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him
2 Pet 1:2  Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord
1 Pet 1:8  whom having not seen you love. Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory,

Questions are a good thing; doubts are not. 

Questions are asked for answers or clarification when information is incomplete.  Doubts are conjectures or conclusions.  Questions asked of God indicate a desire to know God better and to understand His will and ways.  Doubting indicates a lack of belief and, sadly, a failure to trust.

Back to the Prophet Habakkuk, who took many questions to God.  God did not fully answer his questions.  Rather, He reminded Habakkuk of who He is.  Habakkuk’s circumstances did not change (Hab 3:17). But his heart changed, and his mind was renewed in trusting God.

Habakkuk still did not understand what God was doing, but he could trust God, knowing He is just and faithful.  With stronger faith and trust in God, Habakkuk worshipped:

Habakkuk 3:18-19  Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation.  The LORD God is my strength… 

When God is Silent

When we don’t get answers to our questions and don’t understand what God is doing, we must choose to remember who God is, and know that He is acting according to His goodness and in His perfect ways and timing.

Hebrews 10:23  Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for He is faithful that promised;)

We should also remember that the work He has already begun in us, He has promised to complete in us.  Therefore, we don’t need to know all the answers to our questions. We just need to choose to trust Him.

Philippians 2:13  For it is God who works in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure.

Philippians 1:6  Being confident of this very thing, that he who has begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ 

In Summary

So is it OK to ask God questions?  Yes!  Bring your questions to God and wait on the Lord! Wait reverently, expectantly, and faithfully—knowing and trusting that He is Sovereign, Faithful, and True.

Psalm 27:14  Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD.

Don’t make answers a substitute for faith.  Understand that not getting answers to your questions can be a great blessing.  Too often, when we have answers, we trust in the answers.  But without answers, we learn to trust God.

The book of Job is another great example of trusting God when one doesn’t know why things are happening.  Job did not understand why he was afflicted with such great pain and sorrow from unforeseen circumstances.  Job never got the answer to his “why” questions.  Instead, God pointed Job to the  “Who” answer.  God revealed Himself to Job and reminded Job of His faithfulness, and Job learned to trust God in all things.

It might not always be apparent how or when God answers your questions– or why He answers as He does. But you can choose to have faith and trust, knowing that God hears your every question, and in His love and faithfulness, He will respond — in His way, according to His will, and in His perfect time.

Remember…. when you can’t trace His hand…you can trust His heart!

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