What do you think are the most common questions people ask God?<\/p>\n
I bet one comes to mind immediately\u2014why?<\/em> Right? We get bad news or hit a rocky spot and turn to God, asking, Why?<\/em> But \u201cwhy\u201d is seldom\u2014if ever\u2014a useful question. I don\u2019t think God has ever answered that question for me, probably because I wouldn\u2019t understand if He did. But there are many questions that God has answered, at least for people in the Bible. Here are five of them:<\/p>\n 1. Who am I?<\/strong> 2. What if?<\/strong> 3. How long?<\/strong> 4. What can I offer?<\/strong> 5. What must I do?<\/strong> So give it a try. Feel free to ask God any question you want, but keep in mind that some are usually more fruitful than others. And these five\u2014\u201cWho am I?,\u201d \u201cWhat if?,\u201d \u201cHow long?,\u201d \u201cWhat can I offer?,\u201d and \u201cWhat must I do?\u201d\u2014are among the best. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" What do you think are the most common questions people ask God? I bet one comes to mind immediately\u2014why? Right? We get bad news or hit a rocky spot and turn to God, asking, Why? But \u201cwhy\u201d is seldom\u2014if ever\u2014a useful question. I don\u2019t think God has ever answered that question for me, probably because […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":78,"featured_media":31035,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"ep_exclude_from_search":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[211],"tags":[159,30],"ppma_author":[465],"class_list":["post-24794","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-prayers-for-stronger-faith","tag-bible","tag-prayer"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
\nWhen God assigned to Moses the task of going back to Egypt and telling Pharaoh to set the Hebrew slaves free, Moses asked, \u201cWho am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?\u201d (Exodus 3:11, NIV). It was, of course, a protest, a statement more than a question. But it is still a good question, one of the best we can ask God in prayer. Who am I? What is my identity. What does God say about me in His word, the Bible? The person who sincerely asks God, \u201cWho am I?\u201d is often abundantly blessed by the answer.<\/p>\n
\nWhen God revealed to Abraham His plans to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah, the patriarch posed a series of questions. \u201cWhat if there are fifty righteous people in the city? Will you really sweep it away and not spare the place for the sake of the fifty righteous people in it?\u201d (Genesis 38:24, NIV). He kept asking \u201cwhat if?\u201d until God answered, \u201cFor the sake of ten, I will not destroy it\u201d (Genesis 38:32, NIV). Abraham\u2019s questions didn\u2019t save those cities but they do seem to reveal that God enjoys the \u201cwhat if\u201d questions. \u201cWhat if we got together with other churches in our town for this purpose?\u201d \u201cWhat if I took a different course in my career?\u201d \u201cWhat if\u2014\u201d You get the idea.<\/p>\n
\nOne of the most frequent Bible questions is \u201cHow long?\u201d The Psalms alone repeat the question 15 times. \u201cHow long will you hide your face from me?\u201d (Psalm 13:1, NIV). \u201cHow long will my enemy triumph over me?\u201d (Psalm 13:2, NIV). \u201cHow long must your servant wait?\u201d (Psalm 119:84, NIV). It is a better prayer than \u201cwhy,\u201d not only because the psalmists prayed it so often but perhaps also because it carries within it the seed of an answer: Not always. Not forever. Not (we hope) much longer.<\/p>\n
\nThe beautiful Psalm 116 contains the question, \u201cWhat can I offer the Lord for all he has done for me?\u201d (Psalm 116:12, NLT). It is a fine question to ask any time. \u201cWhat can I offer?\u201d I see a need in my community; \u201cGod, what can I offer?\u201d I hear the cry of someone in pain; \u201cWhat can I offer?\u201d I remember an upcoming appointment; \u201cWhat can I offer?\u201d It is a prayer question that will often squeeze sweetness out of the sourest circumstances.<\/p>\n
\nWhen an earthquake opened the doors of the European jail in which Paul and Silas had been imprisoned, the jailer was shocked to learn that no one had escaped, and thus his life and livelihood had been preserved. The discovery prompted him to ask, \u201cSirs, what must I do to be saved?\u201d Then followed their famous answer, \u201cBelieve in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved, you and your household\u201d (Acts 16:30-31, NIV). It is a great question to ask in prayer, any time. \u201cLord, what must I do?\u201d \u201cWhat are you saying to me?\u201d \u201cWhere are you pointing me?\u201d \u201cWhat will bring about deliverance and freedom in this situation?\u201d<\/p>\n