We rarely hear someone pray a question. However, in the Bible, questions appear frequently in prayer. Most of us are used to praying statements – worship, requests, declarations. But what if questions could deepen our praying?
The Lament Question
In Scripture, lament is the most common setting in which someone prays a question. The pray-er isn’t necessarily expecting God to answer, but the question is a way of expressing the heart’s pain, confusion or disappointment to the Lord.
Usually, the lament question is addressed to the Lord. For example, in Psalm 13, David wrestles with what feels like God’s delay in rescuing him from his enemy, and he vents his emotion through a repeated question: How long, Lord….? He asks it four times before moving into a prayer of trust and praise – always a good follow-on from lament.
Lament questions can also be addressed to oneself. In Psalm 43, the psalmist faces serious trouble, but affirms God as his stronghold. He begins with his lament questions to God (verse 2), and then turns to himself: Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? (verse 5). Of course, he could have simply told himself, ‘Come on – you have no reason to despair!’. But by framing it as a question, he seems to reach deeper into his own heart.
Beyond lament, questions can also be used in other types of prayer.
The Praise Question
The psalmist could simply praise God as being incomparable. Instead, he frames his praise as a question: Who is like the Lord our God? (Psalm 113:5). Sometimes, we can strengthen our praise by immediately answering our own question. For example: Who is the king of glory? The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle. (Psalm 24:8-10)
We can also address the praise question to a situation, event, or circumstance. In Psalm 114, the psalmist recalls two of God’s powerful acts during Israel’s exodus: parting the Red Sea and halting the Jordan River. He addresses his questions to the sea and the river: Why was it sea, that you fled? Why, Jordan, did you turn back? (5). They turned back, or fled for the same reason that the mountains shook and water gushed from a rock – the presence of the Lord made it happen! (6-8).
The Celebration Question
After explaining life in the Spirit, our future glory, and God at work for our good, Paul bursts into a series of five celebratory questions, beginning with, If God is for us, who can be against us? (Rom 8:31-35). He answers two of them, but even where he doesn’t, the questions themselves carry a celebration of triumph!
The Awe Question
The awe question expresses wonder at a truth about the Lord – the heart’s wow response to his nature. Paul models this in Rom 11:33-34. His amazement at God’s deep wisdom and knowledge climaxes with two questions: Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counsellor?
The Trust Question
David’s life is in danger; his enemies are pursuing him. Yet, he trusts in God – a trust that frees him from fear – and he expresses that through a trust question: What can man do to me? (Psalm 56:4,11).
The Desire Question
In Psalm 42:1, the psalmist expresses his deep longing to be in God’s presence once again; his soul pants for the Lord. Then he prays a question that intensifies that longing: When can I go and meet with God?
Praying a question helps us to reach a bit deeper in expressing to the Lord what’s in our heart.
In your scheduled prayer times, or your ongoing conversation with the Lord throughout the day, aim to pray a question.
- Form a question in the ADMIRATION prayer types mentioned above – praise, celebration, wonder/awe, trust, and desire for the Lord. Pray a question and, if it will strengthen your praise expression even more, declare your answer to it.
- Recall the Lord’s answer to a prayer of yours, praise him for showing you his love (or generosity, compassion, wisdom, or whatever aspect of his glory you saw in his answer). Then address a question to that resolved situation or need (as in Ps 114 above), and declare your answer. For instance, ‘What happened to you, mountain of debt? Where did you go? The Lord, the faithful Provider, removed you from my life!’
- Bring to the Lord a circumstance that you find troubling, puzzling, or discouraging. In your prayer of lament, include one or two questions that express to the Lord what you are feeling about the situation. Then address a question to yourself, one that examines, challenges, corrects, or confirms your response to the circumstance.
