Ask Yahweh the Question

Yep, that's the thesis of this post. Short but challenging.

Why turn a one-liner that could fit in a fortune cookie into a blog post?

Fair question. Here’s the simplest answer: we don’t do it.

So let's dive into that.

While we all have dozens of questions we could ask God, chances are high there’s one we’ve declared “off limits.”

These could be questions like:

• God, what do you think about human sexuality and marriage?

• What the heck is up with the hell thing?

• You’re supposed to be loving, but you told people to destroy people groups in the Old Testament.

• Does it really matter that people believe in you, or are you cool with people praying to other gods and, ya know… they’re close enough?

• Why did you let _______ happen?

• Are you even listening?

We’ve made these types of questions taboo, shoved them under rugs, maybe talked about them with people, but not directly with God Himself.

All because _______. (Insert your reasoning here.)

And maybe you’re wondering why any of this matters. Fair. Seems like there are bigger fish to fry and theological topics to cover than, “Ask God your secret question.”

But here’s what happens when we don’t ask our withheld questions: entire areas of our hearts remain undiscussed and unhealed.

And we just keep on keeping on, like nothing's wrong...

So let's look at why we withhold questions from Yahweh.

Reason #01: You've Grown Up Thinking Asking God Questions is Dangerous

Some of us grew up in Christian spaces where asking questions was the equivalent of questioning God. It was presented as synonymous with doubt, and doubt with sin. (A whole separate post is needed for the concept of doubt, but for now, doubt isn’t the opposite of faith. Doubt is the threshold to deeper faith.)

Now where were we? Ah yes. Asking God questions is dangerous.

Short rebuttal: No. No, it's not.

I'm not sure we do a great job of delineating between accusations against God, and questions for God. Sometimes we hide accusations behind questions. (Note the Pharisees specialized in questions with an agenda when they were quizzing Jesus. See Matthew 21:23-27; Matthew 22:15-40; Mark 2:23-28; Mark 8:11-13.)

But the disciples also asked Jesus hard questions after confusing, even alarming moments, and got a very different response.

In the story outlined in Mark 9:14-29 Jesus casts out a demon from a violently convulsing boy in the middle of a crowd. Afterwards, we get a glimpse of the debrief:

And when [Jesus] had entered the house, his disciples asked him privately, "Why could we not cast it out?" And he said to them, "This kind cannot be driven out by anything but prayer." (Mark 9:28-29 ESV)

Having a question for God is not the same as questioning God. And if you’re not sure which your question is, you can even ask Him that.

Reason #02: God "Didn't Answer" a Question You Asked Before

This one is messy. I'm not going to deny that.

When deep heart questions get asked, and we don’t feel like we’re given an answer, it’s easy to shut down to silence. Subconsciously, we go, “I’m not doing that again.”

And you're not alone in that temptation. Scripture is full of stories of people who were tired of asking and believing God. And yet they did so anyway.

Here's a brief list:

• Abraham & Sarah

• Jacob

• Joseph

• Job

• Moses

• Hannah

• David

• Elijah

• Esther

• Jeremiah

• Elizabeth

• John the Baptist

When you reread their stories, you’ll find a common thread: each of them wrestled with God’s silence, or with answers that felt like anything but answers. Some got resolution fast. Others waited decades. And some never saw fulfillment this side of eternity.

But if we try to measure God’s faithfulness only by the prayers He answers before we die, we miss the reality that the plot continues after the grave. That’s why we say:

If it is not good,

It is not the end.

Because the story isn't over.

God uses what we’d call wild cards. And if we don’t recognize that’s how He moves, we can mistake His provision for His absence—or worse, assume He didn’t listen.

But the truth is, He always hears.

He just doesn’t always respond the way we expect.

Or in the time frame we want.

But He does answer.

And maybe the question isn’t, “Why hasn’t God answered yet?”

Maybe it’s, “God, is there a way you're trying to speak to me I'm unwilling or unable to hear?”

Reason #03: You Don't Believe You'll Be Able to Hear or Recognize His Answer

If you don't believe you'll be able to "hear right," why would you bother asking at all? That's a logical conclusion. Here's the catch:

If you assume you won't be able to hear, you'll never listen either.

And when "listening stops," the relationship starts to drift, like any other relationship would. This flies in the face of passive Christianity. (Or "Hollow Christianity" as we've put it before.)

When it comes to the big picture issue of listening to God, I find it fascinating that Jesus says:

"My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me." (John 10:27 ESV)

This doesn't make "hearing God" out to be some sort of Christian super-power or elitist gifting. It's something Yahweh desires all of us to be able to do.

One of the ways we practice listening, and live out our faith, is to keep on asking and keep on waiting for His response.

Granted, with that response, there's one more caveat...

Reason #04: You're Scared of His Answer

I write this from ample personal experience. Whenever I've tracked down why I've withheld a question from God, I can usually find fear at the root of it.

I’m scared of the implications of what He’ll say.

I’m scared that what He’ll say will hurt.

I’m scared He’ll have misunderstood what I’m trying to say.

I’m scared He’ll laugh at my question.

I’m scared I’ll ask, and He just won’t answer.

But being afraid is not a reason to not ask.

Despite All These Reasons, Ask Anyway.

If you gotta scribble it on your mirror or make it your new phone background, make it a personal mantra: ask anyway.

And expect God to answer, holding in tension the reality that often His answers come through people and places we were not expecting.

Want to go deeper?

We know a single blog post can't possibly answer all the questions you may have about hearing from God. Probably a single book can't do that either, but a great place to start is Dallas Willard's Hearing God. We highly recommend it!

Check out additional resources in the Lantova library.

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