Millions saw the apple fall, but Newton was the only one who asked why.— Bernard Baruch
After centuries of seeming silence after the writings of Malachi - when there were no miracles, visions or supernatural manifestations of God to the people of Israel - an angel brings a message to a young lady who was preparing for her wedding. Gabriel presents to Mary something unheard of that deviated from the natural order God had set for procreating a child. This virgin did not just accept the news just because it came from an angel. No! She asked Gabriel a question: "How can this be?".
This is where I believe many of us find ourselves. Probably you have conceived an idea or received a medical report from experts that seem to align with the signs you are seeing. In Mary's case it was an angel - a being who stands in the very presence of God - telling her what the creator of the universe was going to do. Yet that didn’t stop her from asking a very important question. Knowing what question to ask resulted in a one-of-a-kind experience among women. In Luke 1:35 NLT, the angel replied, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the baby to be born will be holy, and he will be called the Son of God."
There is something about asking great questions. Great questions generate ideas, inspire creativity, expand awareness, push us to thinking outside the box of YES/NO answers and pave way for solutions. Questions can be the gateway out of your current situation. When we fail to ask questions, we kill our ability to generate ideas and think on a deep level. Throughout the Bible, we have examples of God asking seemingly dumb questions that revealed deep insights that we might not have gotten otherwise.
In John 5:6, the Bible says, When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he already had been in that condition a long time, He said to him, “Do you want to be made well?” In Genesis 3:9, God asked, Adam where are you? Of course, God the creator of the world and the garden knew where Adam was, but did Adam know where he was? When he should have been approaching God for mercy, Adam was hiding so God came looking out for him. Well, this attitude of man has not changed, and God has not stopped asking us the same question: "Where are you?". If you don’t know where you are, you cannot come out from that situation or move forward in life.
In Genesis 3:11, God asked: "Who told you that you were naked?" God wanted them to see the liar who spoke to them, his intent, and the reason why he did that. Perhaps, a different rendering of this question could be: "Who told you that you cannot accomplish that dream? Who told you that you are a failure? Who said you cannot have a child? Who said you are barren? Who said because of the fibroid a child will not come?
In Genesis 3:13, God asked the woman, "What is this you have done?" He also asked Jacob, "What is your name?" (Genesis 32:27). Obviously, God knew his parents named him Jacob but there was a reason for asking. He was getting at the root of his identity. To Jeremiah, God posed the question: "What do you see?" (1:12). In Matthew 16:13, Jesus asked his disciples: "Who do men say that I am?" These are just few of the many questions God asked and still asking us today.
Conversely, in Scripture we see men asking God questions too. Nicodemus asked Jesus: “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” (John 3:4 NKJV) The woman at the well asked Jesus, “How is it that You, being a Jew, ask a drink from me, a Samaritan woman?” For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.” (John 4:9). In John 8:3-5 NKJV, “ Then the scribes and Pharisees brought to Him a woman caught in adultery. And when they had set her in the midst, they said to Him, “Teacher, this woman was caught in adultery, in the very act. Now Moses, in the law, commanded us that such should be stoned. But what do You say?” In John 9:1-2 NKJV, Now as Jesus passed by, He saw a man who was blind from birth. And His disciples asked Him, saying, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” To each of these questions I've cited, there were remarkable responses.
That is what God wants to do in this time. He wants us to ask him the right questions and be ready for the remarkable answers that come. The greatest invitation man can receive is to be invited to dialogue with God. Dialoguing with God paves way for answers beyond the ideas, reports and assumptions we've held for so long. Often times, we want miracles but we may not be asking or responding to the right questions. In this season, God wants to go beyond the monologues we call "prayer" and really dialogue with Him.
Prayer is a good thing and Scripture admonishes us to do so. But we mostly forget that prayer is a two-way communication between God and man. Instead of just pouring your heart and telling God all your issues, have you considered asking Him a question instead? God loves it when we ask Him questions because then we make room for His responses. Am I saying you shouldn’t pray. Not at all. There is a place for speaking to our Father in prayer but there should also be a place for dialogue - asking questions and waiting for responses. Throughout scriptures we see that being demonstrated for our learning.
For a season, I was always angry, depressed and frustrated because of one particular colleague in my office. I didn’t understand why so I kept praying about it. I prayed and prayed but it looked like there was no answer and the situation didn’t change. Then one day, I asked a question: "God, what am I dealing with?". The answer was instantaneous - “manipulation and control”. I was amazed that God would rather give me an answer than take away this problem so I asked for further proofs from the scriptures. This incident taught me a lesson: if I ask God a question, He will give me an answer so I have to be ready for an answer. How? By paying attention and listening just as I would when talking to a person. If the approach is just finding another avenue to pray for a child, you will miss what God has in store for you.
So, let's come back to the question: What are you dealing with? The likely responses may be infertility, delays with conception or childbirth, or a threatening health condition. These may be true but what if that is not the main issue but just a symptom of what you are dealing with? It is costly to operate with assumptions and wander in circles without knowing what to do. Often times, we tend to diagnose our problems based on experiences, expectations or motives. Having a certain mindset or answer that he has diagnosed his own problem for himself. I am too old, I am weak, I think I have an issue with my womb, the doctor says so-and-so is wrong with me. Let say all these statements are true, what does God also say? If people’s opinions matter to you, shouldn't what God says also count? Have you asked Him? What did He say? Or are you wondering whether God would answer such questions?
There is a root cause analysis tool called the 5 Why’s. According to Tulip, this is “a problem-solving method that explores the underlying cause-and-effect of particular problems. The primary goal is to determine the root cause of a defect or a problem by successively asking the question “Why?”.
1 So, maybe, the first question to ask is why don’t I have a child? This may sound like an insensitive question but could that trigger an answer that you have not thought of or don’t want to know about. There is probably more to our situations than meets the eye so the best person to inquire from is God himself. We go to the hospital when we believe or suspect something is wrong and would want to find out what we are dealing with. In the same vein, no matter how we feel about an issue, we need to ask Him to help us know what we are dealing with. He is your good Father and He is moved by your questions, dearly loved child of God.
In Genesis 25:21-22 NKJV, we learn from Isaac and Rebecca's life an act that is quite rare in our day.
"Now Isaac pleaded with the Lord for his wife, because she was barren; and the Lord granted his plea, and Rebekah his wife conceived. But the children struggled together within her; and she said, “If all is well, why am I like this?” So she went to inquire of the Lord.”
Why didn’t Rebecca just pray that God would stop the turbulence or take away the pain but rather inquired of the Lord. She could have assumed that her experience was a normal part of the pregnancy process yet she inquired of the Lord. The revelation her question evoked was far more than the relief she could have gotten from just saying, God take away the pain. I understand that we're often so consumed with our issues that we may not see the need or find the time to ask the right questions. But as Thomas J. Watson said “the ability to ask the right question is more than half the battle of finding the answer.” So it's time to ask: "God what am I dealing with?"
It is sad that in our day, God is the last resort when faced with issues because we can run to Google for expert and popular opinions. But instead of sampling answers from all and sundry, why not ask God about your situation? For some of us, we have been praying for so long and feel nothing is happening. Maybe we should take time and ask God why are things delaying? If children are a gift as Scripture says, then God why haven't I received mine yet? Genesis 1:27-28 AMPC reads: "So God created man in His own image, in the image and likeness of God He created him; male and female He created them.
And God blessed them and said to them, Be fruitful, multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it [using all its vast resources in the service of God and man]; and have dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, and over every living creature that moves upon the earth.”
The mandate to be fruitful and multiply in all areas of life was not only to Christians but to humanity. Why? Because aside the fact that this is a means of populating and replenishing the earth, it reveals that family is dear to God. So another question could be, God, why am I not experiencing this promise and mandate?
As we ask such questions, we should know that some responses will come instantly. Others will come through impressions, dreams, visions or the unique ways in which God speaks to you. It is therefore crucial that you write your questions down and watch out for God’s answers. He longs to respond to you so open up to His perspectives about your situation that you might not have been aware of before.
Scripture Reading: