There are many kinds of prayers. Petitions, of course, in which you ask God to do something. Intercessions (asking God to do something for or through someone else). Confession. Thanks. Praise.
But did you know you can also pray your questions? Many of the prayers in the Bible—though they are often overlooked as prayers—are questions, from Cain’s “Am I my brother’s keeper?” (Genesis 4:9) to the martyrs’ “How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?” (Revelation 6:10). Praying your questions is clearly a practice with biblical precedent.
So what are some good questions to pray? Here are seven to get you started:
1) “What now?”
Probably the most common question people pray is “Why?” Especially, “Why me?” I’ve prayed those myself, many times. But I’ve never received much of an answer to either one. I’ve gotten much better results with the question, “What now?”
2) “Why do I do that?”
Sometimes I think God is just waiting for me to ask this question, like a loving parent hoping for a child to see the need for change and improvement in an unprofitable, even destructive, habit.
3) “My God, my God, why have you NOT forsaken me?”
Both David and Jesus, of course, prayed one of the most famous “question prayers”: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Psalm 22:1, Matthew 27:46). Nothing wrong with that. But I more often pray, “My God, my God, why have you NOT forsaken me?”
4) “What do you want me to pray?”
It has taken me a long time, but I have learned to pray this question often, usually before I pray anything else. It places me in a listening posture, and I am often surprised at the ways it is answered.
5) “What are you trying to tell me or teach me?”
This prayer, too, helps me to listen to God’s voice, which is a huge need I have. I tend to talk way too much. I don’t always ask this question when I am frustrated or stymied; sometimes I remember to ask it as a way of “checking in” and reflecting both on recent events and future directions.
6) “Where are you at work?”
I tend to try hard to get God enlisted in my agenda and endorsing my actions. These days, while I’m not yet good at it, I am getting better at asking God to show me areas and people in which He seems to be acting and moving, so I can pray for and support those efforts.
7) “What are we going to do together today?”
I love this prayer. It reminds me not to launch into each day’s challenges and opportunities under my own power, but to place my hand in God’s hand and walk with him.
These are far from the only questions I pray, and they’re not the only questions you will want to pray. In fact, you probably have others that come quickly to mind. But the above are some of the more frequent among my “question prayers,” and I hope they’ll get you started or add to your prayer repertoire.
