Ask God Bigger and Better Questions
Bring your needs to God, and ask about more than easier circumstances. Pray for wisdom, courage, and a heart ready to do what He has taught.
#9 — Asking Beautiful Questions
Feb 18, 2019
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Are your prayers too small for what you believe about God?
Our prayers can become smaller than the faith we profess. We ask for a safe trip, relief from a difficulty, and help with the ordinary demands of the day. These are legitimate concerns. Scripture invites us to bring our requests before God. But if our prayers rarely reach beyond immediate circumstances, we may be overlooking opportunities to ask for wisdom, holiness, courage, and greater usefulness in the Lord's service.
Praying bigger doesn't have to mean asking for something spectacular. We don't measure faith by how extravagant our wishes sound. Bigger and better questions are those that take God's character and purposes seriously. Instead of asking only that a difficult situation end, we might ask for wisdom to respond faithfully while it continues. Instead of asking merely for success, we may seek a heart more devoted to Christ and more attentive to people.
When we pray, we aren't handing God a plan He has to follow. Its value lies in our dependence upon Him, the truth of what we ask, and our willingness to submit to His will. Asking thoughtfully can expose what we care about most and invite us to examine whether those concerns are rightly ordered.
Begin with the humility to admit what you do not know
Asking for wisdom begins with admitting we need it. That humility can be surprisingly difficult. We often approach life's decisions with confidence about what ought to happen and use prayer primarily to ask God to bless the conclusion we have already reached.
James 1:5 invites us to ask God for the wisdom we lack. In context, James is discussing trials that test faith and require steadfastness. The prayer for wisdom is so a request for the judgment needed to live faithfully, especially when circumstances are difficult.
Think about what you ask for when a relationship is strained. We may begin by asking God to make the other person change. But perhaps we also need to ask what we have failed to understand, whether our speech has contributed to the problem, and how we can show love without compromising truth. Those questions don't assign all responsibility to us. They acknowledge that wisdom may involve seeing our own part more clearly.
As you pray for wisdom, keep opening your Bible and listening to sound counsel. It doesn't give us a license to treat every passing impression as a direct divine message. God's revealed instruction remains the measure by which we evaluate what we believe and do.
Allow Jesus to teach you what matters
In Matthew 6, Jesus shows us how to pray and what deserves our concern. He directs His disciples to honor the Father, seek His kingdom, ask for daily needs, seek forgiveness, and resist temptation. Later in the chapter, He warns against allowing anxiety over material necessities to govern life and calls His hearers to seek the kingdom first.
Let Jesus' teaching shape what you ask the Father. We shouldn't ask only, How can I make my circumstances more comfortable? We should also ask, How can I honor Your name? How can I serve Your kingdom? Where do I need forgiveness? What temptation requires attention? How can I trust You while fulfilling the responsibilities of today?
Matthew 7:7–11 encourages us to keep asking, seeking, and knocking. We should read that invitation alongside the rest of Jesus' teaching rather than treating it as a guarantee that every desire will be satisfied exactly as imagined.
We can ask with confidence while leaving the answer with our Father. It trusts God's goodness enough to ask sincerely and trusts His wisdom enough to leave the outcome in His hands.
Ask about the person you are becoming
It's natural to pray about what's happening around us. We ask for a problem to be resolved, an opportunity to open, or a burden to be removed. Such prayers may be appropriate. Yet an equally important concern is the character with which we will meet whatever happens next.
Suppose work is demanding more of you than usual. You may rightly ask for relief, stability, and a good outcome. You can also ask for patience with coworkers, honesty under pressure, and wisdom to know when to rest. If a family relationship is strained, pray for peace and for the humility to recognize where repentance or a new approach may be needed.
We still need to act on the things we pray about. Scripture teaches us what faithfulness requires, and we must respond in obedience. Praying for patience while repeatedly excusing a harsh temper isn't a meaningful substitute for changing behavior.
Ask questions that reach into the way you're living. What temptation am I overlooking? Where could I serve someone instead of focusing only on myself? What does this passage require me to change? Such questions allow prayer to challenge our habits rather than simply express our preferences.
The answers must be evaluated carefully
We may feel deeply thankful when help comes after prayer. But we should be cautious about claiming with certainty that a particular event is a coded message from God or that a private impression gives His will.
Keep measuring your decisions by what God has actually revealed. If an apparent opportunity would require violating what God has taught, its convenience doesn't make it an answer we should embrace. If someone's advice conflicts with biblical truth, sincerity alone can't establish its wisdom.
Circumstances don't always tell us as much as we think they do. An open door doesn't guarantee that an action is right, and a closed door doesn't prove that the Lord opposes a good intention. Circumstances may require us to wait, seek further information, or make a responsible decision without knowing every consequence.
Thank God for help without claiming to know everything He was doing. Prayer should strengthen trust, not turn everyday events into a system of signs that bypasses Scripture and wise judgment.
Pray with a larger view of God's power
Ephesians 3:20–21 praises God for His power beyond all we ask or think. The passage follows Paul's prayer that Christians be strengthened, rooted in love, and filled with the fullness of God. Its emphasis isn't on acquiring unlimited material success but on God's greatness and His work among His people.
Look at the concerns Paul prays about, and let them enlarge your own. Ask that faith deepen, love grow, and the church be strengthened in truth. Pray for courage to speak the gospel, compassion toward struggling people, and opportunities to use your abilities in service.
Trusting God's power doesn't mean we get to dictate how He must use it. The same Lord who can accomplish more than we imagine remains wiser than our plans. Confidence in His power is compatible with submission to His will.
Ask for what God values, even when it won't look impressive to others. A small-looking act of repentance or kindness may carry more spiritual importance than the spectacular achievement we first hoped to obtain.
Give your prayers room to change your schedule
Sometimes prayer helps us see something we already know we need to do. If we ask God to help us serve more faithfully, we should remain attentive to real people who need encouragement. If we ask for stronger family relationships, we may need to protect time for conversation. If we ask for wisdom about an ethical decision, we should be willing to follow the biblical conclusion even when it costs something.
You aren't responsible for making every answer happen yourself. Some burdens lie beyond our control. We may pray for healing while seeking appropriate care, pray for peace while pursuing a responsible conversation, or pray for an opportunity that doesn't come.
But be willing to do what the Lord has already made clear. We shouldn't ask for patience and then celebrate our anger as justified. We shouldn't ask for generosity while continually ignoring people we can help.
Carry the concerns of your prayer into the rest of your day. If you've asked for patience, remember that request when the conversation becomes frustrating. If you've asked for wisdom, pause long enough to consider what Scripture teaches. Let the morning's words help you respond when there is a choice to make.
Bring better questions before the Lord
Think about something you've brought to God over and over. Continue bringing it to God, but examine the questions surrounding it. Are you asking only for the difficulty to disappear? Could you also seek wisdom, courage, repentance, endurance, or a way to help someone else?
Let your reading of Scripture give your prayers direction. Praise God for who He is. Ask boldly where His promises and instructions give reason to ask. Remain humble about the outcome and about your ability to interpret circumstances.
An answer may be less dramatic than you expected and still matter deeply. It may produce clearer understanding of your responsibility, a willingness to seek counsel, or renewed trust while a burden remains. Those are meaningful developments.
Our Father is able to do far beyond what we can imagine. Our prayers should reflect both confidence in His power and submission to His wisdom. Ask questions shaped by Scripture, and live attentively to the opportunities for faithfulness before you.
Take the idea with you.
- 01What concern has narrowed my prayers to only one preferred outcome?
- 02Which biblical truth could shape a more thoughtful request?
- 03What action already required by Scripture should accompany my prayer?
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