Asking Vs. Questioning

“And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.”

Luke 11:9

     If you’ve ever been an older sibling you know what I mean when I say, “Constant questions could drive a person crazy”.  One of my best friends once said, “People tell me that there is no such thing as a foolish question, but I beg to differ.”  I had to laugh because I knew what she meant.

     People, siblings included, can ask the most obvious questions at the most inconvenient time.  For example, you could be on the top of the ladder trying to reach that one last spot with a paint brush when someone comes in and asks you, “What are you doing?” or when you are elbow deep in dish water trying to get the dinner dishes all washed up when someone asks, “Are you busy?”

     But despite all that, siblings can ask some great questions.  Answering them can be a bit of a challenge and will more than likely require a great deal of patience, especially if that someone keeps asking “Why?” after your explanation.

     Sometimes though, a person isn’t asking… they are questioning.  You say, “What’s the difference, they both end in a question mark.”  Questioning is defined as: to challenge or dispute something that is said.  Asking is defined as: to communicate in order to gain understanding.  A synonym for questioning is to interrogate.  A synonym for asking is to make request.

  

     How can I ask instead of question?  Mainly it is all in the attitude and purpose of the question.  Tone, mannerisms, and the way you word something, indicates what a person thinks of the information just present of them.  You can ask “why” in two different way.

    For example, Amy comes down from her bedroom.  She is wearing her new pair of shoes that she had just bought yesterday.  When her mom sees her, she says, “Amy I think you should change footwear.”  Amy doesn't understand, her mom had said she could wear these shoes today when she went to go visit her friend.

     Looking down at her shoes, Amy can’t hold back the look of disappointment.  “Why Mom?”

    Her mannerism and behavior is much different than her second choice of behavior:  when Amy comes down from her bedroom and her mom asks her to change footwear, Amy places her hands on hips and looks defiantly at her mom, "Why Mom?!". 

     What Amy doesn’t know is that it is raining outside, and her new pair of shoes would only get muddy and ruined in the rain.  Can you see the difference between the two?  Adding expression and throwing in a certain tone can change the whole way your question comes out.

     If a person gets upset about the question you ask, it may have been because of the question you asked... or perhaps it was because you weren’t using the correct expression and tone.   If you want an answer, and the purpose if the question is to understand something; then by all means ask away, but if the purpose of the question is to show disagreement or to be difficult, you might want to re-evaluate your attitude.

     God understands that we will have questions.  We should never question Him, but we can ask Him.  James 1: 5 says, “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.”  God promises to give you what you ask as long as it is according to His Word.