Wrong questions

I have often heard, "There's no such thing as a bad question."

But Scripture shows that there is such a thing as a bad question. These would be questions put to the Lord that are really fig leaves for unbelief. Notice the Lord's displeasure in the following verses:

"He made streams come out of the rock. . . . Yet they sinned still more against him. . . . They spoke against God, saying, 'Can God spread a table in the wilderness? He struck the rock so that water gushed out and streams overflowed. Can he also give bread or provide meat for his people?' . . . Therefore . . . his anger rose against Israel, because they did not believe in God and did not trust his saving power" (Psalm 78:16-22).

If the Lord had not made clear His attitude about these questions, we might have thought them innocent and merely informational.

We find bad questions in the New Testament too. For example, just before Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, some of the people said, even after all the miracles Jesus had done for three years: "Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man also have kept this man from dying?" (John 11:37)

I recognize myself in these shameful examples. The paper trail of wonderful things God has done for me renders me without excuse for doubting Him in the present. I remember the time I went to the elders for prayer and anointing for my five-year debilitating insomnia. When I didn't get healed in the first week, I said things like: "Why didn't God answer my prayer? Didn't I do what He said by obeying James 5:14?"

Well, God did restore my sleep, but He did it in two to three months rather than instantly. I sure wish I had said better things about Him while I was waiting, like: "I believe that God has heard me, and I praise Him for what He will do in my life." As it turns out, I got the sleep back but I flunked the little faith test.