By Caro May 15, 2026
While children excel at asking “why,” we often lose this reflex as adults, yet asking questions is essential for assimilating information, deepening our faith, and building connections with those around us.
It’s well known (and sometimes almost irritating) that children between the ages of 3 and 5 ask a lot of questions. Especially the question “why?” This practice stems from a desire to understand their environment. Because, indeed, the best way to understand what surrounds us, or to understand the person we are interacting with, is to ask questions.
Unfortunately, we sometimes lose this good habit as we grow up. At school, we receive all the information we are supposed to learn, even if these subjects don’t interest us. We thus receive answers to questions we hadn’t even asked. In the job market, management tells us what to do, without always explaining why. Even at church, we hear sermons and sometimes accept them without question. Yet, asking questions isn’t about doubting the information we receive, but rather a way to assimilate the topic. It’s a very effective way to put what we hear into our own words and even go beyond the information we’ve received.
We see that in the parable of the sower (Matthew 13 or Luke 8). Jesus tells the story of a sower who scattered his seed in different places. Some soil was rocky, other soil was full of thorns, and the seed couldn’t grow. But the seed that fell on good soil produced fruit. The entire crowd that heard this message then left; only his disciples remained. And his disciples asked him questions to understand this parable. The crowd was therefore a bit like other soils, which received the word without truly assimilating it. But the disciples demonstrated that they were good soil because they sought to understand; they asked questions.
For our Bible reading time to bear fruit, we must ask questions and seek to understand. We can do this by reading books or by discussing with other, more mature Christians. Asking questions helps us retain what the Holy Spirit has just taught us and helps us put it into practice. Each time we read a chapter in the Bible, we should take the time to ask ourselves what it means for us. How can we put it into practice? Why is this story told in the Bible? What does it want to teach us?
But this practice of asking questions can (and should!) also be used in our workplace. Not to question the legitimacy of our tasks, of course, but to consider whether we could do things more efficiently, or take on other related tasks. If we take the time to understand how this machine works rather than just operating it, we might eventually be able to fix it if something isn’t working properly.
When we’re with friends or family, let’s make a habit of asking more questions instead of just talking about ourselves. Let’s ask them about their concerns, what new things they’ve learned, their fears, and their hopes. By asking questions, we demonstrate our interest, and this creates much stronger bonds between us.
And of course, this is a great habit to adopt when we’re dating. A word of caution: we shouldn’t ask questions as a form of interrogation to judge the person in front of us. We don’t ask questions simply to see if they meet our expectations. That would be very selfish. Let’s ask questions to understand who they are, where they come from, and where they want to go in life.
Let’s not just be listeners; let’s seek to understand. After all, that’s what Jesus told us to do! It’s the key to our spiritual (and intellectual) growth and to having harmonious relationships.