Kids Asking Hard Questions About God (And What to Do When You Don’t Have the Answer)
What should you do when your child asks a question about God you can’t answer? Many parents experience this moment — a simple question that suddenly opens into deep theology. But those moments may actually be one of the best opportunities to talk honestly about faith.
My kid asked me a question the other day that stopped me mid-sentence.
We were talking about something completely unrelated — I don’t even remember what — and out of nowhere:
“Mom, does God know what I’m going to say before I say it?”
I opened my mouth.
Closed it.
Opened it again.
Because the honest answer involves the sovereignty of God, human free will, omniscience, and about six other theological categories scholars have been debating for two thousand years.
And I was being asked to answer it between bites of dinner.
So I said, “Yes. He does.”
And then came the follow-up.
“Then why does He want me to pray if He already knows?”
Checkmate by a 3rd grader.
Why Kids Ask the Best Questions About God
Here’s the thing — I actually love these moments.
Not because I had a perfect answer (I didn’t), but because it reminded me of something important:
The deepest questions about God don’t always come from seminaries.
They come from kids.
Children haven’t yet learned to pretend they understand things they don’t. They simply ask the question that’s sitting right in front of them.
And Jesus actually said something about that.
What Jesus Said About Childlike Faith
Jesus said in Matthew 18:3:
“Unless you are converted and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.”
Notice what He didn’t say.
He didn’t say become like theologians.
He said children.
The kind of people who ask honest, obvious questions that adults are sometimes too embarrassed to voice.
Children approach God with curiosity instead of pretense. And that kind of humility is exactly what Jesus praised.
Why God Wants Us to Pray Even Though He Knows Everything
I ended up telling my kid something like this:
“I think God wants to hear from you because He likes talking to you — not because He needs the information.”
Is that a complete theological explanation?
No.
But I do think it’s true.
Psalm 139 tells us that God knows every word before it is even on our tongue. Yet the Psalms are filled with people telling God things He already knows.
Apparently God values the relationship and conversation, not just the information.
Prayer isn’t about informing God.
It’s about being with Him.
When You Don’t Know the Answer
If your kids ask you something about God and you don’t have the answer, that’s not a parenting failure.
It’s actually a sign that faith is alive in your home.
Questions mean someone is paying attention.
And if you’re the one carrying questions about God you’ve never asked out loud — you’re in good company.
Faith has always grown through honest questions.
A Question for You
What’s a question your child — or you — have asked about God that completely stumped you?
I’d love to hear it.
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