--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Why do you pray?\" he asked me, after a…" description: "\"“Why do you pray?\" he asked me, after a moment. Why did I pray? A strange question. Why did I live? Why did I breathe? \"I don't know why,\" I said, even..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/048/elie-wiesel-341_prayer_why-do-you-pray-he-asked-me-after-a-mome_2014670.jpg" --- # Why do you pray?" he asked me, after a moment. Why did I… ![“Why do you pray?" he asked me, after a moment. Why did I pray? A strange question. Why did I live? Why did I breathe? "I don't know why," I said, even more disturbed and ill at ease. "I don't know why." After that day I saw him often. He explained to me with great insistence that every question…” quote by Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/048/elie-wiesel-341_prayer_why-do-you-pray-he-asked-me-after-a-mome_2014670.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/048/elie-wiesel-341_prayer_why-do-you-pray-he-asked-me-after-a-mome_2014670.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/048/elie-wiesel-341_prayer_why-do-you-pray-he-asked-me-after-a-mome_2014670.jpg) > ““Why do you pray?" he asked me, after a moment. Why did I pray? A strange question. Why did I live? Why did I breathe? "I don't know why," I said, even more disturbed and ill at ease. "I don't know why." After that day I saw him often. He explained to me with great insistence that every question possessed a power that did not lie in the answer. "Man raises himself toward God by the questions he asks Him," he was fond of repeating. "That is the true dialogue. Man questions God and God answers. But we don't understand His answers. We can't understand them. Because they come from the depths of the soul, and they stay there until death. You will find the true answers, Eliezer, only within yourself!" "And why do you pray, Moshe?" I asked him. "I pray to the God within me that He will give me the strength to ask Him the right questions.”” [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The passage suggests that questioning is a spiritual practice that deepens self‑knowledge and connection to the divine, more than seeking definitive answers. **In simple terms:** Questions deepen faith and self‑understanding. Key Takeaway Embrace questioning as a path to inner strength. Themes spirituality self‑reflection faith Mood contemplative introspective Type philosophical spiritual When to use this quote - personal crisis - prayer practice - seeking meaning - contemplative meditation Key Concepts existential inquiry inner dialogue theology Questions to Reflect On - What questions can you ask to reveal your inner purpose? - How does uncertainty shape your faith? A Different Perspective Answers may remain elusive, leaving uncertainty. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Prayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prayer/) [Relationship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/relationship/) [Revelation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/revelation/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [ \[Moishe\] explained to me, with great emphasis, that every question possessed a power that was lost in the answer… And why do you pray,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/moishe-explained-to-me-with-great-emphasis-that-every-question/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [“And why do you pray, Moishe?” I asked him. “I pray to the God within me for the strength to ask Him the real…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/and-why-do-you-pray-moishe-i-asked-him-i-pray-to-the-god-within-me/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [“Man comes closer to God through the questions he asks Him, he liked to say.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/man-comes-closer-to-god-through-the-questions-he-asks-him-he-liked-to/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [Since God is, He is to be found in the questions as well as the answers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/since-god-is-he-is-to-be-found-in-the-questions-as-well-as-the-answers/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [When you pray either aloud or to yourself for others ? for instance, for the members of your household or for strangers, even though…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-of-kronstadt/when-you-pray-either-aloud-or-to-yourself-for-others-for-instance-for/) [John of Kronstadt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-of-kronstadt/) > [There are certain religions that require you to pray five times a day and I never understood why Christians aren't asked to pray five…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cathy-hughes/there-are-certain-religions-that-require-you-to-pray-five-times-a-day/) [Cathy Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cathy-hughes/) > [“I wanted to ask my father about his regrets. I wanted to ask him what was the worst thing he'd ever done. His greatest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-wanted-to-ask-my-father-about-his-regrets-i-wanted-to-ask-him-what/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“What is the point of praying to God if you are in this condition?" I have been asked. "Why pray to God at all?"…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/art-berg/what-is-the-point-of-praying-to-god-if-you-are-in-this-condition-i/) [Art Berg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/art-berg/) > [Did I say the book of nature is a catechism? Yes, But, after it answers the first question with "God," nothing but questions follow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-washington-cable/did-i-say-the-book-of-nature-is-a-catechism-yes-but-after-it-answers/) [George Washington Cable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-washington-cable/) > [Always believe in God because there are some questions even google cannot answer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/always-believe-in-god-because-there-are-some-questions-even-google/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I'd rather have all my questions unanswered and walk with God than not walk with God and have all my questions answered.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-warren/i-d-rather-have-all-my-questions-unanswered-and-walk-with-god-than/) [Rick Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-warren/) > [Always believe in God because there are some questions that even Google can't answer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/always-believe-in-god-because-there-are-some-questions-that-even/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“The most fundamental of all questions that can possibly be asked is, 'Does God exist?' That is not to say that it is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-boot/the-most-fundamental-of-all-questions-that-can-possibly-be-asked-is/) Joe Boot > [“God is in the questions, not the answers.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iimani-david/god-is-in-the-questions-not-the-answers/) [Iimani David](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iimani-david/) > [We worship God through our questions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-joshua-heschel/we-worship-god-through-our-questions/) [Abraham Joshua Heschel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-joshua-heschel/) ## More by Elie Wiesel > [A religious person answers to God, not to the elected or non-elected official.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/a-religious-person-answers-to-god-not-to-the-elected-or-non-elected/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [One more stab to the heart, one more reason to hate. One less reason to live.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/one-more-stab-to-the-heart-one-more-reason-to-hate-one-less-reason-to/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [“What all these victims need above all is to know that they are not alone; that we are not forgetting them, that when their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/what-all-these-victims-need-above-all-is-to-know-that-they-are-not/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [I feel that books, just like people, have a destiny. Some invite sorrow, others joy, some both.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/i-feel-that-books-just-like-people-have-a-destiny-some-invite-sorrow/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [ \[Chinese\] are a huge empire now, you'll soon be - in a few years two billion people in the world. So, you should be… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/chinese-are-a-huge-empire-now-you-ll-soon-be-in-a-few-years-two/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [Did I write it so as not to go mad or, on the contrary, to go mad in order to understand the nature of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/did-i-write-it-so-as-not-to-go-mad-or-on-the-contrary-to-go-mad-in/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [Take the story of Cain and Abel. Why were we given that story? Scientifically, you may have an explanation for it, but I'm not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/take-the-story-of-cain-and-abel-why-were-we-given-that-story/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [Mankind must remember that peace is not God's gift to his creatures; peace is our gift to each other.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/mankind-must-remember-that-peace-is-not-god-s-gift-to-his-creatures/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [The world? The world is not interested in us. Today, everything is possible, even the crematoria...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/the-world-the-world-is-not-interested-in-us-today-everything-is/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [every question possessed a power that was lost in the answer . . .](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/every-question-possessed-a-power-that-was-lost-in-the-answer/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [I think this century more than any other really has seen the phenomenon of people being uprooted in such numbers, such a degree. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/i-think-this-century-more-than-any-other-really-has-seen-the/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [His cold eyes stared at me. At last, he said wearily: "I have more faith in Hitler than in anyone else. He alone has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/his-cold-eyes-stared-at-me-at-last-he-said-wearily-i-have-more-faith/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [As you know, I describe Shirat ha-Yam as part of an epic story that has qualities of history and which also has qualities of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/as-you-know-i-describe-shirat-ha-yam-as-part-of-an-epic-story-that/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [Every Jew, somewhere in his being, should set apart a zone of hate -healthy virile hate- for what the German personifies and for what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/every-jew-somewhere-in-his-being-should-set-apart-a-zone-of-hate/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [“Did hope help us to survive, or not? Too many families clung to it all through the war, thus falling into the enemy's trap.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/did-hope-help-us-to-survive-or-not-too-many-families-clung-to-it-all/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) [Explore all 662 Elie Wiesel quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) ## More Prayer quotes > [Whatever meaning 'Annie's Song' had for me on a personal level, there was also a larger context. It could just as easily have been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-denver/whatever-meaning-annie-s-song-had-for-me-on-a-personal-level-there/) [John Denver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-denver/) > [We talk to God--that is prayer; God talks to us--that is inspiration.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-emilie-cady/we-talk-to-god-that-is-prayer-god-talks-to-us-that-is-inspiration/) [H. Emilie Cady](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-emilie-cady/) > [How could anybody confuse truth with beauty, I thought as I looked at him. Truth came with sunken eyes, bony or scarred, decayed. Its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-fitch/how-could-anybody-confuse-truth-with-beauty-i-thought-as-i-looked-at/) [Janet Fitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-fitch/) > [I'm a true believer in prayer, a big believer in prayer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-jackson/i-m-a-true-believer-in-prayer-a-big-believer-in-prayer/) [Janet Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-jackson/) > [“every church can treat each discipleship class and each worship service as an opportunity for continual rehearsal of what the words, stories, symbols, rituals,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-arthur/every-church-can-treat-each-discipleship-class-and-each-worship/) [Sarah Arthur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-arthur/) > [No judge can stop us from praying for our country and I pray that on May 6, millions of Americans will join me in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franklin-graham/no-judge-can-stop-us-from-praying-for-our-country-and-i-pray-that-on/) [Franklin Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franklin-graham/) > [“Worship Me Like the Goddess I Am or There Will Be Some Serious Smiting." Jubilee”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-r-green/worship-me-like-the-goddess-i-am-or-there-will-be-some-serious/) [Simon R. Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-r-green/) > [Pray, hope, don't worry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pio-of-pietrelcina/pray-hope-don-t-worry/) [Pio of Pietrelcina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pio-of-pietrelcina/) > [Do not pray for tasks equal to your powers. Pray for powers equal to your tasks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phillips-brooks/do-not-pray-for-tasks-equal-to-your-powers-pray-for-powers-equal-to/) [Phillips Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phillips-brooks/) > [“Dear Lord, thank You for answered prayers and humans who do Your work here on earth. Please send Your comfort to all the animals…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guideposts/dear-lord-thank-you-for-answered-prayers-and-humans-who-do-your-work/) Guideposts > [Therefore, brethren, pray until God gives us revelation so that "knowing this" in our spirit we may truly confess "that our old man has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/watchman-nee/therefore-brethren-pray-until-god-gives-us-revelation-so-that-knowing/) [Watchman Nee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/watchman-nee/) > [“The aristocratic interiority is centered on the higher mind, the mens, the ajna chakra, the seat of intellect and intuition that commands the lower…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julius-evola/the-aristocratic-interiority-is-centered-on-the-higher-mind-the-mens/) [Julius Evola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julius-evola/) > [My father thrives on fear. You know that prayer If I should die before I wake? I had sheets that said that!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-titus/my-father-thrives-on-fear-you-know-that-prayer-if-i-should-die-before/) [Christopher Titus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-titus/) > [You should never stress and worry when you can always pray and have Faith.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-should-never-stress-and-worry-when-you-can-always-pray-and-have/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [God loves to glorify himself by suspending his gifts and blessings on our asking him for them. We should never presume to receive from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-storms/god-loves-to-glorify-himself-by-suspending-his-gifts-and-blessings-on/) [Sam Storms](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-storms/) [Browse all 12,671 Prayer quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prayer/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Why do you pray?\" he asked me, after a moment. Why did I pray? A strange question. Why did I live? Why did I breathe? \"I don't know why,\" I said, even more disturbed and ill at ease. \"I don't know why.\" After that day I saw him often. He explained to me with great insistence that every question possessed a power that did not lie in the answer. \"Man raises himself toward God by the questions he asks Him,\" he was fond of repeating. \"That is the true dialogue. Man questions God and God answers. But we don't understand His answers. We can't understand them. Because they come from the depths of the soul, and they stay there until death. 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