“Where are you?” is the first recorded question that God asked of man. Now when God asks a question of any person, He is not searching for information since He knows everything. God’s question is for the benefit of the man to bring him face to face with some truth or reality. So why did God ask this question of Adam?
Just prior to this, the serpent (i.e. the devil) had come into the garden of Eden where Adam and his wife Eve had been graciously set up by God in a paradise. However, the devil, being the enemy of God and therefore mankind, proceeded to tempt Eve to sin so as to disrupt this entire arrangement and put man at odds with the Lord. Through cunning words and outright lies he convinces Eve to eat of the forbidden fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. She shares with Adam who it appears just stands by and watches the whole event unfold. (We men still have much to learn about leadership.)
So when the pair had eaten of the forbidden fruit, “the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked.” They sewed coverings for themselves of fig leaves and hid when they heard the sound of God walking in the garden. Prior to this, they had never hidden from God and had enjoyed open and transparent communion with Him. But their sin had changed all of that! It had become a barrier between them and their Father and Creator.
Thus God’s question: “Where are you?” God wants them to tell Him why they are hiding so He can explain the seriousness of what they’ve done and the consequences which were to follow. They were both now dead in their trespasses and sins (Ephesians 2:1) which caused God to remove them from His presence. In time, they both suffered a physical death.
People have been trying to “hide” from God in various ways ever since: deliberate ignorance, excuses, too involved with work, health issues, finances, et al. And God keeps asking the same question because He loves all His children: “Where are you?”