How many times did Paul ask God to remove his thorn in the flesh?
Paul besought the Lord three times to remove the thorn in the flesh, asking directly that the affliction be taken away. The context states this request was made three times, though the exact nature of the affliction is uncertain and debated. The purpose was to keep him humble.
Les explains that Paul was given a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan, to buffet him and prevent him from being exalted above measure because of the abundance of revelations. Paul besought the Lord three times, asking Him to take the affliction away. Les notes that the exact nature of the affliction is not definitively known; he personally thinks it was a typical Middle Eastern eye disease, though others would disagree. God did not inflict it but permitted Satan to afflict Paul, similar to Job, to keep him humble.
For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me.