Asking questions is probably the best way to create engaging conversation. You don’t have to look any further than the third chapter of Genesis to discover this point. Did you realize that the first 4 recorded sentences of conversation that God had with man were all questions?
1. Where are you?
2. Who told you that you were naked?
3. Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?
4. What is this you have done?
Asking questions is a great way of “locating” the person that you are conversing with. By asking questions you can find out what a person is thinking, what they believe in their hearts, and what they have done with their lives.
Some people are blunt and direct in conversation. They make statements and rarely ask questions. To get a person to think about their eternal destiny you could bluntly say, “You’re going to hell” or you could ask the question, “Where do you believe you’ll spend eternity?” From what I understand about God, I believe He would use the second approach.
In case you think I’m making too big of a deal about this point it might interest you to know that the first recorded words of conversation that Jesus engaged in was also a question… “Why is it that you were looking for me? Did you not know that I had to be in my Father’s house?” He spoke these words when he was 12 years old.
Do you think it’s just a coincidence that the first recorded conversations of God and Jesus with people were questions? Yes, I’m asking you a question.
Job 38:3 (NLT)
[God speaking to Job] “Brace yourself like a man, because I have some questions for you, and you must answer them.”
