Power of questions and its effects

Questions have power. They divert our attention and help us to focus on the thing which is more important to us. Suppose if you are sitting inside a room and someone asks you "What are the things which are of red color in this room?" Now you would be looking for things which are of red color. Till someone asks that question, you may not be noticed the things that are of red color in that room. You are now focused on the red color. And you will find many things which are of red color. That means questions can divert your attention or focus. Another question like "What are the things which are of blue around you?" This question will again divert your attention to things that are of blue color. Questions are a way to divert your attention.

In conversations, people use this technique to divert your attention from one thing to another thing, which they don't want to talk about.

"Ask, and it will be given to you," Jesus said. It is true if you ask the right question. But many times we ask the wrong question. That is why we are not getting the desired answer. For example, when you have a quarrel with your spouse, you may be asking "God, Why have you given me such a terrible husband?" This is a dis-empowering question. Instead of asking such questions, you should ask empowering questions like "How can I avoid such a situation?" How can I improve my relationship with my spouse?" These are empowering questions which give you specific ways or ideas to improve your relationship.

If you ask such empowering questions, they will open ways to improve your relationship with your spouse or colleague. Statements like "What a pity life I have!" "I cannot continue with you!" "It is too much!" These statements will close the door to improve your relationship. It will lead you to that pitiful life till you change your spouse or job or partner. If you really want to continue in your relation, then ask questions like "How can I improve my relationship?" "How can I live a happy life?" "How can I avoid this situation in the future?"

"What are the things I do not have?" Questions like this will steal your happiness. It will divert your focus on things which you do not have. You will list out the things you do not have. Which will take out your happiness. Comparison of your life with others around you will also destroy your happiness. Instead of saying "I do not have this and that" Ask empowering questions like "How can I afford to have this and that?" That will open ways to attain things which are worth to have. Or else it will make you analyze whether having that particular thing will improve your life and happiness. Many material things which we possess would not give us real pleasure and happiness. Do we need to analyze whether we really need that branded cloth? Such questions will give you specific answers.

Our need and want are in the eternal battle with each other. We need clothes and shoes to protect our body. But we want a branded dress and shoe. We need food to eat, but we want exotic dishes that tickle our taste buds. Satisfying your need is a must and it will help you to lead a good and simple life. Satisfying your want for luxurious things would not give lasting happiness. As the trend changes, your happiness change. You would be running after new gadgets in the market.

To live a happy and pleasant life, you need to ask "What are the thing I Have?" Such questions divert your focus to the thing which you have in your life. That will help you to remember the good thing you have in your life and help you to be thankful to the almighty for all those good things. Focus your attention to good things, and good quality of others will add your happiness. For that, you need to ask questions like "what are the good qualities my spouse/children/parents/colleagues have? That will help you to focus on the good qualities they possess. It will lead you to love them from within.

Smart people who want to change the subject of conversation suddenly ask a question to divert your attention from the current subject. Immediately the people change their attention to another subject and start talking about it.

We know, small children ask many questions every day. They are learning by asking questions. Whether they are getting answers to their questions or not, they still ask many questions. Parents try to answer as much as they can. Children learn from the answers. Make sure you are giving reasonable answers which they can understand. If you react with anger and give wrong answers, they tempt to learn that habit. So be careful while answering children.

Above all, there are some important questions which we need to ask in our life. I would like to introduce to you one such important question. I don't know whether you have ever asked such a question in your life? Many people asked and found the answer. But the question is, "Have you ever asked that question?" It was asked by a jailer at midnight. It was asked to two prisoners. This question and its answer may change your life forever. It will give new meaning and dimension to your life.

I would like to share it with you. That question was “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” The reason for asking such a question to two prisoners who were entrusted to his upkeep by the Magistrate arouse our curiosity. Why did the Jailer ask such a question? To whom he asked his question? What was their answer? That answer may change your life.

To understand it better we need to look at the events that have taken place in that particular day.

Once when Paul and Silas were going to the place of prayer, they were met by a female slave who had a spirit by which she predicted the future. She earned a great deal of money for her owners by fortune-telling. She followed Paul and the rest of us, shouting, “These men are servants of the Most High God, who are telling you the way to be saved.” She kept this up for many days. Finally, Paul became so annoyed that he turned around and said to the spirit, “In the name of Jesus Christ I command you to come out of her!” At that moment the spirit left her.

When her owners realized that their hope of making money was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace to face the authorities. They brought them before the magistrates and said, “These men are Jews, and are throwing our city into an uproar by advocating customs unlawful for us Romans to accept or practice.”

The crowd joined in the attack against Paul and Silas, and the magistrates ordered them to be stripped and beaten with rods. After they had been severely flogged, they were thrown into prison, and the jailer was commanded to guard them carefully. When he received these orders, he put them in the inner cell and fastened their feet in the stocks.

About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everyone’s chains came loose. The jailer woke up, and when he saw the prison doors open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself because he thought the prisoners had escaped. But Paul shouted, “Don’t harm yourself! We are all here!” The jailer called for lights, rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas. He then brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”

They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—You and your household.” Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all the others in his house. At that hour of the night, the jailer took them and washed their wounds; then immediately he and all his household were baptized. The jailer brought them into his house and set a meal before them; he was filled with joy because he had come to believe in God—he and his whole household.

When it was daylight, the magistrates sent their officers to the jailer with the order: “Release those men.” The jailer told Paul, “The magistrates have ordered that you and Silas be released. Now you can leave. Go in peace.”

But Paul said to the officers: “They beat us publicly without a trial, even though we are Roman citizens and threw us into prison. And now do they want to get rid of us quietly? No! Let them come themselves and escort us out.”

The officers reported this to the magistrates, and when they heard that Paul and Silas were Roman citizens, they were alarmed. They came to appease them and escorted them from the prison, requesting them to leave the city. After Paul and Silas came out of the prison, they went to Lydia’s house, where they met with the brothers and sisters and encouraged them. Then they left.

The good news is that they asked the right question to the right people. And they got the right answer. If you have not saved, this is the time to be saved. For the simple question a simple answer: Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved.