Have you ever wanted to ask God a question? If you could, what would you want to ask Him?

Paul Williams and Barry Cooper spent many years asking people, “If you could ask God one question, what would it be?” Their book by that name, one of the resources produced by Christianity Explored, takes the 12 most asked questions and gives careful answers to each question including answers from the lips of Jesus.

I met a man a few weeks ago, Dan Sietman, who regularly gives away copies of this book. Dan serves in administration and counseling at a church in Ohio, and is also involved in a jail ministry. He explained why he likes this book, “I have found this to be a very valuable resource as I talk to people who have many questions about God and what we believe as Christians.”

Here is his story about how this book impacted a man he calls “Harry.”

We have a team that ministers in our county jail each week. I met Harry in mid-March of this year. He began attending our men’s Thursday night class. Harry is from India, and I learned that he comes from a Sikh background (a religion that developed out of the Punjab region of India). About a month after attending our class, Harry told me that he had “decided to follow Jesus Christ.” Knowing that this could mean that he was intending to simply add Jesus to the other gods he recognized, my approach was to encourage him to read his Bible and to look for truth. I also encouraged him to ask any question that might come to his mind.

Each week he would tell me that he had so many questions, but my time was always limited, and it was hard to focus exclusively on Harry, so I brought him a copy of If You Could Ask God One Question. The next time I spoke to him, he was so grateful. He told me that he had read the book several times and that it was the most helpful thing he had read to help him understand God and Christianity. I later learned that Harry was loaning the book to other men in his cellblock and many of them found it very helpful as well.

At my most recent personal visit with Harry, he handed the book back to me and asked if I would give it to his wife. I told him, “No, you keep it here and keep sharing it with men you meet here. I will get another copy and give it to your wife.” I don’t know for sure if Harry has trusted Christ exclusively as his Savior, but it is very clear that the Holy Spirit is working in him. Apparently, Harry’s sister-in-law is a Christian who is praying for him and sending him good Christian books to read as well.

With that book, Harry has been an “evangelist” in his jail pod. There are between 30 – 40 men in that pod. Harry has been sharing the book and has been a real encourager to the men.