"compels us to think" is a perfectly valid and usable part of a sentence in written English.
You can use it to describe the compelling nature of a particular idea or occurrence, in order to encourage further reflection on the topic. For example, "The complexity of the issue compels us to think about the various courses of action available."
However, historical evidence, as well as the limited data we do have on these whales, compels us to think otherwise.
By turning our attention to his laborious illustrations and watercolors, the exhibition compels us to think about him as a serious and original visual artist, which is to say as a more idiosyncratic and substantial figure than the clichés suggest.
It compels us to think deeply about the human condition, about what is important in our lives and in our work.
The prospect of seriously jeopardizing our coast with the Enbridge Northern Gateway project compels us to think big and think long term.
Music is a pulse, an energy that wordlessly transports us back to the past, makes us sensuously aware of the present and compels us to think about the future.
These are dizzying questions — questions that compel us to think about the very essence of meaning, of logic, and ultimately, about the nature of truth itself.
"If Rudy Jaenisch is right, if embryos created by cloning are a fairly abnormal ball of cells, that would compel us to think very hard about what moral meaning to attach to such an entity".
The most obscene defence of the film is the claim that Bigelow rejects cheap moralism and soberly presents the reality of the anti-terrorist struggle, raising difficult questions and thus compelling us to think (plus, some critics add, she "deconstructs" feminine cliches – Maya displays no sentimentality, she is tough and dedicated to her task like men).
Above mentioned interaction with blind web users compelled us to think beyond the limitations of screen readers.
Those fears also compel us to think of God as Fischer does -- a deity that "honors" our battles against each other, no matter how high the body count.
The author of The Management of Savagery treatise bluntly states that there is no room for "softness": "Softness" is the ingredient for failure: "our enemies will not be merciful to us, so it compels us to make them think one thousand times, before they dare attack us".
