Magnificent Prayer #359
Magnificent Prayer #359
They also will answer, “Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?”’
He will reply, “I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.”
Matthew 25:44–45
Doubtless some of the most acceptable and effective prayers that God has ever heard have ascended to Him from prison-cells. Prayer transforms a prison-cell into a portal of heaven.
R. A. TORREY
Pray About It: Christmas is a lonely time for prisoners. Tonight many men and women are separated from their families. Children and fathers are torn asunder by mistakes, sins, crimes committed. But when a man or woman is in prison, they often have time to think about their lives. As a result many make strong decisions for Christ. In so doing, Christmas no doubt becomes all the more lonely for them. Jesus said when we visited prisoners, we visited Him. Today, think about your brothers and sisters in prison who love Jesus. Pray for them and do what you can to help. Check with your local churches to see who is offering prison ministries. If God leads, join them in their work. It will open a whole new field of prayer for you. Support these ministries with your money and your prayers.
Tonight will be a lonely night for many. Remember them.
Remember too that you were once a prisoner—and are now set free. Think about that as you read the following story from Prison Fellowship founder, Charles Colson.
Several years ago a Brazilian prison was turned over to two Christian laymen. Their plan was to run it on Christian principles. The prison has only two full-time staff. The rest of the work is done by inmates. Every prisoner is assigned another inmate to whom he is accountable. In addition, every prisoner is assigned a volunteer family from the outside who works with him during his term and after his release from prison. Every prisoner joins the chapel program or else takes a course in character development.
When I visited the prison I found the inmates smiling—particularly the murderer who held the keys and opened the gates to let me in. Wherever I walked, I saw men at peace. I saw clean living areas. I saw people working industriously. The walls were decorated with biblical sayings from Psalms and Proverbs. The prison has an astonishing record. The recidivism rate is 4 percent, compared to 75 percent in the rest of Brazil and the U.S. How is that possible? I saw it with my own eyes. When my inmate guide escorted me to the notorious punishment cell once used for torture, he told me that today it houses only a single inmate. We walked down a long cell block, a long corridor of steel doors, and came to the end and he peeked in. He paused. “Yes, he’s in there,” he said. Then he turned to me and asked, “Are you sure you want to go in, Mr. Colson?”
“Of course,” I replied impatiently. “I’ve been in punishment cells in 600 prisons all over the world.” Slowly the inmate swung open the door and I saw the prisoner in the punishment cell. I walked in and turned to the right and there on the wall, beautifully carved by the inmates, was a crucifix. The prisoner Jesus was hanging on the cross. “He,” said the inmate, “is doing the time for all the rest of us.”
CHARLES COLSON
From the book
