When a family member goes to prison, we feel helpless. We go through the “could of” and “should of” list of what we could have done differently that would have prevented the incident or situation that led to his (or her) incarceration.
But there is something we can do – Pray!
Yes, there are many other things we can do for them such as visitation, put money on their accounts, and send letters and books.
However, the number one thing we can do to show our loved ones support is to pray for them. And enlist the support of other prayer warriors.
I’ve seen God change circumstances through prayer. After my son’s arrest, I prayed for him to receive Christ as His Savior. My son responded to the Lord knocking on the door to his heart and asked Jesus to come in and live in his heart. The Lord answered my petitions for mercy, not justice in regard to my son’s sentence. The Lord answered my prayers to heal broken relationships in the family. And thankfully, this has brought the family closer together instead of separating us.
Even in the midst of what the enemy has meant for harm, God has turned and used it for good. And I believe it is because of prayer.
What is prayer?
Prayer is the way we communicate with God. We can talk to him through our thoughts or our words.
Prayer develops our relationship with our loving Father. If you have accepted Jesus as Savior, then you are a son or daughter of the Lord. As a son or daughter, He desires to have a relationship with you and for you to have a relationship with Him.
How do I know what to pray?
We can pray anyway we want to. We can talk to God as we talk to a friend. Another way to pray is to approach God as our Father. That’s how Jesus taught the disciples how to pray.
“… one of His disciples said to Him, ‘Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples. So He said to them, ‘When you pray, say: Our Father in heaven …” (Luke 11:1b-2a)
Think about when you were a child, or think about your own children. When they want something significant like money, a toy, new clothes, who do they ask? Typically, it is not their friends, but their parents—or their father.
When we have significant needs, we need to take those petitions to our Father. Let’s look at Luke 11:11-13
“If a son asks for bread from any father among you, will he give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent instead of a fish? Or if he asks for an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!”
Even earthly fathers give good gifts, how much more will our heavenly Father give to us?
Our heavenly Father is a good Father and desires good things for His children. When we pray according to God’s will, we can pray with confidence that He will do what He said He would do.
“Now this is the confidence we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him” (1 John 5:14-15).
God’s Word is His will for us. Therefore, when we pray Scriptures, God moves on those prayers based on His Word.
Isaiah 55:11 reads, “So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.”
God’s word accomplishes what HE sends it to do.
Therefore, when we pray the Word of God, which is powerful and effective, alive and active, we pray with confidence that God does what He says He will do.
The best thing we can do for our incarcerated loved ones is to pray the Word of God over their lives. God has purpose for their lives and we must pray for that purpose to be fulfilled.
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More than 30 Scripture-based prayers are included in Appeal to the Courtroom of Heaven.
In Appeal to the Courtroom of Heaven: Petitions for Prisoners and Prison Families I share my unexpected prison family journey testimony. I also point out how the Lord redeemed the worst-of-the-worst offenders found in the pages of the Bible and explain an effective prayer strategy I learned from this experience.
I pray my transparency and vulnerability points to the source of HOPE for those who lost hope in the midst of despair.
Click here to learn how to order this book.
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