My Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
We had a bit of a situation last night at prison – Andy was to give the first service message but didn’t arrive with the rest of the team. This was not like him at all. In fact, a few weeks ago he hit a deer on his way to the prison and still arrived on time (with a half-wrecked car). We waited for him as long as we could, then processed through entry control into the chapel to begin the service. The inmates were escorted in – still no Andy. Our team leader came up with an alternate plan for the message – each volunteer take a few minutes to share/teach a favorite Bible verse. The service continued with corporate prayer, and we prayed that Andy was OK and nothing bad happened.
As we proceeded into worship music time, our guitar player was in the midst of apologizing that our song leader Andy would not be with us tonight, but he was standing right there ready to go! With our heads down in prayer, nobody noticed Andy slip into the room and assume his song leader position right on cue. We all just had to laugh, commenting how God answers prayers, sometimes immediately. We prayed for Andy, and he showed up! Andy explained how a bridge closure on Route 82 seriously detoured him, taking him far out of the way, then the detour signs just stopped. He had to use his phone GPS to find the prison. The icing on the cake was when we finally noticed him standing there, he simply said “I was lost but now I’m found!”
What a great object lesson for the men – we immediately went to prayer for a serious concern, we trusted God to provide and He did, and Andy was able to incorporate his little escapade into the message. God doesn’t waste anything – we can use it all to point to Him. Thanks for how you point the prayer requests to our Father in heaven each and every week. It gives the men great comfort to know how a team of prayer warriors cares about them and spiritually has their back. God bless you for serving in this way!
Grace and Peace,
Rick
Prayer Requests from last Thursday (12:00 Chapel Service, plus Inmate 1-1 sessions):
- Kenny– very excited for my good friend Frances to come visit me on Tuesday. Please pray for my girlfriend, my family, my friends, especially Frances and Jimmy, and that my time in here continues to go fast and smooth. Pray for everyone to get a second chance.
Prayer Requests from Medium Security (7:00pm Monday service):
- John– to return us to our families.
- Ron– get back up state.
- Ross– for everyone in here, their families, their court cases, and those going home to have a good journey. To get an answer to my letter to PA Bar Association about my situation. And for approved application to get me back home to Florida.
- Tyler– all of us in here and our kids and family – protection. For my oldest son (3) with a brain disease, he has a procedure tomorrow.
- John– for all of us to keep the full armor of God on, protect us from the devil and his temptations.
- Troy– for my Aunt to walk again – she became paralyzed after a heart attack.
- Jim M– for Billy who has Parkinson’s disease. (Rick added his neighbor Lynn and his friend Connie who also have Parkinson’s).
- Marty– to get my life back together, and for my family.
- Phil T– for Andy who didn’t show up tonight, pray he’s safe.
- Joey– to keep our heads up while in here.
- Dan T– my brother-in-law to let go and accept Christ.
Prayer Requests from Minimum Security (8:30pm Monday service)
- Matt R– for all the incarcerated in here, and for the judges and those in powers to treat them fairly and without prejudice.
- Andy D– for our country to have a smooth transition to our next president and his administration.
- Patrick– our families and loved ones going through tough times with us in here.
- Rick C– wisdom for each of us when it comes to big decisions, like I know several men are weighing options around plea deals and are stressed out.
- Tory– for my Dad (Charles) in bad health and preparing for the worst, and my girlfriend Lisa with stage 4 cancer.
- Steve– I have a substance abuse problem, and when I get out I want to go down the right road and not the wrong road that leads back here.
- Ryan– my Aunt Eileen has been struggling for a long time, and she showed up at my Mom’s church on Sunday and cried through the entire service. Pray this is a new beginning for her.
Prayers from Onesimus Prison Ministries
- Pray for our Chaplains (Jack, Rhonda, Heinrich) to have all they need each day to minster effectively in Christ’s name.
- Pray for all the inmates, prison staff, and their families.
- Pray that God would solve the staff shortage and high turnover rate impacting religious programs and volunteer opportunities at the prison.
- Pray for those recently released from prison to connect with a good church and faithful brothers and sisters to help them on their faith journey.
- Pray for those headed to state prison to grow in the Lord and serve Him in a new location.
- Pray for the Aftercare ministries serving those released from Chester county prison. May God’s provision sustain their ministries as they bless those who come to them for help.
If you’d like to find out more about mentoring and discipling a man or woman coming out of prison, drop us a note at outreach@onesimusministries.org.
These weekly prayer requests are also posted on our website – https://onesimusministries.org/category/weekly-prayer-requests/
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