[To view in a browser, visit this Link]
My Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
Interesting how last night in the prison, I was preaching through the book of Job on the storms of life and right outside the windows a physical storm was raging. I didn’t bring that up, but I think some of the men put it together. And I think the key message of Job – trusting God and not obsessing about why something happened – was well received. Too often in our humanity we want to know why – we ask God why is this happening to me? Why me? Why now? Why this? All very self-centered questions, and not the right ones to ask. Better questions are God-centered – What are you showing me? What are you teaching me? What in me must change?
I shared the journey of anguish and despair my wife and I travelled as we made the decision and followed through with putting our dog Benny to sleep. It doesn’t compare to how Job lost everything, but the lessons learned in Job apply to any bad situation we find ourselves in. And God always works good out of every situation for those who love Him and are called according to His purpose (Romans 8.28). We may not see it for years, and maybe never see it this side of heaven, but we must continue to trust in the One who made all things.
Thank you for trusting God each week with all the prayer requests we send out. You are truly a blessing to the men and women in prison, and we remind them of your faithfulness every week when we collect the prayer requests. So don’t be surprised if several prayers are sent heavenward for each of you from them. Have a blessed week everyone!
Grace and Peace,
Rick
Prayer Requests from last Thursday (12:00 Chapel Service, plus Inmate 1-1 sessions):
- Ken– I have court tomorrow and on the 2nd, pray it all goes well.
- Javier– family.
- Kenneth– for my family to figure out life decisions. For my sister- God to keep working on her, and her twins, and her 3 yr old – fighting to get her kids back and learning how to be an adult, she lives a very self-centered life. Pray for the men back on the block, and the whole jail system- it’s getting bad.
- Andy D– for my friend John to seek and find the joy of the Lord – he’s going through trials and is taking on a victim mentality.
- Kenny– Thankful for Dad’s visit on Tuesday and got to talk with Mom on phone. Getting excited, only 58 days to go, got my home plan accomplished [a requirement to be released], my cousins Becky and Josh keep asking my Dad about me and can’t wait for me to get home. Pray my family continues to do well, my time goes smooth and fast, and for everyone in here to get a 2nd chance with Jesus.
Prayer Requests from Medium Security (7:00pm Monday service):
- John– God bring us to our homes soon.
- Freedom– for peace of mind.
- Ross– I need good prayers, I’m 26 days until my max out date [when he must be released], praying for a good conversation with Parole Officer. Pray for everyone in here and their family members, and all their court dates coming up.
- Jose– salvation for all souls in the prison, pray for those leaving to continue their faith journey, and pray for persecuted Christians around the world and in the prisons.
- Jon– for everyone’s court dates, for God to show His mercy, and we would all follow Christ at home, and help us maintain the full armor of God. Also pray for my girlfriend and her relief from pain. Also pray for the volunteers- God bless them for coming in all these years.
- Hunter– everyone fighting addiction to stay sober – pray for strength and protection.
- Jim– my friend Mike’s wife broke her leg.
- Erwin– for the people of Myanmar, Thailand, and all the earthquake victims. Pray those governments would allow the international aid into the place that need it.
- Joseph– to do God’s will, trust in Him, and stay out of jail by imitating Him.
- Mackey– for all of us to be safe and have patience.
- Zare– for me, Mom, sister, nephew, and the whole family.
- Deron– for things to get better.
- José– family, friends, everyone in here.
- Phil T– for my daughter and her husband (Rob)- he doesn’t really have a plan to move forward in life and needs a better work ethic. She wants children, God bless them with perfect timing.
- Dan T– for my brother-in-law and the opportunity to witness to him.
- For all the unspoken prayer requests of the men present in the service.
Prayer Requests from Minimum Security (8:30pm Monday service)
- Jeremiah– for my kids to know the Lord, healing for my sister Tameka, and for things to go well at my court appearance on Wed.
- Donny– protection for my family, keep the volunteers safe when travelling home, for peace, and guide my family on the right path. Also pray for the Air Conditioning to get fixed- the temperatures and humidity are disgusting.
- Don– for my cellmate who has court tomorrow- may his case be dismissed, and for my girlfriend Cheryl to understand the process of how things work in the prison.
- Luis– my wife, children, Mom, all of us here, and all of us in prison.
- Javier– my wife, son, family, my court case tomorrow.
- José– my family, my wife, my brother.
- Elizer– thankful for the volunteers, pray for everyone in here, my family, and a faster process towards release.
- For all the unspoken prayer requests of the men present in the service.
Prayer Requests from Onesimus Ministries
- For good teamwork as we plan and organize our first prison ministry benefit concert on May 16 at Grace Covenant Church in Exton.
- God bless our wonderful prison Chaplains – Rhonda, Heinrich, Jack – and their families.
- Praise the Lord for dedicated volunteers, serving inside prison or behind the scenes.
- Lift up all the Staff and Leadership inside the prison, and their families.
- Pray for quick resolution of staffing issues (hiring, turnover) at Chester County Prison.
- For all the inmates and their families who are also “doing time”.
- God bless the Aftercare ministries and post-prison support organizations ministering to these inmates once they are released.
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.
If this email was forwarded to you and you’d like to subscribe, click HERE.
