My Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
I truly appreciate all the prayers from inmates, volunteers, and prayer warriors for my health. God allowed me to rejoin the team this week and it was great to see everyone again. I was eager to get back in the saddle leading the prayer time, and the Lord led me to begin with the first half of Psalm 34:
I will praise the LORD at all times.
I will constantly speak his praises.
I will boast only in the LORD;
let all who are discouraged take heart.
Come, let us tell of the LORD’s greatness;
let us exalt his name together.
I prayed to the LORD, and he answered me.
freeing me from all my fears.
Those who look to him for help will be radiant with joy;
no shadow of shame will darken their faces.
I cried out to the LORD in my suffering, and He heard me.
He set me free from all my fears.
For the angel of the LORD guards all those who fear Him,
and He rescues them.
Taste and see that the LORD is good.
Oh, the joys of those who take refuge in him!
Let the LORD’s people show Him reverence,
for those who honor him will have all they need.
Even strong young lions sometimes go hungry,
but those who trust in the LORD will never lack any good thing. (Psalm 34:1-10)
I am pleasantly impressed how often the Holy Spirit inspires the Psalm selection and the message to address the men’s current struggles, as reflected in the prayer concerns. It’s amazing what can happen when we avail ourselves to the Spirit’s leading. God is so good!
Jose used a four-spoked wheel visual aid in the 1st service to teach about loving God and loving people the way Christ showed us. Based on Matthew 22:37-40 where Jesus proclaims the greatest commandment (love God) and the second like it (love others), Jose drew the vertical spokes of ‘Prayer’ and ‘Word of God’, with Christ in the center, as the way to God. Then he drew the horizontal spokes of ‘Fellowship’ and ‘Witness’ as the way to love others. The circular wheel enclosing it all is the Christian life, with the Holy Spirit being the essential “air in our tire”.
Matt tackled a tough topic in 2nd service – “Father Wounds”. He related to many men who experienced broken homes and abusive or missing fathers with his own experiences of the same. Earthly fathers can cause real emotional damage to their kids who need love, affirmation, safety, and stability, when they bail on all of it. He contrasted this dark reality with the story of the prodigal son in Luke 15 to show what a true loving father looks like – how our own Heavenly Father loves us. He offered 6 practical steps to heal father wounds, and reminded us that real healing is only possible through God in our lives. And with God in our lives, we have all we need to not repeat the same mistakes with our kids.
God’s goodness is so evident in many ways both inside and outside the prison. We see Him change lives every week, and we’re so blessed to have all of you covering the ministry, the chaplains, the volunteers, and the men in your prayers – absolutely essential to any ministry. Thanks for your dedication to follow His call and support in all the ways you do – you are an answer to our prayers! God bless your week.
Grace and Peace,
Rick
Prayer Requests from Chaplain Rhonda
Y. C. – first time incarcerated; mother of 7; family in turmoil with her being locked up; please pray for God to provide peace, comfort, and guidance and for them all to come into a relationship with Him through this ordeal.
C. R. – “Pray for me to become more humble and for my 5 children to be in the hands of my heavenly Father as I’m away.”
Prayer Requests from last Thursday (Inmate sessions):
- José– My sister and Dad visited me last week and my brother and girlfriend are coming today, I’m not sure who’s more excited- them or me. I’m learning a lot in my “Thinking for a Change” class, like how to talk to people the right way and not seem confrontational. I’m really looking forward to going home and starting over. Pray for my family and girlfriend, everyone’s safety, and to find a good church when I’m out.
- Keith– Praise God, my court date went much better than I hoped for [I had prayed with Keith that it would work out better than he expected]. Even had a good talk with the judge, and they usually don’t want to speak with us – she was impressed with my attitude and how I’m turning things around with God’s help because I’m tired of my old life. God definitely answering my prayers – He’s so good – like I got a cellmate who snored really bad, I prayed about it, and he got moved to another cell the next day! Please pray for Anita who is still living wild with substance abuse- pray she will know God and His love and deliverance. And pray for my kids – Anthony, Brandy, and Shaun (and their significant others).
- Kenny– [unfortunately visiting hours ran out before I could see Kenny this week, please keep this young man in your prayers for encouragement to keep digging deep into God’s word, and transformation by the renewing of his mind like Paul talks about in Romans 12:2].
Prayer Requests from Medium Security (7:00pm Monday service):
- John– health and safety of my daughter, and recently found our we’re pregnant with another girl.
- Johnny– God is good, and I pray He will help all those going through hard times right now, especially those dealing with anxiety and deep depression. Also pray for my court date Wednesday.
- Jim M– my son Jacob.
- Phil T– For our brother Dan who has covid, and for all the men in here suffering with depression and anxiety.
- Zach– for my Mom (Kären) who prays for me all the time.
- Jose G– for all the men in here to know Christ as Lord and Savior. Also for my Daughter (Christina) who is pregnant and has covid.
- Miguel– two of my sons have birthdays this week (Ezra turns 3 today, and Percival turns 1 Saturday), pray my family can really live it up for them, and for their safety and security. [FYI – his third son’s name is Virgil]
- Phil T– my son Kyle is getting married, and caused issues in the family when he pushed the date in front of his sister’s wedding. Pray for peace in the family.
- Rick C– thanks for recovered health and back in the prison tonight. Also for my Daughter (Ali) getting married in 2 months to have peace and wisdom for good decision making.
- Please continue to pray for Drake– usually upbeat and outgoing, he’s really down and non-communicative lately.
Prayer Requests from Minimum Security (8:30pm Monday service)
- John– for my family, going through a rough time right now.
- Justin– my Dad is having a hard time, my Aunt just died, pray for the whole family.
- Darren– the guys back on the block are going through some stuff, pray they can stay strong.
- Mike– for Rick’s getting better, and for my 2 kids (Michael and Everly) that are headed to a new school this year.
- Jeremiah– for my son, and for my grandmother on dialysis and also having a tough time breathing.
- Brandon– for my brother and sister-in-law who just had their 2nd miscarriage.
- Colson– my family, my Mom, my wife and child are having financial difficulties, and for my siblings.
- Ryan– my business is going through bankruptcy, not sure what next steps are – need wisdom.
Prayers from Onesimus Prison Ministries
- Praise God for his provision and pray for everything to go well with our first Benefit Dinner at Green Street Grill on Oct 25 (see www.onesimusministries.org).
- Pray for relief of staffing shortage and high turnover rate at the prison which impacts daily operations and causes stress for supervisors, staff, and volunteers.
- God bless our wonderful prison chaplains – Jack, Heinrich, and Rhonda.
- Blessings upon the families of prison leadership, prison staff, and inmates.
- For men and women recently released from prison to stay in the Word, continue their faith journey, engage in a Bible-preaching church, and find the spiritual support/accountability they need.
- God’s blessing upon all the Aftercare ministries assisting inmate transitions back into society.
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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