Inmates at Her Majesty’s Prisons, Dodds, were last week encouraged to use the Word of God as an atlas and direction manual, to stay focused on God and to spend time in prayer.
The advice came from Minister Shevonne Phillips as she addressed the inmates during a service conducted by a team from Healing Of The Soul Ministries.
She told the inmates that by using God’s Word as a compass for their lives, they would better understand what God wanted them to know and do.
Taking her primary text from Psalm 119:105-108, she told them: “Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path.”
Phillips added: “God’s Word will shed sufficient light unto our feet and put us on the right path. It prevents us from stumbling. It will direct our souls and minds. It is the only device that will keep us in the path of righteousness.”
She said that scriptural darkness “will prevent us from seeing God, but Jesus came to be the light of the world and to seek and save those who are lost”.
She further told the congregation, which comprised of young and senior men, that despite what they might have done in the past, God loved them unconditionally.
“When we come to Him freely and ask for forgiveness of our sins, we become free in Christ.”
She added that “prayer will bring them into a state of resourcefulness” and that reading the Word was not just enough. Obedience, she stressed, was vital.
“Obedience to God’s Word brings blessings, while disobedience to His Word brings negative consequences.”
Phillips promised them when they read the Word, God would show up in their lives, they would not be left in the dark or lost, and they “can walk by faith and not stumble”.
She told the prisoners that while society might ridicule them and call them criminals, they must remember that “not one of us [is] perfect”.
During the near two-hour-long service, inmates also got the chance to address their fellow prisoners and share their testimonies. One cautioned the others not to expect a perfect world when they leave the confines of prison.
“We come to prison where some of us change and some of us do not. Though we may change, do not expect to be readily accepted back into society. Some may call us homosexuals and criminals. Do not believe it will be a bed of roses. We will have to trust God, but the struggles will help us to make it. Do not let the words of people cause you to lose hope. Don’t give up,” he pleaded.
Another also spoke of a life of smoking and sin, but testified about the goodness of God along his wayward path.
Throughout the service, which was filled with lots of singing, the inmates openly praised and worshipped God, with some requesting special prayers.
