Those Jailhouse Prayer Meetings

“Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. A prayer of a righteous person, when it is brought about, can accomplish much.” James 5:16

The Covid virus shut down a lot of things all over the world. One of those things was our jail ministry in Hamtramck, Michigan…right next to Detroit.

I have very fond memories of those times. Even though the lobby restroom was always dirty and never had soap or paper towels, and the facility smelled quite foul most of the time, I miss seeing the inmates week after week.

If you’ve never experienced such a ministry, it’s a wonderful time. The difference between church on the outside and church on the “inside” is simple: inmates show up desperate, lost, hungry and trusting us to feed their souls.

There was no requirement for inmates to attend our Bible study, it was an open invitation to anyone who wanted to come into the classroom. And in five years, we probably had around 3,000 souls attend our classes.

When men come in with expectation, there is a certain energy that fills the room. When we went in prayed up there was a certain power in the room. When those two combined with strong preaching, God fed each of us and we all left lighter, stronger, and refreshed having been in the presence of the Lord. Powerful times!

Something amazing happens when criminals from all walks of life huddle together in a circle, with arms on shoulders crying out to Jesus Christ for help, healing, and salvation.

Those group prayer sessions still echo in my soul, and they still bring tears five years later.

One of the things I remember most is when inmates would confide in me personally what they had done to earn jail time. I heard it all. I always told them that they had my confidence, and that their open confession was a start to their spiritual healing.

After such confessions, it wasn’t unusual to see a change in their demeanor. Many times, I saw a broad smile and happiness that wasn’t there when they entered our class. Those men were beautiful souls, we loved them all. Many had harbored sin and shame for years and just needed to offload their sins on someone with a listening heart.

My friends, we must be willing to bear another person’s sins without judging them…and we also need to be brave (and obedient) enough to confide in others when we’re engaging in sin.

Specific confession is a powerful step toward specific spiritual healing and recovery.