“About midnight, Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them, and suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken. And immediately all the doors of the prison were opened, and everyone’s bonds were unfastened.”
I’ll always remember my first time in a prison. My squad mates and I got the opportunity to go and minister to prisoners in a prison in Granada, Nicaragua.
The conditions were the poorest living conditions that I had ever seen humans live in. As you walk into the prison gates, the first thing you see is a cage. Yes, a cage. It isn’t your casual jail cell. This cage was filled with about 80 men, maybe more. And it was completely outdoors, with just a tin roof for protection from the rain and sun. All of these prisoners were forced to live in this cell every day. Smashed together in this tiny space. The prisoners slept on the concrete or on pieces of cardboard or plastic bags. This might seem appalling, but these men were better off than the prisoners who lived in the indoor cell.
Imagine, 40-50 men in a tiny jail cell. There was one small light that didn’t even shine bright enough so that I could see their faces when I walked inside. The floor was wet with who knows what. There were no beds. The prisoners slept on the concrete or on cardboard. The lucky ones had sheets hanging from the ceiling as makeshift hammocks. The temperature in this cell had to have been at least 20 degrees warmer than it was outside… and Nicaragua is HOT. There were no windows which meant no fresh air was able to flow through the cell. And no light from the outside shown through. No fans were allowed. And the smell. The smell coming from this cell was unreal. It smelled terribly of urine, cigarettes, and body odor.
There were also about 10 women who were prisoners here. They also lived in a tiny cell together with the same rations and living conditions.
All the people living in this prison were given one spoonful of rice and one spoonful of beans a day. That’s it. Grown men and women living off of this insufficient amount of food every day. Their families had the option of traveling to the prison to bring them more food, but we were told that it was rare that it happened.
We went to the prison to do a bible study with the women, worship together, share testimonies, and pray.
I felt led to be in the group that walked around the prison and prayed over the prisoners, the property, and the guards. Some of my teammates were invited to go into the indoor cell, which they told us almost never happens.
They started off by starting to share the Word, but the prisoners stopped them and said, “Let’s worship together, first.”
And they did.
I’ve never heard a more beautiful sound. As I sat praying outside, I could literally feel the ground shaking under my feet as these men worshiped. They had no music. They had no stage, fancy lights or projectors. They just had their voices- and that was enough. They cried out with thanksgiving and praise to the Lord. It was loud. It wasn’t the most perfect choir of voices I had ever heard.
But in that moment, I knew these men were free.
Free of shame and guilt. Free of chains. Free of sorrow and condemnation. And I knew they were free of that cell as they raised their voices.
They were meeting with their Father in the secret place. Singing to Him with the whole army of Heaven joining in.
My mind kept going to the scripture I shared at the beginning, when Paul and Silas were singing in prison and everyone’s bonds were unfastened. I can just imagine them raising their voices as loud as they could to the God of Heaven. Worship so powerful and pure that it caused an earthquake.
And it hit me.
Worship really does break chains. Worship really does bring freedom.
My World Race journey has been one of learning. One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned is that you have to make a choice every day. You can choose to live the life of a victim or you can choose to live the life of a free person.
The life of a victim is a crushing one. Things start to push in on you. Your life, your job, your circumstances, your relationships. Victims blame others for their circumstances. They say things like, “Nobody likes me.” Their lives become about them and how people impact them.
The life of a free person looks dramatically different. Free people say things like, “God has delegated control over my life to me” and “What does it look like for me to make an impact?” Life, job, circumstances, and relationships all flow from the free mindset. Free people control who they trust, their attitude, their perspective, and their choices. They don’t point fingers at God or others and blame.
God has used various circumstances throughout my Race to teach me about living as a victim or a free person. I’ve succeeded and failed many times. But He’s never used an experience in my life so powerfully as this one.
To see, hear, and join in the worship of prisoners is rare. And I feel honored to have been able to worship with these men and women. It taught me that in any circumstance, I can find a reason to worship.
I can worship because my circumstances don’t change God’s goodness or His character.
I can worship because my circumstances don’t change the good news of the Gospel of Jesus.
I can worship because The God of Heaven loves me and will never stop.
These people are prisoners living in terrible conditions that no human should ever be forced into, but they worship for those same reasons.
Thanksgiving is coming up, and it has me reflecting alot about what I’m thankful for. And today, I’m most thankful for the torn veil that allows me to come into the presence of the most Holy God of the universe and worship Him any time I want. I can meet with Him in the secret place. I can sit at His feet and adore Him.
No circumstance will ever be terrible enough to give me a reason not to worship. Today and every day I resolve to choose worship. I resolve to live as a free person. And I resolve to choose a Heavenly perspective in all circumstances.
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