Everyday my team and I walk the 20 minute walk into town. We arrive at the Nkhata Bay prison ready for our daily Bible study with the prisoners.
These men have been stripped of everything. The government has recently stopped giving them soap and they have 1 blanket in their cell to use at night. They get one meal a day. Everyday that meal is nsima. A traditional African meal that is cheap to eat and cooked in large quantities. –Think realllly thick mashed potatoes with no flavor that take 2 days to digest in your stomach– all of their comforts have been stripped of them. They have nothing left to turn to other than Jesus. Some of the prisoners have accepted Him but still a greater amount is still living without Him. Daily as we visited the prisoners the number grew who were attending our Bible Study. The Lord is moving in that prison.
We shared our testimonies and they shared theirs. I have never seen a group of people more hungry for the Bible in my whole life. They were listening to every word we spoke and could always respond with another verse, word of encouragement or a challenge.
While sitting in the jail I couldn’t help but think of Paul. The humble man who is responsible for writing so much of the New Testament. While sitting in a prison cell he writes so much of the Bible that gives us encouragement. I can only picture him sitting in a cell with Silas singing praises to The Lord, filled with so much of the Holy Spirit, and all of a sudden there is an earthquake and every single prisoners chains fell off. (Acts 16)
These men are in prison and not free. They are stuck in prison until the government says that they are free to go. But truly they are free. They are free in Christ. I saw men cry and be vulnerable because they have held onto so much guilt, shame, and unforgiveness since being put in prison. We were able to pray with them and minister to them and show them the freedom they have because Jesus died specifically for them.
Prisoners are not the only ones who need healing and unforgiveness from others and ourselves. We all do. You’re never too far from God. Ask Him and He will give you what you need.
