The heart knoweth its own bitterness,
and a stranger doth not intermeddle
with its joy.
This morning I awoke with a strange and unsettled feeling within my soul...
and a stranger doth not intermeddle
with its joy.
This morning I awoke with a strange and unsettled feeling within my soul...
I don't know what it was other than some kind of mysterious sense of discomfort and distress. Last night I attended the prayer meeting with a dozen or so of my brothers. Every fourth Monday of each month I am permitted to go to the chapel to gather with fellow Christian inmates. We're allotted 90 minutes of time together before we have to return to our respective cells.
At the start of our gathering, however, we go over each and every prayer request that's been made by the members of our congregation. Many of the requests involve serious issues, even life and death situations. There are prayer requests for the suicidal, drug addicted family members and those who have loved ones who are sick, even dying. There are many men who have at least one family member who is either HIV positive or who has AIDS. In addition there are payer requests that have been made for estranged children as well as for the "unsaved." One man even asked for prayer for his brother who's in the Army and is headed for a tour in Germany. The list is endless, and it goes from the critical to the mundane. We had at least five hundred prayer requests forms in our church's prayer box, too. It was humbling and even vexing to read each request. The needs and concerns of those in this prison church are deep and intense.
Perhaps it was all those urgent and desperate prayer requests that overwhelmed me. They may have stayed on my mind and in my heart when I went to bed. I'm very sensitive to the struggles and needs of others. Nevertheless, as the morning went by I immersed myself in Scripture reading and listening to programs on the local Christian radio station. I have off from work Tuesday mornings so I had the extra time to do this.
Surely the heart of a man has many bitter stories to tell. We carry a lot of pain from things we've experienced in life. Yet not one can fully know its joy when the Lord Jesus Christ enters the heart of a man and makes peace and His presence known.
D.B.
At the start of our gathering, however, we go over each and every prayer request that's been made by the members of our congregation. Many of the requests involve serious issues, even life and death situations. There are prayer requests for the suicidal, drug addicted family members and those who have loved ones who are sick, even dying. There are many men who have at least one family member who is either HIV positive or who has AIDS. In addition there are payer requests that have been made for estranged children as well as for the "unsaved." One man even asked for prayer for his brother who's in the Army and is headed for a tour in Germany. The list is endless, and it goes from the critical to the mundane. We had at least five hundred prayer requests forms in our church's prayer box, too. It was humbling and even vexing to read each request. The needs and concerns of those in this prison church are deep and intense.
Perhaps it was all those urgent and desperate prayer requests that overwhelmed me. They may have stayed on my mind and in my heart when I went to bed. I'm very sensitive to the struggles and needs of others. Nevertheless, as the morning went by I immersed myself in Scripture reading and listening to programs on the local Christian radio station. I have off from work Tuesday mornings so I had the extra time to do this.
Surely the heart of a man has many bitter stories to tell. We carry a lot of pain from things we've experienced in life. Yet not one can fully know its joy when the Lord Jesus Christ enters the heart of a man and makes peace and His presence known.
D.B.
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