Touched

Ask, and it shall be given to you;
seek, and you will find; knock, 
and it shall be opened unto you. 
Matthew 7:7

I was deeply touched when, this afternoon while I was at my work assignment in the E-North cell block for the mentally challenged men, one of them, Paul, called me to his cell and asked me to pray for him...

I've written about him before. Paul is a lonely man who's been in and out of prison for much of his adult life. Although in his early years of adulthood, however, Paul held jobs and was a good worker. But then drinking alcohol got the best of him, and this was followed by years of mental illness, imprisonment and hospitalization.

I could see that Paul was restless and nervous. A recent medical test revealed he suffers from low blood sugar. Paul told me, too, that lately he's been feeling tired, and sometimes he experiences sensations of dizziness. He asked me to pray for him.

Paul is a good friend. I've known him for many years. And I was here when he left prison before, only to return dejectedly with a new sentence for a new crime. Paul's too ill, in my opinion, to handle the stresses and strains of "freedom." He cannot survive well on his own.

But I gladly prayed for him and, when I was finished, he asked if he could read a passage from the Bible. He did, and I was encouraged to see him smiling and feeling more at ease. I then asked him to read a portion from Matthew's gospel, which he did. I told Paul to always seek the Lord, to call upon Him, and to ask for His help.

D.B.