Worship

Today there was a very special worship service in the prison's chapel. It was as if God had supernaturally touched hearts in a unique and evident way...

I'm sure there's a lot of music that involves the touching of one's emotions, but this was different. It was more than an emotional experience of goose bumps and happy feelings. Because as the choir of redeemed men began to sing, a great burst of energy seemed to spring forth. Many who were in attendance had a sense of intense jubilation, including myself.

Beneath the smiling faces of these prisoners are the hidden burdens of pain and stress. These men live with the demons of guilt, failure and rejection.

Being incarcerated is difficult. The passing of the years and the oftentimes growing distance between ourselves and our families as time marches on unremittingly, takes a heavy toll.

Yet when these men began to lift their voices to heaven, and when they collectively began to praise the God who loves them, something in the atmosphere started to change. There was a lifting of burdens. Joy quickly replaced the spirits of gloom and heaviness which had been present in the chapel before the worship commenced.

I didn't want the worship to stop. But when the prolonged period of music came to an end, the room was then overtaken with a holy hush. I could swear, too, that in this place I felt the subtle pounding of dozens of hearts all locked together in an unspoken brotherhood of men who have known suffering and struggle for much of their lives.

It was a wonderful morning. The Holy Spirit's presence was felt and many a wounded souls had been comforted.

D.B.