praying for one another

I am so glad that the "Code Orange" terrorist alert has been recinded.

All of our services and Bible studies are open again and are back to

functioning normally.

I know that Satan would love to tear me from the hands of God, but he

cannot. For my feet are planted on the Solid Rock, which is Jesus my Messiah.

No devil, demon, or hateful man can ever pluck me from my Lord's hands.

But now, however, I must boast in what the Lord did yesterday.

We had an awesome and anointed worship service on Sunday morning.

We had a volunteer minister, "Brother Ron," come to us from his home in New

Jersey. The presence of God was all over the building. The Holy Spirit was

once again doing his regular work, tugging at the hearts of men, wooing them to

Jesus.

The altar was jammed! About 40 men went to the front of the chapel

seeking a touch from the Lord.

Like people everywhere, prison inmates go through tremendous trials and

difficult circumstances.

I am thankful that God's "throne of grace" is always open. At the altar

some men rededicated their lives to Crist. A few surrendered to Jesus for the

first time.

Most, however, were seeking God's help for their personal family needs.

Then, later on Sunday afternoon, when we had our beginner's Bible class,

some of these men spoke openly about thier particular issues and situations.

Edwin asked for prayer for his father, who is in his 70's, and who has a

fast growing tumor in his brain. His dad is scheduled for surgery very soon.

Robert needed prayer for his brother who is in a coma after a bad

epilectic seizure complicated by diabetes.

"Brother King" asked for prayer that the Holy Spirit will continue to give

him strength and comfort. Several weeks ago he had to bury his twenty-four

year old daughter who lost her life to cancer.

And Nathan poured out his heart to us saying how much he wanted to get

closer to God.

Nathan has been in prison for about thirty years. He had been "hit" by

the parole board two times already. Fortunately thouugh, his wife has stuck by

him through all this. This is an exception, for sure.

Nate's wife is a strong Christian. She's always been praying for him,

never giving up on her mate, always believing that the Lord would save her

husband from his sins.

It is so good being able to pray to a faithful and loving God who answers

prayers. I am thankful, too, for the privilege of being part of a Christian

fellowship that is persistently involved in one another's lives.

We have our faults and shortcomings, of course. But overall, the members

of our congratation do try to help each other.

We confront one another in love. We give encouragement as well as

emotional and spiritual suport. And physical help is provided also when men

have needs, be it giving another prisoner a pair of winter gloves, or handling

out a few postage stamps to the men who cannot afford them.

David Berkowitz

January 19, 2004