THURSDAY August 15, 2024

Prison Letters

I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine making request for you all with joy, for your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ....
Philippians 1:3-6

After Paul greeted the Philippian church, he continued his letter by writing a personal prayer for them. He wrote about how thankful he was to God for their faith, their prayers, and their love for one another. I find that in Paul’s other letters to churches, this became a familiar theme. He was always thankful and constantly prayed for believers. He had such a great love for the Church throughout the whole Roman world.

These years of correspondence under government arrest were very productive for Paul. He wrote and communicated well to Christians. I know God knew what He was doing in Paul’s life. He used all things for good! It was under house arrest that Paul developed a ministry of prayer.

Think of the many Christians in history who have endured prison, and yet they wrote remarkable prayers for themselves and others. Dietrich Bonhoeffer was imprisoned in Nazi Germany during the Second World War. He wrote:

Lord my God, I thank you that you have brought this day to an end. I thank you that you allowed body and soul to come to rest. Your hand was over me and has protected and preserved me. Forgive all weakness of faith and wrong of this day and help me gladly to forgive those who have done wrong to me. Let me sleep in peace beneath your protection and preserve me from assaults of darkness. I commend to you those dear to me, I commend to you this house, I commend to you my body and soul. God, your holy name be praised. Amen

Another dear soul was a man named John Bunyan. He wrote the famed Pilgrims Progress while in prison because he refused to stop preaching. It has been said that his prison became his study and his sanctuary.

Pray often, for prayer is a shield to the soul, a sacrifice to God, and a scourge to Satan.
~John Bunyan~

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