Impromptu ministry concert on the wing turned out to be an answer to heart felt prayer...

Recently in HMP Forest Bank I arrived at one of the wings to hold a pre-arranged Bible group. However, that afternoon I was informed that due to a staff shortage the group could not be held as there were not enough officers to unlock everyone and bring them into the meeting room.

I felt I didn't want to leave without providing the guys with something, and I had brought one of the chapel guitars with me so I sat on the stairs between the ground floor and the landing and sang two songs from the Scriptures and one with a gospel challenge. It seemed a little strange because the prisoners were all “behind their doors” as they say, and the wing felt very quiet and empty. Nevertheless, I pressed on and sang and as I came to the end of each song many inmates began cheering, banging on their doors calling out for more.

I left the wing that day feeling it had not been a complete waste of time. I had still been able to communicate the gospel message in spite of the operational difficulty, but it wasn't until two weeks later that I came across one young man in particular who had been listening from his cell that day. He came up to me and shared how his partner had taken her own life while she was also in prison. On the day he received this devastating news he prayed that God would help him through this situation, speak to him and reassure him of His love for him and the very next day I came onto the wing and sang. He said when he heard me it really lifted his spirit and he knew that God had answered his prayer.

Even when things don't go according to our plan, God is still in control and still moving by His Holy Spirit. Since that time several others have come to me saying how much they appreciated those few moments of my impromptu ministry concert on the wing. It is encouraging to know that God is always at work, come what may.