The God of all Comfort

In the course of my duties as prison chaplain I was called on a few days ago to visit a vulnerable prisoner...

His mother had died recently and I was asked to go and offer him comfort and prayer. I was also tasked with getting more details about the funeral arrangements so that we could help him apply to attend it under escort.

However, when I got to his cell he told me that his mother had actually passed away two months ago but because he had been estranged from his family he had not been informed and the funeral had actually been conducted without him being invited to attend.

He was understandably very upset but I spoke with him at length and prayed with him. I asked if he had any Christian background and he told me he was Church of England. I then left him with a Bible and an invitation to attend the chapel. He thanked me for my support and said he would take me up on the invitation.

It is always hard for any of us when we lose a close loved one, but when it happens to those who are serving a prison sentence at the time it is even more difficult, particularly when they have also been estranged from the rest of the family.

It may well be true that this man brought this situation upon himself through his past offences, but I see in the Word of God many instances of people who made bad choices and who even committed serious crimes, yet when they repented they found a place of forgiveness and restoration. The Lord turned their lives around, transformed them into mighty men and women of God and used them in powerful ways.

Please pray for A - God has a plan for his life. Pray that he comes to know Christ as his Saviour and Lord and that he finds that place of peace and quiet rest in the God of all comfort.