Prison Ministry Report 10

Thank you for your prayers, they are needed. The only hope for these precious women is in Jesus and the power of the Holy Spirit to overcome their addictions. We have new girls almost every Friday night. Some of the girls leave to go to the work-release block, rehab, or the state penitentiary. Many inmates want to hear the good news about Jesus. In the past several weeks, we had two salvations and two girls who made a commitment to make Jesus the Lord of their lives. We have ministered to 42 women as of today’s report. We have had two women consistently attend for all of 2023, Teresa and Shianna. Women who are long-term are waiting for their trial, which is very stressful for them.

Please pray for Miranda, a young mother who is an alcoholic but wants to be free. She has had dreams of drinking but reports that the dreams are subsiding since we taught her how to pray in Jesus’ Name to end the devil’s oppression in her mind. She also has a hard time forgiving those who abused her, though she knows she needs to forgive to free her mind from the control of those memories. She has been working through my “Hope for Complete Healing” booklet and has found it very helpful. She is being sent to a rehab center, but she knows that Jesus is the only one who can help her be free from alcohol addiction. Thank you for praying for Miranda. She is an incredible witness on the block and brings many women to the Bible Study.

Sandy, my co-teacher, has been teaching on the armor of God. She has been focusing on the Helmet of Salvation for several weeks now. All our thoughts need to be processed through the salvation of Jesus Christ who set us free from sin and the devil’s oppressive control over our thoughts. This is a struggle for many. Last Friday, Sandy, taught the Romans road Bible verses to the new women in attendance. Alisha just listened but seemed to be oppressed. Kristen believed and received Christ as her savior. At the next Bible study, about halfway into Sandy’s lesson on faith in Christ, Alisha wanted to pray and be saved. It was so precious to see the joy after their prayer. Please pray for these two dear women. Alisha is new to the Christian teaching as she was a Jehovah’s Witness and is just learning about what Jesus did on the cross for us. She did not understand sin and the role of the Holy Spirit. Please pray for her to grow in her new faith. She is troubled by the abuse she suffered and seems to have brain damage from the drugs she was using.

What do you turn to when you are distressed?

Some of us turn to food, sugar, chocolate, shopping, gaming, TV/movies, social media, etc. when we are emotionally stressed. Sugar is addictive and will cause many problems in your health. Mirada said she drank to numb her mind so she would not think about the abuse. I was a workaholic to cope with my mental and emotional distress. Just the other week, I became angry with my husband and became very ugly. To cope with the emotional distress, I began cleaning and sweeping the deck, etc. I asked God why his disregard triggered me. God showed me resentment from past hurt when my mother disregarded me. I did things to earn her praise, which she never gave me, and this caused resentment, which I did not know was there until it was triggered. I wanted my husband’s praise, so when he criticized me, I got angry. I forgave my mother and my husband, then asked God to take my desire for praise from me. The Bible says that everything we do is to be out of love and for God’s glory. I also asked Him to take my self-centered pride. I then repented and asked God for forgiveness for my reaction, and then I asked for my husband’s forgiveness. Though what he said was hurtful, I sinned by my reaction.

I explain in my website book, Hope for Complete Healing, how to overcome the many resentments and distresses of our lives, so you can be set free to love from a pure heart.

Thank you for praying for this prison ministry and for the women who attend. If you would like to read my other reports, go to Prison Ministry Reports.