Prison Ministry – Hope for Complete Healing

Prison Ministry Report 7

Sandy taught, continuing the bondage to freedom theme. I was out of town, so this is her report to me in an email.

Yum-Yum came in seriously dejected and in a very dark spot in her mind. She had lodged a complaint against a particular CO (Correction Officer) because this CO had thrown all of her commissaries (items she bought like shampoo, etc.) into the garbage while Yum-Yum was in another Bible study. Because of the complaint, this CO has determined to make life hard on Yum-Yum (who has lupus), by not allowing the other girls to help her get her meals. Yum-Yum cannot carry the trays and use the walker. She hadn’t eaten breakfast or lunch for days because of this. She talked to Medical…and we prayed that there would be a proper response.

This was a situation very much like we had with MJ. We did a deliverance sending evil packing with all the gals laying hands on her and then I asked Yum-Yum to pray. She asked for the Lord’s forgiveness and direction. THEN she and MJ prayed for each other, asking forgiveness from the Lord and each other and asking that their relationship be restored. They hugged, cried, and then LAUGHED. (Theresa too)

The Holy Spirit’s relief from the oppression was enormous: joy replacing the dejection. We then also prayed for this particular CO.

As you would expect; the lesson didn’t quite go as planned…but I saw the things the Lord had given me this week so totally fit in with the need. In a very real way, it was good that Betsy was not there, as this could not have taken place. After that, the group spontaneously erupted into LAUGHTER. The Joy of the Lord replaced the oppressiveness they had been under. God is so good…this is the power He has provided so that we can be set FREE. (A humorous side note- we had been declaring evil to be under our feet- then as the giggles erupted, they decided they would metaphorically put on their boots to really stomp out evil!)

We looked at the differences in King Saul’s and King David’s reactions to sin in their lives and then studied a bit about how King David humbly sought the Lord, recognizing that his sin was against the Lord. Psalm 38 is about David’s abject sense of sinfulness and depression. The ladies readily agreed that it totally reflected what they had been experiencing. We went on to Psalm 51, where David confesses his sin and the righteousness of God. We then went to Psalm 139 as direction for the ladies as they move forward. God knows us inside and out…everything about us. Then we must humbly ask Him to “Search us and try us to see if there is any grievous way in us and lead us to life everlasting!”

Pray for these women as each day they face many trials that we on the outside cannot imagine. Pray that they reflect Christ’s beauty and love.

Prison Ministry Report 6

It has been a while since I wrote my last report. Many of the Friday meetings were canceled for various reasons and some I could not attend.

We have two consistent attendees coming to our Bible study. Friday I was by myself, and there were four girls. Two of the girls were contentious because of personality conflicts, so please pray for MJ and Yumyum. MJ has been in the hole (isolation) many times for anger mismanagement issues. MJ means well but is getting on Yumyum’s nerves. MJ was in my previous reports if you would like to know more about her.

I felt led to teach a lesson about bondage and how to become free. Many of them are in bondage to drugs and alcohol, and in MJ’s case, she is in bondage to anger from the many hurtful situations in her life. She is getting better, but it will take time. I taught the girls how to take authority over their thoughts using the power of Jesus in them. You can’t control your thoughts with your own willpower or positive thinking. The following outline is what I taught.

BONDAGE TO FREEDOM

Luke 13:10-16 — Disabling spirit (vs.16, Satan bound a woman for eighteen years) (I explained how Satan uses spirits to keep us in bondage, and only Jesus can set us free. She had to go to Jesus for healing, so we need to go to Jesus and seek release from the oppressive spirits controlling us.)

Mark 9:14-29 — Jesus Heals a boy with an unclean spirit – deaf and dumb/mute spirits. (I explained that believing as you pray is necessary to remove unclean spirits and to ask Jesus to help your unbelief (vs. 24).)

Luke 11:24-26 — Unclean spirits coming back with worse spirits. (I explained that once you release an unclean spirit, you need to replace it with the Holy Spirit or a clean spirit. I used several examples, like asking God to remove the spirit of addiction and then replace it with the spirit of self-control and power.)

1 Timothy 4:1 — Deceitful spirit. We talked about finding a Bible-believing church, that not all churches honor the truths in the Bible. I also had them read 1 John 4:1-3, to test the spirits to see if they are from God because many Christian leaders appear to be Christian but are not following the truths in the Bible.

I had them turn to pages 13 and 14 of my Hope for Complete Healing booklet, and we read about how to remove evil spirits tormenting us and how to know if we have one. (You can read this in the section called 2–Removing Blocks to Healing, number 7 of the Seven Prayers That Heal The Heart.) I then took them through the Meekness/Gentleness/Faithfulness section (because Suzette was looking at it), and I explained how to pray to discover the memories and unhealthy beliefs that cause an inferior spirit or superior spirit of bondage. We went through the list of other possible unclean spirits, then I took them through the list of good spirits to replace the unclean spirits. Then we read the scriptural truths at the bottom to replace unhealthy beliefs. We also discussed healthy pride versus self-centered, sinful pride because MJ was confused.

2 Timothy 1:7 — replacing the spirit of fear with the spirit of power, love, and self-control.

John 15:26 and Romans 5:5 — How the Holy Spirit is the spirit of truth and will help us. He pours God’s love into our hearts, but if we have unforgiveness then His love can’t flow out of us.

Romans 8:2, 13; Gal 5:16-17; Eph 3:16-17; 1Cor. 15:45; and Rom. 8:11 — Spirit of life and how Jesus is the life-giving spirit, and how to walk by the spirit and deny the flesh.

Romans 8:15 — Spirit of slavery vs. the spirit of adoption.

1 Corinthians 2:11-12 — Spirit of God in us that helps us to understand the secret things of God.

2 Corinthians 4:13 — Spirit of faith

This study was fascinating to put together, and I could have gone over so much more. Thank you for following my ministry and for praying for me and Sandy and the inmates who come.

Prison Ministry Report 5

Last Friday was incredible, but I wanted to wait to tell you about it until after this Friday’s Bible Study. God is so good and faithful. He is doing incredible transformation work in the lives of these ladies. I would like for you to pray with me for these precious ladies.

Friday, January 23

Last Friday, my co-teacher, Sandy, taught us about forgiveness through Jesus’ life. Her lesson focused on Christ Jesus forgiving those who put Him on the cross because they were motivated by evil and did not know what they were doing. He had to forgive because His Father said to forgive, so if He was never to sin, He had to forgive before He died. What an incredible revelation. She explained how sin separates us from God and why we need His forgiveness and how Jesus’ death paid the punishment for all our sins. And those that hurt us were also motivated by evil and we need to forgive them, not that they are excused for what they did but that the power of the hurtful memory would no longer control our minds.

MJ kept asking, “How do I forgive.” Sandy explained that because Jesus forgave, He can help us forgive as we receive His forgiveness for our sins. MJ still insisted on knowing how to forgive. I was sitting next to her and knew that the memories of the abuse were beginning to take over her mind. She began to cry and recount the experiences. I took over and put up on the board the following outline for how to forgive.

FORGIVENESS PROCESS

Identify the hurtful memory. In Shattering Your Strongholds, Liberty Savard advised you not to replay your inner tapes of anger and guilt over painful memories, failures, humiliations, and the sins of others against you. So, forgive those who have hurt you, including yourself if necessary, and verbally put off the power those memories have on your mind and emotions.
Ask God to help you forgive the people involved.
Forgive the people who hurt you in the memory to break the power they have over your thoughts and emotions.
Ask God to remove all oppressive spirits from the memory so the memory does not control your thoughts, emotions, and decisions.
Ask God to forgive your unloving response to the hurtful actions done against you.
Ask God to show you the unhealthy or false beliefs that the hurtful situation generated. It could be a false belief about yourself, the other person, or even God. Then transform those wrong beliefs using God’s truth.
Find something to be thankful for about the situation or person.

Pray something like the following when you become offended:

I forgive (person’s name) for _(offense)_ and I release the resentment and the power it has over me in Jesus’ name. Lord, remove any attached oppressive spirits to the resentment. Fill me with Your love and grace. Forgive me for being unforgiving, unkind, or impatient. I put on and bind to my mind that I can forgive and be free because Jesus Christ helps me and sets me free as I submit to Him. (List other truths you can claim.)

As I explained the process of becoming free from painful memories, MJ was really crying, so I asked that the girls gather around her to pray. I asked MJ if she wanted to be free from the pain and she said “yes.” I laid my hand on her head and began to pray for her, I asked her to verbally say, “I forgive.” Sandy asked her to say it a few more times. I prayed for the oppressive spirits attached to her painful memories to be gone from her in Jesus’ name. She coughed several times and choked and then a calm came over her as I prayed for peace and joy to enter her heart. Other girls were crying as they forgave those who hurt them. MJ became calm. I continued my lesson and explained that oppressive spirits are attached through the wounds of our souls, and they keep us oppressed through painful memories. I also explained that being thankful for something about the situation transforms the painful memory. Being thankful is the hardest part of transforming a memory.

Friday, January 27

What a change in MJ when she came in tonight. She was unable to forgive, but after the deliverance, she later wrote down all the people who hurt her and what they did then wrote forgiven next to the incident. She then crumpled up the papers and flushed them down the toilet and submitted all her painful memories to the Lord. She then prayed like she never prayed before and felt a huge weight lift off her. Praise the Lord.

She had a problem retaliating against people who crossed her, which is why she is in jail. She retaliated against an inmate and knew she would get punished for it. At that point, she knew she had to forgive and went through the forgiveness process described above. When she was called to the superintendent’s office, she thought she was getting in big trouble for what she did, but she only got a warning. What surprised her was that she was crying tears of shame and repentance for what she did. Praise the Lord.

Sandy taught about the love of our Heavenly Father. Though we may feel abandoned, God does not abandon us. She started off by having the girls read Psalm 142. We can call on God at any time and He will hear us and help us. She shared her testimony of how she was sick for 15 years and could not eat except to drink carrot juice and was very weak. She had little children that had to take care of themselves and her, and her husband had to carry her up and down the stairs. She was ready to die and wanted to die. One of the inmates, who is not a Christian, amazed us and asked if that was a sin to want to die. Sandy said yes, and she had to repent and ask God to show her why she was so sick. To make a long story short, God showed her it was because she felt unloved and abandoned by her parents and she felt God didn’t love her and had abandoned her. She asked for forgiveness and went through a prayer of deliverance from the devil’s oppression and released the spirit of abandonment, and she was instantly healed.

I gave MJ a copy of my book, Hope for Complete Healing to help her transform other painful memories. If you have painful memories, you can find this book on my website, just click on the title of my book. Thank you for your continued prayers. I will continue teaching out of the study booklet called Living a Victorious Life. Every inmate gets one of these booklets. Please pray that the truths in this teaching material would transform the lives of the inmates.

All verses are from the English Standard Bible. If you find my posts and website helpful, please share this link with your friends and family; hopeforcompletehealing.com. The information is copyright protected. Please do not reproduce any part of the posts or my book without proper citation to Joyce Hanscom and this website.

Check out my latest book Breaking Mental Strongholds which you can order on Amazon. To learn more about it, read my post called Breaking Mental Strongholds Book.

Also, check out Fighting Unseen Battles on Amazon. To learn more about this book, read: How to Fight Unseen Battles.

Contact me at hopeforcompletehealing@gmail.com, and ask for a PDF of Eight Life-changing Prayers from the Bible. The prayers are for the Spirit of wisdom, renewal, spiritual strength, knowledge of His will, virtues of God, non-believers, 23rd Psalm, and victory. I will also send you the Lord’s Prayer Model to pray effectively. Please leave your name, so I know you are a real person making the request.

Prison Ministry Report 4

People are messy, but God is good and loves these girls. A few believe they are innocent and didn’t do wrong, some know they did wrong and want the judge to have mercy. Surprisingly some did wrong to get into jail so they can get the help they need. I will be writing about two meetings in this report.

Last Friday, we had three returning girls and three new girls. The new girls had a lot to say, but one was upset and wanted to tell her story. She believes she is innocent. Sandy taught on John 14:6a, “Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life.” She began in Haggai 2:4-9 and said that God was going to do something good, even great in our lives. Then she had us look up Scriptures about “the way” and what is the wrong way versus the good way. We are to seek the truth found in God’s Word. Find life in Him and how we should live and how the Holy Spirit helps us. At the end of our time, I asked if there was anything in particular that the girls wanted to learn, and they said forgiveness. That is a hard topic to teach incarcerated women.

This past Friday, I shared about forgiveness, and I did not get past the first page of notes out of five pages. We had four returning girls and three new girls. One of the new girls was the daughter of a pastor who rebelled and got into trouble, she seemed to accept being in jail, and wants to get right with God. One new girl broke down crying and left in the middle of the Bible Study. She can’t believe God forgives her and she can’t be forgiven because she killed someone and is facing life in prison and is 23 years old. She has been in prison since she was 20, so very sad. Please pray for her, she goes by Smalls (jail name). She did not want to share what happened because she doesn’t want it to get back to the block about what she did, and she threatened violence if anyone said anything to anyone back in the block. Then Tracy breaks down about Smalls’s situation because she is so young. I told you that teaching forgiveness is hard to do but so very important. Satan does not want us to receive forgiveness nor forgive others. Lord willing, I will teach on that next week. Sandy is going to first share how much God loves them, which is why He forgives them. Love is a hard concept for these girls to grasp as well.

I finally was able to move on to talk about the five reasons why we should forgive then MJ (another jail name) broke down crying because she is concerned that other girls are being abused like she was by a past boyfriend but no one believes her. We had to leave early because the correction facility went into lockdown and the inmates are to be in their cells. So, we couldn’t continue to minister to MJ, please pray for her, she has such a tender caring heart. The following is what I was able to share with these precious girls.

What the Bible Says About Forgiveness

God forgives us: 1John 1:9 states, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

We must forgive others: Colossians. 3: 13 states, “Bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.” And Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you. ―Ephesians 4:32

Perhaps the greatest demonstration of supernatural forgiveness in all of history is when Jesus prayed to His Father as He hung on the cross to pay the penalty for the sins of all of mankind, “Forgive them; for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34). Share the salvation message with the girls.

Often, we need to forgive ourselves: After receiving God’s forgiveness and forgiving others, you may have guilt for the wrong you did towards God and others, which is why forgiving yourself for the sins you committed, will release the guilt you feel. The following passage is an example. 1Corinthians 6:17-20 states, “But he who is joined to the Lord becomes one spirit with him.¹⁸Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body. ¹⁹Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, ²⁰for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.”

Why Forgive- 5 reasons

Forgiving releases us from the bondage of being offended and from resentment toward the person who offended us.
Forgiving helps us not to focus on that hurtful issue so we can love others as Christ does.
Forgiveness is essential for healing because it releases us from the power and control of a wrongful action or offense.
Forgiving someone does not excuse their wrong actions but sets us free to heal and move on.
Forgiveness releases bitterness from your heart and eliminates your desire to judge and punish those who hurt you. When you forgive someone’s sin, it begins healing the wounds from the painful memory.

Thank you for your prayers.

Joyce

Check out my latest book Breaking Mental Strongholds which you can order on Amazon. To learn more about it, read my post called Breaking Mental Strongholds Book. Also, check out Fighting Unseen Battles on Amazon. To learn more about this book, read: How to Fight Unseen Battles.

Prison Ministry Report 3

Today’s Scripture is James 4:7, “Submit to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” This verse gives the inmates hope to overcome their destructive thoughts and live a successful Christian life and overcome temptations. You submit to God by letting Him control your thoughts and actions. Our sinful nature and the devil will put tempting thoughts into our minds and entice us to sin, at this point put those thoughts out of your mind in Jesus’ name and focus on truth from God’s word or just pray for God’s help and mercy to resist the devil and sinning. The more you practice this, the quicker you will submit to God and not to the devil. In 1Timothy 4:7, it tells us to train ourselves for godliness, that is to train our minds to think godly thoughts, not sinful thoughts.

The women’s Bible study was canceled this week, so Sandy and I went to the men’s Bible Study, which was very enlightening. In the prison system, several blocks (A, B, and C) house different types of inmates. The women’s Block B was locked down for covid, so our women from block A had to work in the kitchen. Our husbands lead the men’s Bible study, and they were surprised when we walked in. I did not know what to expect. Usually, they have a large group, but they only had three because only one block can attend at a time to prevent covid spread. The men do their Bible study according to the questions the inmates have, so you need to know your Bible well.

Pres started with a question in Luke 12:54-56, “He also said to the crowds, ‘When you see a cloud rising in the west, you say at once, ‘A shower is coming.’ And so it happens. ⁵⁵And when you see the south wind blowing, you say, ‘There will be scorching heat,’ and it happens. ⁵⁶You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of earth and sky, but why do you not know how to interpret the present time?” Jim (Sandy’s husband) referenced the fact that Jesus “also said” at the beginning of the Scripture, so he suggested reading from the beginning of the chapter to get the context of the scripture. The verses prior to the above verses referenced the coming of the Holy Spirit by fire and baptism, which Gary (my husband) led us to read in Acts 2 about the Holy Spirit. The Bible study went from Scripture to Scripture as the Spirit led to answer questions the inmates had. To do this kind of Bible Study you really need to know your Bible. Sandy and I like to prepare a Bible Study to encourage the women in their relationship with Jesus but leave room for the Holy Spirit to lead or change our plans. Like He did last Friday night.

Pres commented about another Scripture referring to us as sheep, which led to another Bible discussion. My husband spoke about the passage in Isaiah 53:4-6, “Surely he [Jesus] has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. ⁵But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed. ⁶All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—everyone—to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.” Then Pres asked what iniquity and transgressions meant. Sandy explained them as a progression of deeper sinful behavior but how Jesus bore them all on the cross and forgives us, but Satan will cause us to doubt. I added James 4:7 that when we submit our minds to God and resist the devil, our thoughts won’t be influenced by the devil, which led to another discussion about resisting temptations. It was an interesting Bible study. Please pray for the inmates. Pres, who desires to grow in his faith. Chris opened up and shared the self-denigrating thoughts he has about himself for the things he did and still does, and how his depression led him to commit crimes. Please pray for John and his wife as they work through the current situation with him being in jail.

How To Train To Be Godly?

Posts About Godliness

I have written Breaking Mental Strongholds which you can order on Amazon. To learn more about it, read my post called Breaking Mental Strongholds Book. Also, check out Fighting Unseen Battles on Amazon. To learn more about this book, read: How to Fight Unseen Battles.

Prison Ministry Report 2

It is a privilege to be a servant of God and to minister to those in need. Are you ministering to anyone in need? Ponder the following Scripture and ask yourself, “How am I serving Jesus?” Matthew 25:41-46 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. ⁴²For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, ⁴³I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ ⁴⁴Then they also will answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?’ ⁴⁵Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ ⁴⁶And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.” Yikes! These Christians are in the second group.

This is a tough Scripture to read. I am afraid that people who say they are Christians may be in the second group who are going to hell. I know that faith saves us and not our works (Eph.2:8). Serving God and ministering to others is the demonstration of our faith. If you are not currently serving in some capacity in the church or community, earnestly seek God to reveal where He can use you, then go. Examples are, Gideons International, Child Evangelism Fellowship, Salvation Army, Samaritan’s Purse, food banks, making lunch for the needy, and helping in homeless shelters. There are many places you can serve. Jesus said in Luke 4:18, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed.” If Jesus is your life through believing and receiving Him into your heart, then you are anointed to proclaim the good news to the poor, set the oppressed free, pray for people, and so on.

Ministering to Inmates

The fourth week with the inmates was beautiful. We are trying to establish a core group of girls to disciple so they can then support one another throughout the week and be a witness of God’s goodness for the other girls on the block. We had four girls in attendance, including a new girl who was raised in a Christian foster home but rebelled. She knew the Lord as her savior and lead her cellmate to the Lord. We were happy to see Destiny come back; she is so eager to learn more about Christianity. Sandy reviewed her previous lesson in the Beatitudes for those that missed it and then finished her lesson. I reviewed my previous lesson in Matthew 7:13-14 about how Jesus is our life and will lead us to the path of life and keep us on it (John 14:6; John 10:10). I continued the discussion by explaining that once Jesus becomes our life, we have His Spirit and will understand the mystery of God (1Cor 2:9-12 ). Wrapped up the discussion by explaining the power of the Spirit of God in us helps us understand the Word of God which teaches us how to live the Christian life (Ps. 119:105; 2Tim. 3:16; Heb. 4:12). We ended by discussing Joshua 1:8, “This Book of the Law [God’s instructions] shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.”

The fifth week was right before Christmas. I taught about why Christ in Christmas. We had six girls with one new girl who did not know about the Christian faith but wanted to just listen. We began by understanding that God is a spirit and the trinity nature of God (John 4:24; 1Cor. 2:11-14). I explained that Jesus was the image of the invisible God and how His birth was predicted (Isa i ah 7:14; Isaiah 9:6; Luke 1:34-35; Col. 1:15&19; Heb. 1:3a). Next, we discussed why He had to be born and how He came to earth to be tempted as we are, yet did not sin, and how he helps us not to sin (Heb. 2:17-18; Luke 4:18; Acts 26:18; 1John 3:5-8; John 8:12). Ultimately, the purpose why Jesus came to earth was to make atonement for our sins (John 1:29; 2Cor. 5:21; 1John 4:9-10; John 3:16).

Sandy ended by doing a paper communion, which was interesting because we can’t take anything in except paper and Bibles. She explained what communion was and the power of prayer (James 5:16) and how our prayers are incense in a bowl before the throne of God. Revelations 8:3 states, “And another angel came and stood at the altar with a golden censer, and he was given much incense to offer with the prayers of all the saints on the golden altar before the throne, ⁴and the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, rose before God from the hand of the angel.” So, Sandy had small pieces of paper with a picture of bread, and she asked us to write on the back something for which we are thankful. The second small piece of paper had a goblet on it to represent the wine. On this piece of paper, she asked us to write what we want God to do for us. We put these pieces of paper in an envelope and sealed it. Sandy was going to take them home and burn them to represent the smoke of our prayers going up to God’s throne. One girl was very confused because she wanted God to bless her and didn’t want her prayer to be destroyed. This is an unusual type of communion that Sandy put together for the inmates, but it was meaningful to them.

I have written Breaking Mental Strongholds which you can order on Amazon. To learn more about it, read my post called Breaking Mental Strongholds Book. Also, check out Fighting Unseen Battles on Amazon. To learn more about this book, read: How to Fight Unseen Battles.

Prison Ministry Report 1

Have you ever wondered what it was like to work with inmates at a corrections facility? Does the thought scare you? When God said He wanted me to do a prison ministry. I thought of everything bad that could happen and felt woefully inadequate. The Gideon’s International organization I was a part of began a Bible Study in the local corrections facility. I joined the prison ministry team a year later. God led me to write my healing testimony in Hope for Complete Healing, which I provide on this website. I gave this book to all the girls who came to our Bible Study to offer hope to these precious inmates.

Over the course of the next year, God was working on eliminating the strongholds in my life through a hostile layoff. So, I added the many strongholds God removed from my life to my testimony book. I have seen a miraculous change in my life and in the lives of the inmates.

The corrections facility has recently allowed volunteers back in after two years. In those two years, I published two books, Fighting Unseen Battles and Breaking Mental Strongholds. It is so good to be back to leading Bible Studies with these hurting women. We have completed four sessions so far this year. I will summarize each session to give you an idea of how we do our prison ministry.

The first week we had eight women, and only one girl knew nothing about the Bible or Christianity. We got to know the girls, what they like to do, and where they were in their relationship with God. Sandy is my co-teacher, and she taught that night out of Hebrews 12 about God’s discipline and His love. The inmates were eager to share their thoughts.

The second week, we had two girls come. Anytime two girls come, I know God wants to minister intently into their lives. One woman returned, Destiny, who knew nothing about Christianity, and a new girl, Kate, who grew up in the Amish community but left at 21 years old. They said others had signed up but were not on the list. I taught that week about how Jesus is the only one who gives us life and keeps us on the path of life. His spirit gives us understanding because the spirit of God knows the thoughts of God and will reveal them to us.

I began with Matthew 7:13-14, Jesus says, “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. ¹⁴For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.” They already knew what the destructive path is, so I focused on the path of life, how to find it, and how to stay on the path of life. I had to explain what the Bible was, the difference between the old and new Testaments, an overview of the books of the Bible, who wrote it, etc. Destiny had a lot of questions. Kate said that no one ever explained the Bible to her, and she said she wanted to receive Jesus into her heart so she can be on the path of life. We went through the last page of the Gideon Bible and asked if she believed each scripture listed and she said yes, then she prayed to receive the Lord as her savior. How exciting! They sent her upstate to the women’s state penitentiary the next week. That was the only time we saw her. Please pray for Kate. Destiny did not know what sin was or understand who Jesus was, so she was not ready to receive Him. Please pray for Destiny.

One lesson I learned was to always pray for God’s protection from demonic forces. When you minister in a demonic stronghold, you must cover yourself with the blood of Christ and His protection, then when you leave, ask for all evil spirit attachments to be removed. We forgot to do that because we were so happy that Kate came to know the Lord as her Savior. The next morning, I could not wake up, I felt so tired. I went to my sister’s house, and she discerned I was being oppressed by demons, so she prayed over me, and they left. Then my feet and legs cramped, which I have associated with a demonic attack on my body. She prayed again, and it left. I called my friend Sandy, and she said she had the same experience.

In the third week, we had three girls, two new girls, and one from the first week returned. Destiny was not there. Some girls went home on probation or were sent to state prison. The girls that came said they knew Jesus as their savior. But one girl seemed to have a mental illness, which is not unusual because of drug use. Ashley was in a Texas state prison for several years and found the Lord there. When she got out, she got involved with the wrong people again. Now she is in our Bible Study and has rededicated her life back to God. Sandy taught about God’s love and the Beatitudes and how Jesus is teaching us how to live our lives. God touched each girl in a special way.

Teaching inmates is very rewarding. It is helpful to prepare lessons applicable to the needs of the inmates. Depending on the leading of the Holy Spirit is critical because each inmate has different needs. Next, be flexible because inmates come and go, and you may need to review or change the direction of what you planned based on the need of those who attended. Check out this post: Free from Anger–County Jail Testimony and Teaching to see how I ministered to an inmate who was extremely angry and wanted to kill her mother.

If you like these updates, I will continue to write about my experiences teaching at the county jail.

If you find this website helpful, you will benefit from the latest book. You can order Breaking Mental Strongholds on Amazon. Also, check out my book called Fighting Unseen Battles on Amazon. I would love to hear what you think. To learn more about my book, read: How to Fight Unseen Battles.