Letters From Prison

Several local people who read the PresbyCan daily devotionals I write have commented on the fact that I seem to get a lot of ideas and inspiration from my Bible class at the Long Term Care Facility, and that is indeed the case. A number of those who attend tell us very interesting stories about their early Christian lives and experiences, and some make profound statements at times, which speak to my heart, make me think, and give me inspiration.

During the past few months, we have been looking at the Book of Acts and how the early apostles brought the gospel to different people in different areas at different times under sometimes difficult circumstances.

We looked at Philip telling the good news about Jesus to the Ethiopian treasurer on the road to Gaza. We studied Peter being brought to speak with the centurion Cornelius in Caesarea, and Paul's conversion on the road to Damascus. We followed the experiences of Paul and Barnabas on their journeys.

One Friday in May, we discussed the time when Paul and Silas were in prison in Philippi and how they were put in stocks in the inner dungeon after they had been beaten by the authorities. I elaborated on the fact that they were singing hymns and the other prisoners were listening to them. Even in their agony, through their singing, they brought the gospel to people in a most unlikely place. One of the people in my class responded, "I am sure glad Paul went to prison several times." At first I thought that I did not understand her correctly, but then she mentioned it again, "Just think," she said. "If he had not spent time in prison, he would not have had time to write the letters to the different churches, and we would not have these wonderful words of Scripture now."

I had never thought about that, and when I got home, I looked it up. Paul wrote letters to the Ephesians, the Colossians, and the Philippians, and also to Philemon, either from prison or from house arrest. These were the people of the different churches that he had visited at one time or another. Altogether, he spent five and half to six years in different prisons, so I read.

I checked some of these letters, and even though Paul was in prison, he was always so positive about his faith and so encouraging to the recipients of the letters. He starts several of them with the greeting, "Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ." In his letter to the Philippians, he continues on:

Philippians 1:3-5 – 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. (NKJV)

Like Paul under house arrest, and like many of my readers, most of the people in my Bible class are not able to come and go as they please — they are free to go, but they just can't. Yet in my Bible classes, they make great faith statements and sing praises to God, in many cases, under very difficult circumstances. Like Paul, some of them may even write letters of encouragement and witness to people that they have visited at one time or another! I, too, thank my God upon every remembrance of them.

Prayer: Our Father in heaven, we thank You for the letters written by Paul to the different churches and how those words comforted and encouraged the recipients and us, even here and now. We pray for the many people who live in their own personal prisons, and ask that they will have comfort of body, peace of mind, patience in adversity, and faith to share with others. We ask it in Jesus' name. Amen.

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