Prison Ministries

Archive for the ‘Devotionals’ Category

Read John 15:1-8, Psalm 66
Hindered Prayers

“Listen! The LORD is not too weak to save you, and He is not becoming deaf. He can hear you when you call. But there is a problem—your sins have cut you off from God. Because of your sin, He has turned away and will not listen anymore.” Isaiah 59:1, 2

One of the greatest privileges we have as children of God and joint heirs with Christ is the privilege of carrying everything to God in prayer, and knowing that He will listen, consider, and answer in His time and in His way.

When we are abiding in Christ, we can be sure that all of our prayers that glorify God and that are in accordance with His will will be heard and answered.

Scripture tells us that “the prayers of a righteous man availeth much,” to “pray without ceasing,” and that “God inhabits the praises of His people.” We need to be persistent and fervent in prayer.

However, there are character defects and attitudes that will cause God not to listen to our prayers. Willful, unconfessed sins are obvious hindrances to getting God to hear and answer our prayers.

When we are living lives separated from God by our sins, we have no right to expect God to be on call. “The eyes of the Lord watch over those who do right, and his ears are open to their prayers. But the Lord turns his face against those who do evil.”(1 Peter 3:12 NLT)

An unforgiving spirit and selfish motives will corrupt our prayer channel of communication with God. Failure to be understanding and to honor wives as joint heirs together of the grace of life will hinder any husband’s prayers.

When we “plug in” to the power of prayer available by faith to all believers, we will discover the incredible joy that answered prayers bring. We dare not let anything hinder our prayer life in Christ.

Father, thank you for the privilege and blessing of prayer. In Jesus’ name, Amen

Read 1 Peter 2:1-12, Proverbs 1:20-33
Finding the Right Outlet

“Present yourselves as building stones for the construction of a sanctuary vibrant with life, in which you’ll serve as holy priests offering Christ-approved lives up to God.” 1 Peter 2:4b MSG

The key to a fulfilling life in Christ is to find the right outlet for your energy, talents, drives, and emotions. Read the rest of this entry »

Read 2 Timothy 1, Psalm 136
Faithfulness We Can Trust

“I am the LORD,” He says, “and there is no other. I publicly proclaim bold promises. I do not whisper obscurities in some dark corner so no one can understand what I mean. And I did not tell the people of Israel to ask me for something I did not plan to give. I, the LORD, speak only what is true and right.” Isaiah 45:19 NLT

We seem to live in a world of broken promises. Two out of every three couples break their marriage promises. Read the rest of this entry »

Read 1 Peter 5:5-11, Psalm 73
Our Worst Enemy

“For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.” Ephesians 6:12

“I wouldn’t wish this even on my worst enemy” is a familiar saying to many. “He’s his own worst enemy” is a much more common and much truer statement.

When we think of enemies, we automatically start thinking about people we have been or are in conflict with, people who have harmed or offended us in some way, or people who we perceive to be evil. During war, the enemy is the soldiers and forces of the opposing country or faction. Read the rest of this entry »