WISDOM FOR LIVING DAILY DEVOTIONAL
JULY 23, 2024
TOPIC: CONTINUE TO REMEMBER THOSE IN PRISON
BY T. O. BANSO
“Continue to remember those in prison as if you were together with them in prison” (Hebrews 13:3a New International Version).
A prison is a facility where the government keeps those convicted of crimes as punishment or those awaiting trial or on trial for offences. Luke 23:19 says Barabbas had been thrown into prison for an insurrection in the city, and murder. The people requested that Pilate should release him and crucify Jesus instead, a request he granted.
Sometimes some people are remanded in prison during trials because of the nature of their offences or because they could not satisfy the requirements of the bail by the court.
While some are in physical prisons, others are in spiritual prisons. Those in prison spiritually are in bondage or captivity and can only be delivered by the power of God. Jesus can set free those in spiritual bondage. In the prophecy about the Messiah through the Prophet Isaiah, the LORD said the Messiah would, among other things, free captives from prison and release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness (Isaiah 42:7). Jesus can set free those either in physical prisons or spiritual prisons, as we see in the Bible.
But my focus in this devotional is on those who are in physical prisons, those who have been confined to a facility against their wish because of certain offences. God loves such people like others and has good plans for them. Christians should also be concerned about them and minister to them.
People are in prison for different reasons. Both innocent and guilty people are in jail. Not all prison inmates are criminals. Joseph was imprisoned for an offence he did not commit. His master’s wife lied against him, and Genesis 39:20 says Joseph’s master took him and put him in prison, the place where the king’s prisoners were confined.
After Joseph had interpreted the dream of the king’s chief cupbearer, a fellow prison inmate, he said, “But when all goes well with you, remember me and show me kindness; mention me to Pharaoh and get me out of this prison. I was forcibly carried off from the land of the Hebrews, and even here I have done nothing to deserve being put in a dungeon” (Genesis 40:14-15 New International Version). Note the phrase “remember me.”
Joseph pleaded that the cupbearer, who was in prison at the same time as the king’s chief baker, should remember him. But He only remembered him two years later, and through him, the king released him from prison after interpreting his dreams.
God wants us to remember those in prison. The writer of the Book of Hebrews said, “Continue to remember those in prison as if you were together with them in prison” (Hebrews 13:3a New International Version). Note the word “remember.” Continue to remember those in prison as if you were together with them in prison.
We can continue to remember the guilty and innocent in prison in different ways. These include ministering to their spiritual, emotional, and physical needs instead of condemning them or having a negative attitude towards them. Jesus said when the Son of man would come in His glory, the King would say to the righteous, “I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me” (Matthew 25:36 New International Version). Note this phrase: “I was in prison and you came to visit me.” But He would say the opposite to the unrighteous. But how did the righteous visit Him in prison and the unrighteous didn’t? “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me’” (Matthew 25:40 New International Version). The opposite is also true (verse 45).
Prison visitation is one of the ways of continuing to remember those in prison. Hebrews 10:34a refers to how the believers in the early days when they first learned about Christ suffered along with those in prison. Believers must see ministering to the spiritual, emotional, and physical needs as a ministry.
There are people like Joseph in prison. Some people lied against them. Some people are in prison because of persecution. Innocent people are in prison, and believers must remember them. King Ahab ordered that the Prophet Micaiah be put in prison because he spoke the truth (1 Kings 22:26-27). But Micaiah’s prophecy came to pass. The Prophet Jeremiah was in prison because of his ministry, not because of any crime (Jeremiah 37:15-19). Eventually, his prophecy was fulfilled. The Babylonians destroyed Jerusalem and took many of the Jews captive. They released Jeremiah from prison (Jeremiah 39:11-14).
King Herod arrested John the Baptist, bound him, and put him in prison because John had been telling him that it was unlawful for him to have Herodias, the wife of his brother, Philip (Matthew 14:3-4). He later beheaded John at the request of Herodias’ daughter whom Herodias told to do so (verses 9-12). John was imprisoned and beheaded, for saying the truth to power.
Acts 8:3 says, “But Saul began to destroy the church. Going from house to house, he dragged off both men and women and put them in prison” (New International Version). Saul who later became Paul imprisoned Christians. Those Christians suffered for committing no crime. Paul said, “I persecuted the followers of this Way to their death, arresting both men and women and throwing them into prison” (Acts 22:4 New International Version). In Acts 26:10, Paul also said he locked up many saints in prison after receiving authority from the chief priests.
Paul who had imprisoned believers also suffered the same faith after his conversion. He said he was in prison more frequently than the “super-apostles” or false apostles (2 Corinthians 11:23). Paul’s only ‘crime’ for Paul’s imprisonment was preaching the gospel (Acts 24). He was in prison with Paul and Silas before they were released (Acts 16:16-40). In Romans 16:7, he also mentions another fellow prisoner: “Greet Andronicus and Junias, my relatives who have been in prison with me” (New International Version).
We don’t know the details of Timothy’s imprisonment, but the writer of the Book of Hebrews says, “I want you to know that our brother Timothy has been let out of prison. If he arrives soon, we will both come to see you” (Hebrews 13:23 New Century Version). Timothy was not a criminal but a gospel minister.
Peter was also imprisoned. Herod, after arresting him, Herod put him in prison, handing him over to be guarded by four squads of four soldiers each (Acts 12:4). Verse 5 says, “So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him” (New International Version). As the church prayed, God sent His angel to bring Peter out of prison. Suppose the church didn’t pray. Praying for prisoners is another way of remembering them. We can pray that the innocent inmates will regain their freedom. The Bible listed among the heroes of faith those who were chained and put in prison (Hebrews 11:36). We must pray for people in such confinement today, wherever they may be.
Nevertheless, some people are in prison for their sins or crimes. Samson broke the vow of his consecration as a Nazirite and eventually handed over himself to the enemy. In Judges 16:21, the Bible says about Samson, “Then the Philistines seized him, gouged out his eyes and took him down to Gaza. Binding him with bronze shackles, they set him to grinding grain in the prison” (New International Version). However, God had mercy on Samson and punished the Philistines, his enemy, although he died with them as he had prayed to God.
King Zedekiah of Judah did evil in the eyes of the Lord. In the ninth year of Zedekiah’s reign, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon kept Judah under siege until the eleventh year of Zedekiah. Nebuchadnezzar slaughtered the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, killed all the officials of Judah, put out Zedekiah’s eyes, bound him with bronze shackles, and took him to Babylon, where he put him in prison till the day of his death (Jeremiah 52:1-11). Continue to remember those in prison whether they are innocent or guilty.
Going as a group to preach to sinners in jail is another way of remembering them for God is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9). Prison evangelism is biblical. We must also pray the inmates will give their lives to Christ as they listen to the Word of God. The prison could be a place of divine encounters for some people and they can come out of prison to become good citizens. Ecclesiastes 4:14a says a youth might become king, though he has been in prison.
Continue to remember those in prison in your prayers. Christian groups, churches, ministries, or fellowships can continue to remember them by going to preach the Word of God to them for their salvation and encouragement. They can provide physical and emotional support to prison inmates and their children and families, giving them hope. They can provide legal assistance to prison inmates who need it or assist in paying fines for those sentenced to prison terms with the option of a fine. They can also advocate prison reform, including improved conditions inside prison and effective rehabilitation and reintegration of prisoners.
We must continue to remember those in prison, as though we were in prison with them. God loves them and is concerned about them.
TAKE ACTION!
If you are not born again, you need to give your life to Jesus now. Take the following steps: *Admit that you are a sinner and cannot save yourself and repent of your sins. *Confess Jesus as your Lord and Saviour. *Renounce your past way of life – your relationship with the devil and his works. *Invite Jesus into your life. *As a mark of seriousness to mature in the faith, start attending a Bible-believing and Bible-teaching church. There they will teach you how to grow in the Kingdom of God.
Kindly say this prayer now: O Lord God, I come unto You today. I know I am a sinner and I cannot save myself. I believe that Jesus is the Son of God who died on the cross to save me and God raised Him on the third day. I repent of my sins and confess Jesus as my Lord and Saviour. I surrender my life to Jesus now and invite Him into my heart. By this prayer, I know I am saved. Thank You, Jesus, for saving me and making me a child of God.
I believe you have said this prayer from your heart. Congratulations! You must join a Bible-believing and Bible-teaching church in your area where they will teach you how to live your new life in Christ Jesus. I pray that you flourish like a palm tree and grow like a cedar of Lebanon. May you grow into Christ in all things and become all God wants you to be. I will be glad to hear from you. The Lord be with you.
PRAYER POINTS: Father, I pray for those who have been unjustly imprisoned that they will regain their freedom. Those whose cases are on appeal will win. Justice shall prevail in Jesus’ name. You will make a way out for the innocent whose cases have been concluded so they will come out of prison legally. God’s children who are in prison because of persecution shall be set free. They will not die in prison. All the inmates who are not born again shall give their lives to Jesus and their lives shall be transformed.
(For over 900 in-depth and powerful messages by T. O. Banso, visit www.cedarministry.org).
T. O. Banso is the President of Cedar Ministry International, Abuja, Nigeria.
Phone No: +2348155744752, +2348033113523
WhatsApp No: +2349081295947
Email: cedarministryintl@yahoo.com,
cedarministryng@gmail.com
Website: www.cedarministry.org
