A call to prayer for Prisons Week

Sunday 8 October is Prisons Sunday, and over the following week Christians are encouraged to pray for everyone affected by crime and imprisonment. You can make a real difference by seeking God on behalf of some of the most desperate people in society.

At its most basic level, prison seeks to deal with the very serious problem of crime by removing certain people from the community. If they’re withdrawn from our attention (along with their victims, families and prison staff), they’re no less on God’s mind. In fact, the Bible promises not only that God loves all of us, but that through Christ nothing can separate any of us from that perfect love.

There are people in prison who are desperate for God. With your help, we’re able to respond to their requests for Bibles. We work with chaplains to get as many Bibles into prisons as we can. One of these chaplains, Revd Tim Wright, says that prison ministry is ‘life-changing stuff. There’s such a fertile ground for embedding the gospel. You don’t get people banging on your door desperate for God outside of prison, but you do here.’

In the Bible, more than anywhere else, prisoners learn that God loves them, and they see how far Jesus went to reach them. ‘The men I work with are not approaching Christianity as a hobby,’ Tim said. ‘They are desperate for change.’

Because we believe in the transformative power of Scripture, even in the worst situations, we’ve made The Bible Course available in prisons. We want people in prison to gain a deep understanding of the Bible, which you know brings hope, personal growth and positive change. All those things can be experienced, even in prison.

Tim has run The Bible Course twice at HMP Stocken and seen its impact. He says, ‘The beauty of The Bible Course is that there’s nothing like it. Andrew Ollerton emphasises the love of God as something seen clearly throughout the whole Bible.’

Up to now, The Bible Course: Prisons Edition has been delivered as a group activity run by a chaplain. From December, it will be broadcast on Way Out TV in most prisons across England and Wales, so there will be the option to engage with the course individually. Will you pray that this new way of accessing The Bible Course extends the reach of the God’s word in prisons and increases its impact?

As you bring those in prison into your prayers next week, Tim asks that you’d remember especially the men in his care who have become Christians. ‘Pray for boldness for men to know how to share their faith to others in prison,’ he asks. ‘For courage and gentleness to exercise their faith on the wings.’

Three ways you can make a difference in prisons and beyond:

• Download a week’s worth of daily prayers so you and your church can get involved from Sunday
• Share your own prayer for prisoners and their families, prison staff and volunteers or anyone affected by crime. Let’s ask God together to intervene powerfully in these lives
• Join Bible a Month (or increase your donation if you’re already a member) to ensure more people in desperate circumstances experience God’s word