When God Answered A Convict’s Prayer

Last night I heard a story that was greatly encouraging to me, because it shows how God works at times to rescue His children when they cry out to Him. The story came from someone I had never met and will not likely meet again. She just happened to visit the church we attend while on vacation in Kailua Kona, Hawaii, where I live.

Her name was Char, which I assume is short for Charlotte or Charlene. She and her husband were on vacation from California and they just happened to see our church and decided to visit on Wednesday night. We are doing the “Alpha” course, which originated in the United Kingdom and is a basic introduction to the Bible and Christianity. The church does it every year and everyone is encouraged to take the course at least once, even if, like me, they have been in church for more than 60 years.

Living Stones Church is an interesting congregation in a fascinating place. Like Hawaii, it is multi-cultural, and is located right on the rocky Big Island coast. The building only seats 130 so they require four services each Sunday and even then, scores of attendees sit on the lawn under sails, watching the service on large screens with the waves crashing on the black lava stones just a few yards away.

Last night we were on that lawn under a tent in one of several discussion groups talking about the Bible being more than just a book when Char told her story.

I’m sure I only heard part of the story because she felt she had to rush so as not to monopolize the discussion and said “long story short” a couple of times. She tells how her son-in-law’s sister had been sent to prison for credit card fraud after screwing up her life with drugs, alcohol and associated addictions. Her immediate family was at the end of their rope and essentially abandoned her to her fate, disgusted with her behavior after many years of trying to help her.

Char told of how she began to feel God urging her to contact this young woman, whom she had only met a few times at family gatherings. She said it was like “two hands pushing on my back toward contacting her.” Char asked the immediate family for permission to contact her. She obtained the contact information and wrote a letter, simply saying “I’m here for you”.

She received a reply almost immediately and the young woman told how she had not had one person contact her in a year and a half. What she didn’t tell Char until later was that she had been praying that God would send her someone who would give her books about Him. So Char would only learn later that she was a direct answer to a convict’s prayer.

Char knew nothing about ministering to people in prison and had not set out to do anything like this, so she had some things to learn. The young lady asked if Char could send her a Bible and other books. It seemed the prison library consisted almost entirely of old romance novels. Char discovered that you can’t just sent things to people in prison, lest things be secreted inside, but that you can order from Amazon.com and have them shipped directly to inmates. So that’s what Char did.

“Long story short”, the young convict accepted Christ and immediately began sharing her newfound faith with other female inmates. This meant Char was sending more and more books for the young woman to give to others. Eventually she became acquainted with the prison librarian and began expanding the library’s reading list to include something more substantial than romance novels.

The prison was multi-story and there were male inmates on the floor above the women. The young woman had become acquainted with a male inmate by talking through the vent and she led him to Christ, though she had never seen him face to face. Char then began sending books to the men in the prison.

The young woman is now out of prison, working and past her addictions. She is completely transformed. Char and her husband take her to church every week.

I was amazed and blessed by this story that reminded me of Phillip’s experience with the Ethiopian eunuch, in that God worked to bring two people together for the salvation of one of them. I guess I subconsciously felt that the lost are simply in rebellion and evangelism is trying to give them something they NEED but don’t want. However, this young inmate knew her need and prayed that God would send someone. And He did.