SETTING THE CAPTIVES FREE
We asked Ros Powell, a lay Catholic evangelist and speaker about her visit to one of the largest prison in Europe.
“Tell us about the prison and your first impressions.” “When I was invited to go and speak at the prison I didn’t know what to expect. It was HM Prison Oakwood, one of the largest prisons in Europe that holds more than 1,500 Category C male prisoners. After much prayer and intercession a group of us set off; Freddy, my husband and I, plus two friends from my Parish prayer group who usually accompany me when I am speaking to give me prayer support. My first impression was that the prison was huge and we were amazed at the politeness of the prisoners that we passed, as we walked through the many large gates to reach the chapel.”
“What was it like inside?”
“The chapel was lovely and soon the prisoners began to arrive and take their seats. We sat at the back, while we waited and started chatting to some of the lads. Three of them told us that they weren’t happy because there were some V.P.s there. These are vulnerable prisoners who are at risk of attack from other prisoners, because they are sex offenders, police informers or ex-police offcers. One man said that he didn’t want to be in the same room as them because in his opinion they were scum. The atmosphere was very tense, so we began praying for peace and calm.”
“What happened next?”
“We started with a service. The praise and worship was led by some of the inmates who had formed a worship group in the prison. One of them sang a song he had written himself, which was beautiful. The service included scripture readings and prayers that the inmates and chaplains read. Finally, they introduced me and I went to the front to speak to the men.” “How did it feel to face all these prisoners?” “This was the first time that I had ever spoken in a prison, and as I nervously began to speak, I just felt the Lord’s anointing, compassion and mercy for each of the inmates. I trusted that the Lord would use me to speak the words that each one of them needed to hear. As I looked over at the lads’ faces I realised that inside each of us there is a God shaped hole which only Jesus can fill. Each of us is made in God’s wonderful image and He is a God who forgives and heals us as we call out to him in our poverty.”
“What did you say to them?”
“During the talk I shared my testimony and spoke about how, through accepting that Jesus died on the cross for each one of us, we could be set free from sin and death. I went on to speak about how we need to live out our faith in Jesus and how the Holy Spirit can help us. I spoke about the Gifts of the Holy Spirit and how Jesus is alive and can work in our lives today. I invited each of the men to say a prayer of repentance with me and together, we asked Jesus to forgive us and to come into our hearts. The Holy Spirit’s presence was very evident in the room and some men began to weep as the Spirit touched them very powerfully.”
“That must have been an amazing experience. Was that the end of your ministry?”
“No, I then asked if any of them would like us to pray for them personally with the individual laying on of hands. Most of them did, so my friends and I began to pray. Many of the prisoners were obviously very touched by this life-changing experience. I asked one lad if he wanted prayer and he indicated that he was deaf. Fortunately I knew a little sign language and when I prayed for him the Holy Spirit fell upon him in a powerful way. Even though he had no natural speech, God gave this man the gift of tongues (as mentioned in the Bible 1 Corinthians 12) as he praised and glorifed God in the Spirit. The Lord never ceases to amaze me!”
“How did the men react to being prayed with?”
“As I prayed with one young lad, for a moment I forgot where I was and automatically gave him a holy hug. He looked at me, surprised, and said “Will you hug me again?” As I looked into his eyes I knew that the hug had released a special healing in him because he was so in need of a mother’s love. My friend prayed with another man who had his head bowed low. She felt that the Lord was asking him to lift his head up, to look Jesus in the eyes so that he would know that God loved him. As he slowly lifted up his head, his eyes filled with tears and a smile spread across his face. These were very touching moments for us.”
“What are your lasting memories of the day?”
“At the end of the service one of the men who had complained about being in the same room as the V.P.s came over to me and apologised saying that he hadn’t understood about forgiveness and he was sorry for what he said. The day was such an amazing experience for all of us that we just wanted to go back! There were 39 prisoners in the chapel that day. It wasn’t their sins that we will remember but the grace of God and the awesome privilege of spending time in their company.”
