July 2006 chaplain's corner
The Chaplain's Corner is a monthly message for chaplains.
Chaplain’s Corner – July 27, 2006
Rev. Rich Hines
Teach Inmates How To Pray, From Paul’s Prison Prayers
This message is primarily for those who call on the name of Jesus Christ as
their own Lord and Savior from sin, and serve as a Chaplain in a jail, prison
or a follow-up ministry such as a rescue mission – in the United States.
All Scripture quotes are taken from the New King James Version (NKJV) of the
Bible, copyright 1979, 1980, 1982 by Thomas Nelson,
Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. When quoting a
text, any deviation from the NKJV text is placed within parenthesis signs ().
These usually occur as direct translations from the original languages,
or as notes from the original setting to help apply the text to today’s
culture.
ALL CAPITAL LETTERS are sometimes used to emphasize words in a text, or to make
a comment about a biblical text, or emphasize a statement.
Dear Chaplains, WELCOME to another Chaplain’s Corner message. This morning I
got up and turned on the news. Of course they were talking about the military
action in
When that segment was finished, the very next report was of a six plus
magnitude earthquake on the Richter scale, off the coast of
I know that these things on the news are not the complete fulfillment of His
predictive prophesy given on the Mount of Olives, even though that prediction
involves
So, this month I want to help you teach inmates how to pray. Of course, the
first prayer God ever hears from anyone is a prayer that seeks Him and His
gospel truth.
God does not hear – in the sense of granting requests, the prayers of those
lost in man-made error, who are not in a covenant relationship with Him. He
does not listen to the prayers of the unsaved, unless it’s a prayer that seeks
to humbly be taught His truth.
Ultimately, if prayers are not based on who Jesus is (God) and what He did
through His death and reasurrection, which is to say
- in Jesus’ name, they are not heard.
The Apostle Paul had two major imprisonments in
Before that, briefly he was in the jail at
As the Acts narrative continues, Paul was in custody from Acts 21:30 through
the end of the book in 28:31. Here he was in custody in
In Acts 27:35 – Paul THANKED God for food before a meal. This thankfulness also
demonstrated faith in God’s revelation of physical deliverance from a storm,
even when it still was raging.
In Acts 28:8 – Paul prayed and asked God to HEAL to a Roman official’s father,
knowing it could lead to drawing some to put their faith in Christ
In Acts 28:15 – Paul THANKED God FOR THE EVIDENCE OF His plan and promise that
was unfolding.
Additionally it’s obvious that Paul had a regular prayer life during this
extended “in custody” period of over two years. From comments made by him
before human judges we can sense that he prayed for opportunities to give the
gospel message.
For instance, when he answered king Agrippa’s
question, “You almost persuade me to become a Christian?” He said, “I would to
God that NOT ONLY YOU, but also all who hear me today, MIGHT BECOME BOTH ALMOST
AND ALTOGETHER SUCH AS I AM, EXCEPT FOR THESE CHAINS.” (Acts
26:29).
The inference is certain that HE HAD PRAYED FOR THE LOST TO RESPOND TO THE
GOSPEL MESSAGE, with repentance and saving faith in Christ. So, a pattern
emerges from Acts that when he was in custody, his prayers were full of WORSHIP
and they were for the physical and spiritual WELLFARE OF OTHERS.
Unfortunately, this is quite different from the normal prayers of many
professing Christian inmates in your facility. Part of the culture they’ve been
in and are constantly exposed to is very, self-centered. So, their prayers are
all about getting out or about their own well being first, if not entirely. You
need to challenge them about this.
Acts 28:31 leaves Paul imprisoned in
During his first imprisonment at Rome:
Ephesians 1:15-21
15 Therefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your
love for all the saints,
16 do not cease to GIVE THANKS FOR YOU, making mention of you in my prayers:
This Christian models prayer for all other believers. As an inmate he
constantly THANKED God for other believers. God was thanked because He’s the
only One that can make anyone a true believer. The salvation of the saved, is totally God’s doing through Christ.
As Paul continued from his cell in
17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may GIVE YOU the
spirit of WISDOM and REVELATION in the knowledge of Him,
18 the eyes of your UNDERSTANDING BEING ENLIGHTENED; that you may KNOW what is
THE HOPE of His calling, what are the RICHES of the glory of His INHERITANCE in
the saints,
19 and what is the exceeding greatness of His POWER TOWARD US who believe,
according to the working of His mighty power
20 which He worked in Christ WHEN HE RAISED HIM FROM THE DEAD and SEATED Him at
His right hand in the heavenly places,
21 far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name
that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come.
We’ve already seen from the record in Acts that Paul prayed for the spiritual
welfare of others rather than for his own physical and emotional comfort. These
verses and the prayers they reveal, are all about the
spiritual growth and welfare of other believers.
Note he prayed that God would give them “the spirit of WISDOM and REVELATION in
the knowledge of Him, the eyes of your UNDERSTANDING BEING ENLIGHTENED,”
As I have stated many times in past Chaplain’s Corner messages, Christianity is
a thinking religion. Possibly that’s not the best way to state the biblical
teaching, but it’s true that in our relationship with God made possible ONLY
through Christ, we are to spend much, much time ENGAGING OUR BRAINS!
Somewhere along the line, even in current church history, a movement counter to
that has arisen. Many, maybe even most, in our country that claim to be
Christian, only feel and emote rather than think, especially in worship. They
put down serious study of, and meditation over the
written word of God. Paul’s prison prayers show the opposite is the norm for
true Christians.
There are two different words for knowledge in this passage. The first, in
verse 17 has everything to do with an experiential relationship with God. The
second, which comes in verse 18 has to do with
learning.
In this prayer from prison recorded in Ephesians 1, there are THREE things Paul
prayed that other believers would LEARN OR, come to KNOW.
FIRST, that they would LEARN what the HOPE OF HIS CALLING, was (verse 18). This
hope has to do with the fullness of the salvation Jesus accomplished and will
accomplish for them.
Salvation is at the same time past, present and future. True children of God
have been, at the point of their true repentance and faith in Christ, saved
from God’s righteous wrath and judgment. They are also presently being
delivered from the practice of sin. But finally and in the future their HOPE is
sure that they will be saved from the very presence of sin, in heaven.
SECOND, he prayed that they would truly LEARN TO APPRECIATE THE riches God has
reserved as an INHERITANCE for His Spirit born children (verse 18).
THIRD, he prayed that they would also LEARN to appreciate the GREATNESS OF
GOD’S POWER - toward each believer in Christ (verse 19). Verses 20,21 state that it is the very same power that RAISED JESUS
FROM THE DEAD and INSTALLED HIM at the favored position in heaven!
Not only were these three things great for the ancient Ephesian
believers, they are very practical and important for the Christian residents in
your facility. They ALL LOOK FORWARD to a better future, but they also all
require present study and learning.
They are also very practical in dealing with the day-to-day stress of
incarceration. I’m sure they were a reality in Paul BEFORE he prayed for others
to experience them. I’m also sure these things helped Paul in his incarceration
and confinement. They will also help today’s Christian inmate.
Then we have Ephesians 3:14-21.
This prayer also applies to every Christian believer down through the ages. It
is progressive in its requests. The granting of each thing prayed for leads to
the next.
14 For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
15 from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named,
16 (literally, ‘in order’) that He would grant you, according to the riches of
His glory, TO BE STRENGTHENED with might through His Spirit in the inner man,
17 that Christ may dwell (this means that Christ would be comfortable) in your
hearts through faith; that you, being ROOTED AND GROUNDED IN LOVE, (the love of
God in Christ)
In other words, he prayed for their practical sanctification. He prayed that
they would be sinning less, that they would be purer and that they’d learn to
live obedient lives.
18 (literally, ‘in order that you’) may be ABLE TO COMPREHEND with all the saints
what is the width and length and depth and height – (of His love)
19 to KNOW (have experiential knowledge of) THE LOVE of Christ which passes
knowledge;
Here Paul prayed that they would do more than learn about love. He was asking
that BY EXPERIENCE THEY WOULD BE an actual channel through which God’s
self-sacrificing LOVE would flow.
Verse 19 actually sounds like double-talk. It says he wanted believers to
experience the love of Christ – which excels and surpasses experiential
knowledge. The meaning is this experience goes beyond every other human
experience. That’s something to camp on and think about!
The result of that happening is then the next prayer request –
(literally, ‘in order ‘) that YOU MAY BE FILLED with all the fullness of God.
To be filled with all the fullness of God is to be totally dominated by Him,
with nothing left of self or any part of the old man. Wow! That seems
experientially impossible, even for real Christians – but it’s not!
We know this because of the praise and worship that close this prayer in verses
20 and 21. There it says God is able to so subdue us, by His amazing power.
That truly is “exceedingly abundantly above all” we could ever imagine on our
own!
20 Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or
think, according to the power that works in us,
21 to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever
and ever. Amen.
Next, in Philippians 1:3-7 Paul said:
3 I THANK MY God upon every remembrance of you,
4 always in every prayer of mine making request FOR YOU all with joy,
5 FOR YOUR FELLOWSHIP IN THE GOSPEL from the first day until now,
6 being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you
will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ;
7 just as it is right for me to think this of you all, because I have you in my
heart, inasmuch as both in my chains and in the defense and confirmation of the
gospel, you are all partakers with me of grace.
He joyously prayed from prison for other believers and because of their
partnership with him in both suffering for and giving out the gospel message.
Further, he taught Christians on prayer in 3:1 and 4:6,
3:1 Finally, my brethren, REJOICE in the Lord. …
This constant should be true - especially in prayer, even from prison.
4:6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with
thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God;
This verse has many applications to inmates. Their culture teaches them to live
in anxiety. But God wants to teach believing inmates to quit stressing and
pray. When they do that the very next verse (Philippians 4:7) says they’ll
experience the very peace of God that will literally “post a guard” over their
thoughts. What a word picture that paints for inmates!
Lastly, for this month consider Paul’s prison prayers in Colossians 1:3,4 and
1:9-12:
3 We give thanks to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always
for you,
4 since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of your love for all the
saints;
9 For this reason we also, since the day we heard it (that is their faith in
Christ), do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may BE FILLED with
THE KNOWLEDGE OF HIS WILL IN all wisdom and spiritual understanding;
10 that you may WALK WORTHY of the Lord, fully pleasing to Him, being FRUITFUL
IN EVERY GOOD WORK and INCREASING IN the knowledge of God;
11 STRENGTHENED will all might, according to His glorious power, for all
patience and longsuffering with joy;
12 GIVING THANKS to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the
inheritance of the saints in light.
This echoes his prayer for the Ephesians, with a few differences. It’s still
that they would grow and be sanctified and look forward to their inheritance in
heaven. BUT here he also prays about their actually being able to PLEASE GOD by
BEING FRUITFUL IN EVERY GOOD WORK. This is the WORTHY walk. It really has the
same result as being the channel of the love of God towards others.
So here, Paul also prays that Christians would be a good testimony through the
knowledge and power of God. He also prayed that they would continually be
thankful to God (the verb tense of “Giving thanks” in verse 12, speaks of
continual action).
Time will not allow me in one month’s message to go over all of Paul’s recorded
prison prayers. Next month we’ll consider other prison prayer passages from
Paul in Colossians, Philemon and 2 Timothy.
To summarize what we’ve seen from Scripture, Paul’s prison prayers should teach
believing inmates and residents –
1. To worship and trust God in their prayers, in spite of
harsh surroundings.
2. To be more concerned about others than self in prayer.
3. To pray for the spiritual well being of others.
4. To thank God for what He’s doing in making others believers.
5. To pray that other believers would engage their
minds with Scriptural truths about all that their salvation includes.
6. To pray that other believers would grow more in the love of Christ and live
it out – even in prison.
7. To constantly THANK God for everything and rejoice in Him.
These things are more important and more potent than any self-help program men
ever came up with on their own. They are essential to glorifying God and making
things better in the facility where you serve.
Your Fellow-Worshiper, of Him who IS TRUE,
Rich Hines –
Rev. 19:11 and 1 John 5:20