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 The
drive to Federal Prison was daunting. Not knowing what to
expect, I remained prayerful in my spirit as I accompanied the
Paula White M.25 Team. The expansive campus was speckled with
non-descript brown buildings, and the skillfully laced barbed
wire fences reminded me of scenes from the Shawshank Redemption.
It was a gorgeous November afternoon in Central Florida and I
was privileged to accompany Paula and her ministry team to the
largest federal correctional facility in Florida. The experience
is one that we will not soon forget. Shortly after being
processed and granted entrance into the facility we were
shuttled to the Women’s Barracks for the first session. The
chapel was filled with green-clad women. Women of all
descriptions...young, old, wheelchair bound, white, black,
Hispanic, tall, short, but all incarcerated. Looking around, one
could catch glimpses of women who looked like your Aunt Edith,
your best friend from the neighborhood, your fifth grade
teacher, the cheerleader at your daughter’s school, or even the
Vice President of your Bank. The actions that joined this
disparate group into a single community of inmates would not be
our focus today; instead, Paula was on a mission to deliver a
message of hope.
A choir of over 50-strong belted out the melodic tune of the
song, “If you can use anything Lord, you can use me,” as women
all over the facility wept and lifted their hands in praise
under the watchful but protective eyes of the prison guards.
Paula was weeping…but she wasn’t alone, nor was she sad. The
presence of the Lord had penetrated the prison bars, and as we
basked in His presence we felt the freedom that only a
relationship with Christ brings.
Paula was on her feet now and many were on their knees. The
makeshift audio system could not impede the delivery of the life
changing Word.
“I’m supposed to be ministering to you, but you are ministering
to me,” she said, “the presence of the Lord is in this place.
God is making you to lie down so that He can restore your soul.
I know your spirit is OK, but He is restoring your soul. This is
your time to be fed. He is a God of restoration. It’s not what
you’ve done; it’s who you are that matters. God will show you
your real value. How big will you allow God to be in your life?
How much will you allow him to do for you?”
Paula told the story of Mephibosheth, how he had been dropped as
a baby (2 Samuel 4:4). Then in her characteristic dramatic
fashion she declared, “Somewhere along the way, someone who you
believed in dropped you. Someone you trusted; someone who was
supposed to take care of you dropped you, but it’s time to
forgive.”
As the wet-cheeked choir sang the closing rendition of “Total
Praise”, the faces of the hardened and hurt were transformed
into faces of the healed and hopeful. We slipped through the
doors of the guarded structure amidst hugs, blown kisses, and
grateful smiles. We were on our way to the “medium security”
facility where we would now minister to the male inmate
population.
The warden, a Godly man with a clear passion for his work
remarked, “Most of these inmates, both men and women have
children, this [their incarceration] is a generational curse
that we must break. Within these prison walls we can change
lives and offer hope”.
I once again geared myself up to minister to the male inmates,
and I could see Paula out of the corner of my eye. She was
focused, and steadfast. We were walking out Matthew 25:35: “For
I was an hungered, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye
gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked, and
ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison,
and ye came unto me.”
When we walked into the chapel, it seemed that a refreshing
river of worship flowed from the very throne room of God. Could
these worshippers be the prisoners we had come to minister to?
As the intimate exchange of praise and adoration filled the
atmosphere, God’s restoring power was evident all around us.
The program was impressive. A mime team performed a moving
tribute to the victims of Hurricane Katrina. Song after
marvelous song, they sang in tight knit harmony. They sang about
past experiences, the sang of their pain, and their growth in
the Lord. But above all, they sang of their freedom, and boldly
proclaimed how much “freer” they were behind bars than outside
the barbed wired gates - all because of the goodness of the
Lord.
It became clear to me that freedom has nothing to do with your
physical condition. Freedom is a state of mind and there was a
spirit of freedom in the Prison Chapel that day. There was
freedom to worship in holy abandon, freedom to feel and be felt,
freedom to love and be loved.
Again, Paula was clearly moved as she took the microphone:
“Until God says it’s over, it’s not over. God does not consult
your past to determine your future. Stop looking behind. The
rearview mirror is much smaller than the windshield. Focus on
the future. What are you going to do with the rest of your life?
God is going to call you by your name and not by your shame.
What you have done is not who you are. Square your shoulders and
walk in your destiny.”
The rounds of applause were thunderous. The men roared,
whistled, and stomped. They danced and clapped, they laughed and
cried… and then there was a hush, a holy hush. Truly there was a
spirit of liberation with us. Sobs syncopated the silence as
men, imprisoned but free, kneeled in submission to the Spirit of
God.
For just a moment it was visible with the eye, and audible to
the ear, souls being freed, and shackles being broken. Who would
have thought that some prisoners could be more free than many of
us? On that November day, it was proven by a one time “messed up
Mississippi Girl” that God uses who He chooses. No matter your
past, or your circumstance. And as she knelt in prayer with
rapists and bank robbers, extortionists and gang-bangers,
kidnappers and murderers… she wept. humbled by God’s call on her
life to transform lives, heal hearts, and win souls.
M25 Alive is
part of the Paula White Ministries.
Learn more about Paula White Ministries by logging onto their
web site at:
www.paulawhite.org
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