I spent Sunday morning in a women’s prison. One of the girls I mentor is a prison worker and had asked me to go in to speak and lead worship in the Chapel.
I had no idea what to expect. I spent hours in preparation for the event and had no revelation AT ALL from God as to what I should say. It was strange, and not to mention a little unsettling to arrive with no talk notes and just armed with my little Bible and my passport for identification.

But I knew God would tell me at just the right time what to say. He chose to wait until the door had shut behind the Chapel as the last person entered, to tell me to speak about shame.

As I looked out into the assembled group of women, their hard faces stared back at me with suspicion and, in some cases, resentment.
Life had not been kind to them and they had not been kind back. Hurt was visible on their faces- worries, fears, doubts and abuses had changed the shape of their countenance and sometimes their whole bodies. They sat awkwardly, unsure of me and what I was going to say.
Snap.
Then a couple started bantering with me.
“What you gonna sing then? Anything we know. We like a bit of kareoke we do!”

I bantered back and stood my ground, leading the first song. My voice was strong and sure and even though I was totally out of my comfort zone, I knew Jesus was with me.

“Love came down and rescued me…
I thank you…”

6 chattering loud girls got up laughing and walked out.

Then I relaxed. They were not the listening type. They would have stopped everyone else listening too.

I spoke about shame. I shared about how sometimes when people hurt us or we hurt others, what we are left with is a sense of deep unending powerful shame. As I spoke about abuse and rape, a couple at the back with hardened faces clung to each other, one of them openly weeping.

I spoke about how God dealt with my shame and showed me how to forgive others, live in the light of what He says about me and not what others say. More ladies started to cry, one rocking backwards and forwards.

I spoke from Psalm 25 about how God released my foot from a snare and asked the women to pray for God to release them from anything that held them back. They raised their hands out to receive from Jesus what He wanted to say to them.

8 ladies responded afterwards in a very moving time of worship and one gave her life to Jesus. She gets out of prison this week and I hope will make a fresh start away from the addictions that previously trapped her.

I hope they saw in me a hope for their future – a way of living that depended not on serving time, getting even, or looking after number one, but of service, devotion, forgiveness and worship.

What a privilege it is to work with those who have no-one else to turn to but the Lord and who trust a person they have never met to guide them to Him!

May I never lose sight of the purpose of my life – helping to seek and save the lost. Amen