PRAYER FOR THOSE IN PRISON
We pray for those in prison,
Shut in for their belief!
Great God of freedom – grant that they
Will never lose their faith:
O send your angels to them
To comfort their distress;
And may your Holy Spirit’s love
Flood through their hearts to bless!
Raise up the shining vision
Of Jesus on His Cross,
No freedom then – just blood and pain –
And all seemed dark and lost;
But death’s dark prison opened
On Easter’s radiant morn,
And Christ the Lord stepped out to life.
From death the great First-born!
So strengthen those in prison
Till they too shall be free,
No prison wall will bar the way
To their eternity.
We pray for those in prison,
Shut in for their belief!
Great God of freedom – grant that they
Will never lose their faith!
- Gordon Churchyard, Somerset, UK -
(The piano score for this hymn can be downloaded from the website www.barnabasfund.org/SCS)
The modern hymns and spiritual songs which we use in our worship are normally all either triumphant or devotional in nature. The hymn quoted above does not fit into either of these two categories.
Surely, there is a need for a small songbook, which might be called SONGS OF SUFFERING AND SOCIAL JUSTICE.
We need, as we worship God in song, to be reminded of his love and anger as he watches over the millions of people, especially the children, who are all created in his image, but who are living in dire poverty and distress. One of the main reasons for their unacceptable conditions is injustice.
Psalm 89:14, NIV
14 Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne;
love and faithfulness go before you.
Psalm 140:12, NIV
12 I know that the LORD secures justice for the poor
and upholds the cause of the needy.
We also need to worship in song the persecuted Jesus Christ who is being persecuted by an increasing number of people every day.
Acts 9: 1-6, NIV
1 Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples. He went to the high priest 2 and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem. 3 As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. 4 He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?”
5 “Who are you, Lord?” Saul asked.
“I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” he replied. 6 “Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.”
I would be very happy both to hear about and support any local church, Christian organisation or ad-hoc group of Christians who are willing to undertake this much-needed venture.
The Micah Mandate is a Christian-based public interest advocacy ministry that seeks a transformation of our nation through justice, mercy and humility.
