Prisons and Prayer; Or, a Labor of LoveWheaton, Elizabeth Ryder
Religion
Prisons and Prayer; Or, a Labor of Love
Wheaton, Elizabeth Ryder
Evangelistic work; Prisons
I arrived one Sunday morning at a stockade where hundreds of men and
some women were kept. I went to the keeper, or captain, as he was
called, and asked for the privilege of holding a gospel service with
the prisoners under his charge. He not only refused me, but was
abusive, cursing me and ordering me away. Of course I was much
grieved, as I felt the Lord had sent me there to preach the gospel. I
was greatly surprised that an official should use such language to a
lady, and without provocation. Weeping, I asked if I might sing for
the women prisoners. Again, with oaths, he refused me. But Brother
Frank Joseph, a colored preacher who knew me, was there to hold
religious services by permission of the governor, and he came and
invited me to assist him. Of course the captain could say nothing
against it and I went with him. But when he asked me to conduct the
service I could not at the first sing, preach or pray for weeping, but
I told him I would pray God to give them a kinder officer for I knew
the one they had was a cruel man. God used even my weakness and my
tears to touch their hearts and we had a blessed meeting.
After service I had a chance to talk to the women prisoners. We wept
together and oh how thankful they were that there was one woman who
would try to help them and make their burdens lighter. They told me
how terribly they were treated and said they would be beaten if the
captain knew of their telling me of it. How glad I was to carry the
message of Jesus' love to them in their distress. Before I left they
said they wished they had something to give me, and some gave small
tokens of their regards. It was all they had to give and when they
urged me I accepted them as from the Lord, feeling that He would in
some way reward them and bless their offering as He did the widow's
mite.
THROUGH DANGER ALONE.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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