Praying from the Dungeon

The apostle Paul spent much of his later years in prison. We know this from the many letters he wrote to the various churches from prison. One of those is found in Colossians 4 and really struck me when I read it.  We know Paul was not only in prison but also in chains from verse 18

I, Paul, add this final greeting, writing with my own hand. Remember I am still in prison and in chains. May grace  be with you! Amen (so be it). Colossians 4:18 Amplified

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Now I don't know about you, but if I found myself in prison I'd be pretty frightened. Even in our modern prisons complete with TVs and computers and libraries and weight rooms (courtesy of our government), I'd be pretty frightened (Mainly of the other prisoners). But back then, the prisons were not so nice. They were normally dungeons with dirt floors and bugs, no beds, blankets, or air conditioning. They were overcrowded, and usually dark and gloomy. The prisoners were fettered at the legs and sometimes the neck. The chains were heavy and made of iron that would rust with the perspiration of the prisoners, causing them great pain. There was no personal hygiene. And food and drink was limited and of such poor quality that prisoners were malnourished and grew sick.  It was expected that many of the prisoners would either die of illness or commit suicide.   It was in this environment that Paul often found himself. 

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Let's face it, if you were thrown into a place like that tomorrow, what would be your first prayer to God? What petition would you cry out to Him over and over? "Please get me out of here!"  I know I would!  I'd be down on my knees so fast, the dust would scatter.  "Lord, free me! Help me!" And what if they allowed you to send letters to your friends and family, wouldn't you ask them to pray for the same thing?  Of course! You'd get every prayer chain in the country buzzing with prayers for your release.  Do you want to know what Paul prayed for? We find it earlier in the same chapter of Colossians


And at the same time pray for us also, that God may open a door to us for the Word (the Gospel), to proclaim the mystery concerning Christ on account of which I am in prison; Colossians 4:3 Amplified


Paul prayed for the chance to witness to people in prison. Oh my. Now I feel like total scum!  But honestly, when I read that, I couldn't believe it. The dedication, the single-mindedness,  the love this man had for the Lord! Nothing else mattered, but obeying God and winning souls, not even Paul's personal comfort. That's the measure of a true disciple, isn't it? 


Then Jesus said to His disciples, If anyone desires to be My disciple, let him deny himself [disregard, lose sight of, and forget himself and his own interests] and take up his cross and follow Me Matt 16:24

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Yet how often are we consumed more with our own lives, our personal comfort and problem-free living than with attending to God's business above all else? How often do we start to complain and whine when things go wrong.  And how wonderful if (hypothetically) we were tossed in a dungeon in Afghanistan, our first prayer would be "Use me, Lord, to bring others to you."


You may never be thrown in a physical prison, but we all get tossed in life's prisons now and then. Job loss, money problems, health issues, children problems, death, abandonment, rejection, heartache..  life can certainly pile up on us sometimes, can't it? So much so, it feels like we are in a dank, dark, dungeon. And inevitably when that happens, we cry out to God to rescue us. Now, I'm not saying that's a bad thing. God doesn't fault us for prayers like that. But what if the next time the world is crashing down around us, we look up instead and say "Use these circumstances, Lord, use these problems, to bring others to You." 

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I imagine that would put a huge smile on our Father's face.