Houston inmates pray for Africa's freedom
___By Brittany Jarvis
___SBC International Mission Board
___HOUSTON (BP)--Prisoners of InnerChange Freedom Initiative, the first Christian prison in America, are asking God to give spiritual freedom to people in West Africa who never have heard of Jesus Christ.
___"There are some whom God calls to plead and seek his face on behalf of others," said Erik Indian, one of the inmates, "They are given a commandment to intercede."
___The InnerChange prison is located in Houston and is part of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. The prisoners, who volunteer for the program, are immersed in life-skill training and Bible studies 18 hours each day.
___The inmates gather from 11 a.m. until noon daily to pray for each other and for ministries in West Africa. During the weekends, more than 100 men spend time in the prayer room interceding for others.
___The ministry, called Behind the Wall, seeks for the "free" men in prison to bring the good news of freedom in Christ to those in spiritual bondage. And it is already producing results.
___When the praying first began in mid-June, the leadership of InnerChange was in the midst of disputes with security staff of the Texas prison system. There also were problems of rebellion, bickering, sinful living and envy among the prisoners, Indian said.
___"For a Christ-centered program, it sure was dark," he recalled. "The enemy had invaded the camp."
___But when 108 men committed to pray during the first weekend prayer vigil, changes began occurring, and InnerChange settled the disputes with security guards.
___Men who were causing problems within the program were expelled. Men and family members experienced healing. Families were restored. Inmates have professed faith in Jesus Christ as Savior, and others have answered a call to ministry.
___"Lives have been transformed from the presence of God," Indian said.
___The prayer focus on West Africa emerged when International Mission Board missionary Mary Dean Phillips participated in a conference in Houston and was paired with Kaye McCutcheon, who works with the Prison Fellowship ministry.
___Phillips shared with McCutcheon that God had given her a burden years ago to mobilize prisoners to pray for West Africa.
___"The prisoners have a lot of time, and it would be a way for them to redeem their time," the missionary reasoned.
___But for two years Phillips had failed to find an entrance into prison ministries. After listening to Phillips' vision, McCutcheon took the idea to InnerChange's leadership, which had started its inmate prayer emphasis just two months earlier.
___The vision "fit us perfectly," Indian said. "We were already in prayer; the hunger to intercede was already here."
___The Behind the Wall men receive weekly e-mails from Phillips with prayer requests from West Africa. Phillips said the prayer support is tremendously vital to the missionary work taking place in West Africa, where millions of people have little or no access to the gospel.
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