Moundsville, W. Va.
Through the kindness of the warden I am permitted to present a small
sketch of my prison life. I am glad to avail myself of the opportunity
of relating my experience in the earnest hope that some one as
unfortunate as myself may be benefited thereby. That this is written
within prison-walls will, I feel, prove none the less interesting.
The first night I spent in prison will never be forgotten. When the
cell-doors clanged, closing in upon me, I felt my very heart sink
within me. Then with a contrite heart I looked to Jesus, and spent the
night in prayer. Oh, what a comfort he has been to me! I then and there
made up my mind to follow in his footsteps, and devote my life to him.
With a change of heart, Christ has ever been with and bountifully
blessed me. I meet with great kindness from Christian people, and every
consideration from our noble warden and his officers. Because I am in
prison I need not be useless nor unhappy. I accept my situation as of
divine appointment, and will try to be contented with it. Lamenting
over the past will do no good, for I can not recall or change it.
Complaining of the present will not mend but make myself and others
wretched. Anxiety about the future will not make it any better. My
heavenly Father has permitted things to be just as they are, and I know
he loves me. I will therefore leave all to him. No rebellion shall be
cherished in my heart, and no murmur shall escape my lips. My Savior
has promised that his grace shall be sufficient for me. He will never
leave me, but be a present help in time of need. Trusting in him and
committing all to my loving Father’s care, I will do what I can. I
will make the place where my lot is cast as bright and cheerful as
possible, and work and wait with patience till I am permitted to go to
my heavenly home.
I am indebted to many of my Christian friends, to all of whom I extend
my heartfelt thanks for many acts of kindness, of which one is in
supplying me with a fine Teachers’ Bible and other good religious
reading matter. My Bible has been to me a constant source of pleasure,
it has dispersed the dark cloud of sorrow and let in the sunlight of
God’s love. There was a time when I believed every earthly friend had
forsaken me, and that I was only known by a number—the number on the
books of a prison. In a cell, yea, shut away from the full light of
day, shut away from man, I was lonely, friendless, forgotten—a boy who
was once free as heaven’s sunshine, free as the birds whose songs I
loved to hear. I remembered my home, my mother, the good-night kisses,
the lilacs, the roses, the orchard, the swing, the schoolhouse, and the
playmates. Then I thought of that beautiful and pathetic hymn, “Oh,
where is my wandering boy to-night?” and I resolved that I would flee
to the One whom God had appointed to bring forth the prisoner from the
prison-house of sin. My brothers, you are not forgotten. If mother is
alive, she is praying for you, and the God to whom she prays loves
you. “Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love”; “and, lo, I
am with you always.” He has all the angels of heaven working to help
fallen humanity to be saved from sin. “Are they not all ministering
spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of
salvation?”—Heb. 1:14. And I am glad that I can testify to the facts,
that behind prison-walls, in the dark shadows of a prison-cell, are
sons and daughters of God, heirs of God, joint-heirs with Christ, heirs
of salvation, and to these heirs of salvation angels are sent forth to
minister. The angel in your cell waits, brother. Kneel and pray. “If we
confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and
to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”—1 Jno. 1:9.
Can I, can you, live a Christian life in bondage? My answer is in the
affirmative. It has been tested and proved beyond a doubt. I will
recall the incident of Joseph. When he was a mere boy he was sold by
his brethren and cast into bondage. He resisted temptation, even when
he knew that in so doing he was taking just so many steps toward the
dungeon. Gen. 39:7-20. In adversity, as well as in prosperity, he gave
all honor to God. Gen. 41:16. He forgave his brethren when most men
would have been tempted to punish them. Gen. 50:15-21. We can learn
from Joseph’s prison life a remarkable lesson. That God was with him in
all things was unmistakably true. He was blessed and elevated to noble
positions. This honor he gained by his uprightness in his daily walk
before God. Gen. 39:21-23; Acts 7:9. God used him as an instrument to
unfold his plans. Gen. 45:5-8; 50:20; Acts 7:9-14. If Joseph, a mere
boy, could walk uprightly before God and receive a blessing in prison,
I or any one else can do the same by the grace of God, and by his grace
I will. And again, Peter, the apostle of Jesus Christ, was imprisoned
by Herod and was delivered by an angel through the prayer of the
church, yet he could not realize that he was released from his bonds
and imprisonment, but thought that it was a vision. Acts 12:4-9. Paul
and Silas suffered bonds of imprisonment, and stripes of persecution
for proclaiming the gospel of Christ, and during all their persecution
sang songs of praise and lifted their voices in prayer to the Lord.
Acts 16:22-26. If all of these men could offer so much praise to God
under such trying circumstances, I or any one else can do the same, but
only through his grace. By his grace I will. When we fully submit our
minds to God’s mind and plans, then God will teach us the sweet lesson
that “all things work together for good to them that love God.”—Rom.
8:28. Trust him and open your heart to him and you will experience this
peace which he gives to his followers, a peace such as the world can
neither give nor take away.
In conclusion I must say, if the dear readers could but hear the
pleading, fervent prayers and the touching testimonies of these
unfortunates, they would place a higher estimate on the prisoner, and
by word and act help him rise, as it were, above his surroundings. The
prisoners are given to understand by our warden that the prayer-meeting
services are theirs, and let me say there are about fifty of the boys
here who try to make the best of it, and in no single instance have
they violated the privilege granted to them during this service. I
consider it a privilege to stand up for God, even within the confining
bars of a penitentiary. My brother prisoner, the Master is calling
for you. Think of it, whosoever believeth on God’s only Son, a free
and a full salvation shall he have, for God is both willing and able
to save. “What must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe on the
Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved.”—Acts 16:30. Salvation is
in the name of Jesus; “neither is there salvation in any other: for
there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must
be saved.”—Acts 4:12. “Choose you this day whom ye will serve.”—Josh.
24:15. May God bless and uplift the fallen everywhere.
Serial No. 2282.