By Chaplain Dann

When we go to minister in prison, the chaplains sometimes meet in a waiting room before being cleared to enter. One day I overheard some of the others talking about an inmate in top security. They seemed to all agree that there was certainly no hope for him and they tried to avoid him if possible.

I had been in the cell block where he was but I had not come across him yet. I decided to go and look for him. When I stood in front of his cell, he turned his back on me.

I asked if I could give him some stamps and things we are allowed to give the inmates. I was surprised by his answer: "Do you have any good books on the devil?" he asked.

"Sure," I said. "I have a copy of the best book ever written about the devil." At this, he turned and looked at me and asked if he could see it. I took out my Bible and told him, "Everything about Satan in the Word of God is true."

He came over and I showed him how to use the concordance to find all the scriptures about the devil. I told him I would leave it for him to read and I gave him some tracts. Then I promised to come back soon to see him.

When I returned the next week he met me with a big smile. "No one ever took the time to tell me what you shared with me last week," he said.

He said that it was the Chick tracts that made him realize that he was serving the wrong person and that he needed to ask Jesus to forgive him and become his Savior. I prayed with him and he prayed a beautiful prayer in his own words.

I gave him some more tracts and he asked if he could keep the Bible. I saw him several more times before he was transferred to another prison to serve his time.

He wrote me several times and told me prison life was easier now. He never felt alone since he had trusted in Christ.