Imagine yourself suddenly, unexpectedly arrested and put in jail. You find yourself locked in a cell, perhaps with multiple strangers or perhaps all alone, staring at cracks in the concrete block, wondering what has just happened and what’s going to happen next. Whether you broke a law or whether it was all just a terrible mistake doesn’t really matter at this particular moment. You are at a crisis point in your life, and your family is probably in crisis as well.

Whether actually incarcerated or just imprisoned by life’s circumstances, we all find ourselves trapped in a desperate situation at one time or another, pinned in by the unforeseen and unavoidable. This is the stuff of nightmares, the dark night of the soul. These are the very moments in life when we want most desperately to pray, yet words often fail us precisely at these times of deepest need.

The church wants to stand beside you and to pray with you and for you in that dark night, whatever it may be. Hear My Voice: A Prison Prayer Book (Augsburg Fortress, to be released July 2019) has been written for anyone who is incarcerated or imprisoned in any form. It is a resource for reflection, Bible study, and prayer. Read more »