By Mallory Mattingly
The God Behind Bars ministry team shared a powerful video highlighting one inmate’s boldness to step up and lead worship for the first time.
“Travis is an inmate inside of this maximum security prison. We sat with him and he told us that he has felt shame in leading worship because of what he has done!” God Behind Bars wrote in the caption of the video.
“We loved on him and learned that GRATITUDE is his favorite worship song,” the ministry continued. “The next day, we asked him if he would BREAK OFF the shame and lead that song for his prison! He said YES! This is what happened…This moment was POWERFUL and LIFE CHANGING! You could feel the Holy Spirit fill this prison chapel!! God is BREAKING SHAME OFF of these inmates!”
The video captures Travis singing Brandon Lake’s “Gratitude” as the other inmates join in worship:
So I throw up my hands
Related: WATCH: Inmates Praise God Behind Bars
And praise You again and again
‘Cause all that I have is a
Hallelujah, hallelujah
And I know it’s not much
But I’ve nothing else fit for a king
Except for a heart singing
Hallelujah, hallelujah
Christian artist Patrick Mayberry recently led worship with God Behind Bars, sharing a video on social media that showed him and fellow artist David Leonard singing a new song the two wrote that same day.
“A few months ago, I had the chance to spend time in a prison—leading worship, praying, and writing songs alongside some of the men there. One of the guys shared that after 25 years, he’d just been denied parole. You could feel the weight of disappointment and hopelessness. But even in that space, surrounded by locked doors and heavy hearts, God’s presence was so real,” Mayberry wrote in the caption.
Mayberry and Leonard began their worship service by reading Ephesians 3:20-21, which says, “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.”
“Out of that moment, we wrote this song — a prayer of hope for anyone who feels trapped, stuck, or forgotten,” the singer continued. The chorus says, ‘All the glory, all the honor, all the praise be forever.’ And the bridge became our collective cry, ‘Let hope rise up, let hope rise up — faith is believing that we’re gonna see it.'”
“Even in the darkest places, God is still writing redemption stories. When everything feels hopeless, we can lift our eyes to the One who still does immeasurably more. There is no wall too thick, no heart too far, and no story too broken for God’s hope to reach,” Mayberry emphasized.
Praise God for ministries like God Behind Bars that bring hope to the hopeless and remind prisoners that no one is too far from God’s love and redemption.
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