Pastor Joseph Prince, I cannot thank you enough for sharing God’s Word. I became familiar with your ministry many years ago. I was reaching out to God and needed the Word. I had struggled with alcohol and drugs all my life.

I would get sober and do well, but always fall again. Every time I fell, it became easier for dark influences to surround me and for my flesh to dominate my mind with the need for more and more. In the end, I could hear whispers of my worthlessness, telling me that I might as well end it all. I suffered from enormous emotional pain, and no matter how much I consumed, I would still be empty. I could never fill the void. I eventually found out why. I did not have Jesus.

I lived in self-destruction for 30 years and was dying from alcohol. Then everything came to a head, and Romans 6:23 came true: “For the wages of sin is death, but the gracious gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” My sin had always left a trail of collateral damage. But in the end, my sin affected someone else in the most tragic and irreparable way. I fell asleep at the wheel and killed someone. I took a loved one from a family, and I would never be able to rectify it.

The minute I went to jail, I heard Jesus calling me. Jail is God’s hotel for some and the devil’s playground for others. I got a room in God’s hotel. Jesus was giving me the gift of hearing. I was blessed to hear your sermons and understand the words you were giving. You took me from milk to solid food.

When I first started learning, I did not know or understand grace. I thought it was something tangible, so you were the one to enlighten me about God’s grace. You taught me about walking in faith and about the Hebrew letters and words that started my journey studying Hebrew. I enjoyed the lighthearted humor you share in your sermons, for my surroundings were not lighthearted.

I had the opportunity to be baptized in prison. We wore lanyards with an intake photo to represent our identity. So I took that picture of my old man on that lanyard with me into the water and rose from the water with my new identity and genealogy. I began to change, and Jesus broke the strongholds that had destroyed my life. Jesus broke my chains of bondage. Jesus gave me salvation and healed me. I am proud to proclaim that I am a Christ follower.

Thank you, Pastor Prince, for speaking to me. You are a true teacher.