Meet Richard. He's 48, serving four years for a non-violent offense (felon in possession of a firearm and drugs). Life hit him hard early on. Raised by a mom who introduced him to Jesus as a little boy, his world was shattered through addiction, violence, and Satan's schemes. His family broke apart, and the state stepped in with foster care. Pain piled on pain.

 

But in 2020, right there in prison, Richard came back to the Lord. Jesus didn't just show up; He opened Richard's eyes and rewired his heart. "I love Jesus! And I love His Word," he wrote. Even behind bars, he feels free. Truly free. Jesus set him free on the inside.

 

Now Richard wants everyone around him to know this same freedom. He dives into ARM’s Bible studies because they're clear and understandable, and each one peels back another layer of his story, allowing the Holy Spirit to heal what was broken.

 

Richard ended his letter simply: "I love you guys. You are a blessing to my life."

 

Your gifts make stories like this possible. Thank you for helping prisoners find true freedom in Christ.

 

ARM Prison Outreach Impact Dashboard

Gospel Access & Scripture Distribution

Impact Area	2026	Lifetime
Bibles Distributed	3,680	1,628,592
Bible Studies TAKEN	5,637	789,937
Prison Discipleship Program Participants	37	37
Baptistries Provided to Prisons	3	2,007

 

Why it matters: God’s Word is often the first consistent spiritual voice incarcerated men and women encounter.

Encouragement & Care

Impact Area	2026	Lifetime
DaySpring Greeting Cards Sent	64,975	127,067,850
Jail and Prison Ministry Seminars	0	0
Jail and Prison Visits	21	106 (Since 2021)
Prayer Guides in Prison	554	848
Chaplain/Incarcerated Prayer Requests Rec’d	103	103

 

Why it matters: A single act of encouragement becomes a tangible reminder that someone sees the incarcerated.

 

Praying for Prisoners: The Hardened Path

Spiritual condition to pray into: A heart worn down, resistant, or closed off by deep pain, disappointment, betrayal, repeated neglect, injustice, or the cumulative weight of incarceration and past wounds.

Scriptures to pray through:

Psalm 95

• Names the danger of a hardened heart: “Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts.”
• We pray that prisoners would hear Your voice today, through a kind word, a Scripture shared, a moment of reflection, or Your Spirit’s whisper. May they not turn away.

Psalm 51

• A prayer for inner renewal: “Create in me a clean heart, O God.”
• We ask You to do this mighty work in prisoners: renew their spirits, soften what feels permanently broken, and restore what seems lost.

Prayer Prompts:

• Ask Jesus to reveal to these prisoners the specific places where their hearts have become resistant, closed, or numb due to past traumas, prison experiences, or self-protection.
• Name the experiences, disappointments, fears, abuses, or losses that have contributed to this hardness, and lift them to God for healing.
• Invite Jesus to enter those locked places, to soften what feels unchangeable, and to replace hearts of stone with hearts of flesh (Ezekiel 36:26).
• Pray for patience, for the prisoners and for those ministering to them, as God does His slow, steady work of healing and renewal in such challenging environments.
• Express trust that the same God who cultivates long-hardened soil in nature can bring forth new life, fruit, and receptivity even in prison cells.

Intercessory Meditation/Prayer:

Faithful Gardener, Lord Jesus, we lift up the prisoners, those behind bars whose spirits have grown hard and guarded. We confess on their behalf where life’s blows, deep hurts, abandonment, shame, or the daily grind of confinement have packed their hearts tight, making it difficult for Your Word to take root. Where they have resisted You, ignored You, or built walls to protect themselves from further pain, we ask You to meet them in mercy.