But God: A Hand Through the Window at Parchman
Unit 42 at Parchman is the hospital. Within the walls of this unit, there is also a psych ward where, when you walk through the steel gates of that wing, you immediately feel something. It’s the weight of darkness that brings you face to face with the reality of Ephesians 6:12 when it tells us we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.
Although we have been serving the men at Parchman for about two years, it was only last month that we stepped foot into Unit 42. Our original goal at Parchman was to take the hope and healing power of music into the prison in order to build relationships, allowing us to have Gospel conversations. So with that goal, our original workshops and songwriting sessions just didn’t fit in this setting. It wasn’t until a few months ago that God really stirred my heart about an approach that is beautifully done by Musicians on Call. What if we took musicians into this facility and simply went room to room and played songs for them? That was our goal. And then we went inside.
The “hospital” side of things was just as expected. We went room to room. Men sang. Men smiled. Men laughed. Men cried. Men prayed. It was powerful. But then we walked to the wing that housed the psych ward. Things changed immediately. It became an Acts 8:29 moment where the Holy Spirit told Philip to go over and join the eunuch’s chariot. As we walked through those gates, I felt the Holy Spirit’s nudge to shift to worshiping in these halls.
As we walked cell to cell, led by an amazing man of God - a field minister named Richard who has an amazing story of redemption - you could feel the weight of darkness slowly starting to lift. These men were only accessible through a small unlocked access point in the middle of the door. In every one of these cells, we saw men - created in the image of God - desperate for hope. At each cell, we watched Richard get down on one knee and extend his hand into the small window and grab the hand of the lost, holding it tight because he knows the power of these two words: But God.
With their hand held tight, Richard began interceding for them as we continued worshiping at their door. One by one, tear by tear, pleading with the Father for their redemption, Richard engaged in battling the powers of darkness and the spiritual forces of evil at work in their lives.
If you have not been in a moment like this, it is very hard to express the emotional capital that it costs. When we walked out, we were exhausted. This was a defining moment for Second Verses. Music is still our platform, but God began calling us to much more.
We just returned from a visit to Parchman and returning to this facility was one of our top priorities. While the previous time was powerful, nothing could have prepared us for what we were going to encounter.
The weight of the darkness of the psych wing was not a new thing, but this time, the power of that weight made itself known. We sang the Name of Jesus in the center of the hall and a powerful shriek started responding from a cell down the hall. The more the Name of Jesus was sung, the more the shriek became agitated. We knew what we were in the midst of and the power of the Name of Jesus was offensive.
In Mark 5, Jesus is met by a man with an unclean spirit. He lived among the tombs. He could not be restrained by shackles or chains. No one had strength to contain him. Night and day he cried out from the spirit within him. But God.
The demons knew who He was and they were pleading with Him to not torment them. They knew Jesus. It painted the clear picture of what James 2:19 tells us when he says even the demons believe…and shudder!
With the Name of Jesus being sung in that psych ward, the demon (or demons) within that individual knew that Name and was crying out against it. I stopped singing and began to pray silently over what we were now in the midst of. Richard raised his hands and began walking up and down the halls, powerfully praying against the demon commanding it to come out. This went on for several minutes and then something happened.
I felt something pass by me, causing a surreal feeling to overtake me. The hairs on my arms and head stood straight up. Something had happened. I didn’t find out until we were outside the unit, but the man leading worship felt something come upon him and his chest get heavy, like something was weighing on him. He felt something pressing in on his throat, like it was trying to close it up so he couldn’t sing, all while Richard continued praying.
We were in the midst of a fight amongst the powers of darkness, only this time it was right in front of us. Just as the demons in the man from Mark 5 were cast out and fled, this demon fled. There was silence in the place where the shrieks had competed with songs. Worship filled the place in defiant victory because death has already been defeated. Darkness cannot overtake the Light of the World.
I mentioned the defining moment for Second Verses. There is no better way to describe the access we have been given at Parchman than to call it the clear favor of God. From my very first conversation with Commissioner Burl Cain in February 2024, until now, it has been undeniable that God wants Second Verses to be part of what He is doing there. Music and songwriting were the first steps, which we will absolutely be continuing. But I sense He is leading us into much, much more. His Kingdom come, His will be done, not mine and not Second Verses.
You don’t have to have the full plan laid out before embarking on the journey; you simply must take the first step in faith and walk in faith. There is a quote from Martin Luther King Jr. that has always stood out to me, but the quote has many variations through the years all attributed to him. Regardless of which variation you see, the idea is this: Faith doesn’t ask you to see the whole staircase. It simply asks you to take the first step.
2 Corinthians 5:7 tells us we walk by faith, and not by sight. I can’t see where He is leading, but I know He is leading us into deeper waters and I know that He will be with us to equip us to accomplish all that He has for us to accomplish in His redemptive story being written at Parchman.
But now thus says the Lord, He who created you, O Jacob, He who formed you, O Israel: Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. For I AM the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior. (Isaiah 43:1-3)