In the smaller county jail I would be locked up with the prisoners to spend as much time with them as I chose. There was a man named Bill, about 40 years of age, who when I would try to strike up a conversation with him, would walk away and ignore me.
One afternoon as I tried once again to establish a relationship, Bill showed a willingness to talk. He shared how he had been convicted of murder and was awaiting transfer to the state penitentiary. As we spoke, he began to share the circumstances leading up to his murder conviction.
Bill was married and lived with his wife and two small children in a neighboring town. They owned a home and had a family car. One night he woke up about three in the morning, took a gun out of his nightstand, got dressed, and went hitchhiking. The family car was parked in the drive. An elderly man pick him up and at gunpoint was forced by Bill to drive him out of town. In a sparsely populated area he shot the driver, drove the car back within two blocks of his home, set the car on fire, and went back to bed.
I questioned why he had committed such an act. His reply was that he wasn’t on any alcohol or drugs, but at times there was something that seemed to take control of him, and it was during one of those times this incident occurred.
About a week later I was awakened sometime after midnight by a call from the jailer. He stated Bill was asking that I come up to the jail immediately because he needed to talk to me.
After dressing quickly and driving to the jail I found that Bill had been put in an interrogation room and was awaiting my arrival. Locked in the interrogation room with him, I asked Bill why he had me come there at that time.
Bill was sitting about five feet from me on another chair smoking a cigarette as we faced each other. He slowly raised his head toward me and stated slowly and in a reduced voice “it’s back.” “What’s back?” I asked. He went on to say, “Whatever it is that takes control of me and does these awful things.”
Wondering if this weren’t something in the spirit realm I instructed him to tell it to go away in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. He couldn’t! At that point I started reading verses of Scripture that I had previously underlined in my Bible relating to how Jesus had power and authority over spirits. As I was quoting the Scriptures I noticed Bill’s facial features change to that of pure hate. He took the cigarette out of his mouth, crushed it out in the palm of his hand, looked up at me while positioning his hands as though they were around a throat and said, “If I could I’d kill you right now.”
I knew without a doubt that an evil spirit was manifesting, and I no longer was dealing with Bill. As every hair on my body stood at attention I immediately stated, “But you can’t because greater is He who is in me,” putting every ounce of faith I could muster in God’s Holy Word.
Continuing to read Scriptures the evil spirit started speaking in some unknown tongue. I then began commanding the evil spirit in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by His authority to come out of Bill, and when it did Bill immediately hit the floor on his knees, trusted Christ as Savior, and was truly a new creation in the Lord.
As we talked and shared Scripture, and I shared with Bill what had happened he was rubbing the palm of his hand. I asked him if something was wrong, and he stated that his palm was sore. He had no knowledge of what had taken place while the evil spirit was manifesting. I also questioned him on whether he knew any other languages or knew what it meant to “speak in tongues,” and he said no.
I left the jail later that night and went home, but I couldn’t get back to sleep. I was too busy rejoicing in all that God in His graciousness had taught me that evening, and in Bill’s conversion experience.
Later that week returning to the jail I was surprised to find that Bill had been made a trustee. He had been convicted of murder and awaited room in the state penitentiary to serve a life sentence, but the change the jailers had seen in Bill led them to make him a trustee for the brief time he had remaining with them. As a trustee he had the run of the jail and spent much of his time witnessing to others about Jesus and passing out tracts. What an awesome, life changing God we serve. To God be all glory.
