The call from Panama brought everything in our world to a screeching halt.

“Tyler is on his way to a hospital. His fever is over 105 degrees.”

Our son Tyler was on a mission trip to Panama with Teen Mania, and as a 14-year-old, was a long way from home. We had very few details, but from the brief phone call we knew Tyler was in serious trouble.

As we hung up the phone, I was ready to spring into action. There had to be someone we could call. But my wife Sherrie spoke a better word. “Before we go to the phone, let’s go to the throne.” We knelt beside our couch and began to pray. We cried out for healing and that somehow a doctor would bring Tyler’s fever under control.

As we prayed, I suddenly remembered a conversation with a business leader a few weeks before. As he shared about his business interests in Central America, I told him about Tyler’s upcoming Panama trip. For some reason, he wrote down a name and a number and said, “If your son gets into a medical situation, you need to take him to the Johns Hopkins hospital in Panama City. It is brand-new and state of the art. Here is my contact person for the hospital.”

Moments later, we were on the phone to Panama with a team member who was in the cab with Tyler. As the call connected, they pulled up to an old clinic in a rough part of town. When I shared my connection with Johns Hopkins, the cab driver said the hospital was less than a mile away. Because of a moment on our knees, Tyler was being driven to a state of the art hospital.

You know how medical battles ebb and flow. One moment the news is all good, and then moments later, the word is all bad. The news at first was good. In light of this, I decided to keep my commitment to speak to the men at Prairie Correctional Facility in Appleton, Minnesota. One of the PraiseLive radio stations is KCGN, and the 100,000-watt signal reaches this prison. We had received many testimonies of how the programming had resulted in salvation and changed lives through the years. 

The drive to the prison is about an hour, and as I was on the outskirts of Benson, Minnesota, Sherrie called. She had just received a phone call from Panama, and the news was not good. Tyler was fighting for his life. As I sat on the edge of the road, we asked Jesus if I should turn around and go home. The Holy Spirit spoke to both of us. “Go and minister to the men at the prison.”

Going through multiple gates and razor blade fences is always sobering to me. But when the men came into the chapel room, I was uneasy. You could feel the tension in the air. As they sat down, I noticed the men dividing into distinct racial groups. The room was restless and agitated, and when the prisoner leading the service tried to get their attention, there was no drop in volume. Finally, there was just enough break in the noise, and the men could hear him speak.

“Guys, our speaker tonight is David from PraiseLive. Many of you know his voice from 101.5 FM. What you don’t know is that David’s son is in Panama on a mission trip, and tonight, David’s son is fighting for his life.” The room grew quiet. “David and his wife got the call a few minutes ago, and he still chose to come and be with us.” Now you could hear a pin drop. “Before he speaks, I want all of us to pray for Tyler.” 

Now a ripple of prayer spread through the room. Then a tidal wave of prayer.

I shared about Tyler’s battle for his health and the news we had just received. I spoke of my deep love for Tyler. Then I set my notes aside and talked about why knowing Jesus is a matter of life and death. I shared that I would give anything to take Tyler’s place and even give my life for him. Then I read John 3:16, “For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.” The message was so brief and so simple, and yet the presence of God was everywhere. 

I invited the men to close their eyes and bow their heads. Then I asked anyone who wanted to invite Jesus Christ to forgive their sins to raise their hands. There were almost 100 men in attendance, and 28 raised their hands. I prayed over the men and offered program guides for PraiseLive, and even Bibles they could pick up on the way out. 

My heart rejoiced!

As the men left the room, four of the leaders came and formed a semi-circle around me. It was more like a complete circle. These were four huge men who loved Jesus. The leader got right to the point. “You didn’t do us any favors tonight. These men who raised their hands are now walking back to their cells, and they are all alone. They are under attack, and we don’t know who they are. We can’t follow up on them if we don’t know who they are.”

I remember the many times I heard Billy Graham share the gospel and explain why he was about to invite you to come forward. Billy explained that when Jesus asked people to follow him, over and over, it was an invitation to make a public stand for him. 

The next day, I connected with Tyler in his hospital room, and I told him what happened when the men heard about his condition. We talked about the men crying out for his healing. Then I shared about the 28 decisions for Christ. Tyler responded, “Then it’s worth it all.”

As Tyler made a full recovery, I thought about the wave of prayer in that prison. It was holy ground to witness those prisoners fighting for my son’s freedom. 

Several months later, I was invited back to Prairie Correctional, and as I greeted the men, I thanked them for the night they prayed for Tyler. I shared how his life was hanging in the balance and my belief that their prayers had turned the tide in Tyler’s favor. Once again, I shared the gospel, then I told them about my last visit and  what their leaders had said after the meeting.

“Tonight it’s going to be different. I want every eye open. If you want to surrender your life to Jesus, in a moment, I am going to ask you to stand up. I am asking you for a public decision for Christ, so your brothers in Christ can encourage you and stand beside you. But before you stand up, I have a word for the guys around you who are already walking with Christ. When your friend and brother stands up, I want you to raise the roof. We yell and scream for home runs and touchdowns, but I want you to let these guys hear it. I want you to join the celebration taking place in heaven.

“Now, if you are ready to surrender to Jesus, and turn your life completely over to him, stand up!”

There were a few seconds where no one moved. Then one man in about the third row stood to his feet. The room erupted. Then a guy in the back stood to his feet. He was greeted with shouts and slaps on the back. Then all over the room, men were standing to their feet. Now almost every man in the room is shouting and stomping and high-fiving the new believers. I asked the guys to circle up around the ones who had dared to take a stand and to pray over them. 

As I drove home in the moonlight, I thought about the sound of prayer as brothers cried out for each other and the words of Jesus, “Everyone who acknowledges me publicly here on earth, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven” (Matthew 10:32).

I thought about the new followers of Jesus. Alone in their cells but surrounded by their brothers.