‘Too many young men in prison’

By Patricia Thangaraj

 

During a Worldwide Mother’s Day of Prayer under the theme of “Blanketing Our Nation in Prayer” at the Abundant Life Assembly yesterday, Reverend Cassandra Bowen of 

the Isaiah 55 Centre lamented the number of young men who are inmates at the prison.

 

She recognised that there are many young people out there who are making positive contributions to society, but there are also many young people who are falling into crime and violence.

 

“We also want to applaud those young people who are on the right track doing the right things and we are going to keep you in prayer. We do not want a bigger prison and too many of our young people, especially our young men, are in prison and we want to stop that. We want to be able to pray them into purpose,” she further pointed out.

 

For those young people who are involved in criminal activity, she urged them to stop. “Stop the negativity, put down the guns, stop the drugs and start to do something positive with [your] lives. You are our future and without you being who you are, who you need to be, we are in real trouble in this society,” she explained.

 

Also recognising that raising children in today’s society is even more difficult than it was in generations gone by because of the increase in temptations that the youth face, Reverend Bowen advised the parents to keep their children in prayer as this would help them in bringing up their children and ensuring that they do not get involved in crime and violence or become the victims of these things.

 

“No matter what the circumstance is, take time out to pray for your children. Teach your children how to pray and get them out into an environment where they can learn how to pray, learn how to intercede on their own behalf and get back to God. We need to get back to God. No matter what is going on, no matter how much money you have, no matter what status you may have, it is nothing without God,” she asserted.

 

The Reverend also advised teachers and other adults who interact with the youth to keep themselves and the young people “covered in prayer as they go in and out of the classrooms and stuff like that and we would continue to pray for the teacher, for the Ministry of Education and all of the other institutions that deal with children on the side”.