My wife and I both work for the local school district.  She is a para-pro in the elementary school and I am a deputy sheriff assigned to K-12  as a school liaison. 

Well one day while my wife was working the lunch room she noticed a second grade boy crying and his class mates attempting to console him. 

My wife asked the boy what was wrong and he told her that his dad was in jail and he was scared.  The boy told her that the jail has rules and his dad can’t have pictures of him and all visits are non-contact, he has to talk to his dad on a phone while looking through a glass window.

My wife asked me if I could talk with this boy, so while making my rounds through the elementary school I took the time to speak with this boy.  I told him that I had heard about his problem and asked him if he wanted to share it with me.  He told me that his dad went to jail and he misses him.  As he started to cry he told me that his dad got into a fight with his mom, the police came and then he got into a fight with the police and he is not sure that his dad will ever come home.

Being a Christian Cop and understanding potential I asked this boy what he wanted to be when he grew up.  This boy told me that he wanted to be a fireman.  So now I know I am dealing with a potential fireman.

I told him that the burden he is carrying is too heavy for even a fireman and asked him if he ever prayed.  He said yes he did. 

I then told him there are a couple things a person thinks about when they go to jail and asked him if he wanted to know what those things were and he said yes.  

Well the first thing a person does in the loneliness of a cell is evaluate their relationship with God wondering if there is a God and the second thing is they think about the loved ones they have hurt as a result of their actions.  I believe your dad is probably thinking about you as we speak and he misses you too. 

I told him that when we pray God has a way to just work things out for the good if we love him.  Prayer also gives the burden of our problems to God, because God is a whole lot stronger than us.  The boy started to smile, thanked me for talking to him and went back to class.

I went about my duties and as I drove around I couldn’t get this boy off my mind.  I prayed for his family and as I did I felt inspired to go visit his dad.  I questioned this feeling and attempted to write it off, but it wouldn’t go away.  I decided to act upon this feeling because I know faith without works is dead, so I went to the jail to talk with this boys dad. 

I arrived and talked with the sergeant in reference this boys dad and requested to see him.  The sergeant checked with corrections and advised me that we no longer had this boys dad.  I started to leave and the sergeant called me back saying they made a mistake they do have him.

I went back to corrections to meet with this boys dad.  I introduced myself and he was puzzled why a deputy sheriff was wanting to see him.  Being a school liaison I thought he might know me so I asked him if he knew me and he said he didn’t know me and didn’t have a clue why I wanted to see him.  I showed him a school identification card I wear and asked him if that made any sense to him.  He said it made him think about his kids.

I then told him that I had talked with a future fireman who was trying to carry the burden of his dads incarceration. This future fireman was a second grader.  The second grader was in tears as he shared this burden with his classmates and they tried to console him, but it wasn’t bringing any relief. 

I was then asked to talked with this boy in hopes I could bring some encouragement, so I did.

Well after finding out that I was talking to a future fireman I asked this boy if he ever prayed and he said he did. 

I stopped and asked this dad if he knew who I was talking about and he said as he started to get teary eyed, it sounds like my son.  I told this dad that it was his son.

The dad then told me that he doesn’t fully understand what is happening right now, but the other night he attended a religious service put on by the Forgotten Mans Ministry in the jail.  The dad said he knew he needed to change and as he received Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior he was slain in the spirit.  The dad further said that he believed God sent me as a confirmation to this commitment because he was questioning it, thinking it was just some jail house conversion. This dad then told me to tell his son that God has heard his prayer, answered his prayer and he is getting a new dad.         

As a follow up I returned to the school the next day, met with this boy in the lunch room, lifted him up in my arms in front of his classmates and told him that I talked with his dad and his dad told me to tell him that God heard his prayer and he is getting a new dad.  This boy and his classmates were all smiling from ear to ear as I set him down.

A week later I saw the boy in public.  The boy told me his dad was out of jail, went and got him and his dad said he is working hard, growing in faith and trying to quit smoking.  This dad also asked me to continue to pray for him, and since this story is evidence of how God does answer prayer, make your requests known today.