Inmate 'freed' by Jesus' call to sinners
A career criminal who first faced arrest at just 14 has told how a “Damascus Road” moment behind bars at 47 transformed his life.
And his sworn enemies ended up as trusted friends.
Paul Dayes had spent decades in and out of prison, most recently serving time for robbery to fund his drug addiction.
But during that sentence he experienced what he can only describe as a divine appointment.
Speaking on BBC’s Songs of Praise, Paul recalled: “I remember having the urge to read the Bible. I don’t know why.”
But there wasn’t one in his cell – the first time he’d ever known that to happen.
The next morning, however, a new Bible – distributed by Good News for Everyone – lay waiting on the radiator outside his cell.
As he turned to Matthew’s Gospel, he read Jesus’ words from Matthew 9:13 – “For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”
“It spoke straight to my heart,” Paul said. “I found myself praying the sinner’s prayer and gave my life to Christ.”
After his release, help came through Teen Challenge London, part of the global ministry founded by David Wilkerson working among gang members in New York.
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