“About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everybody's chains came loose.” – Acts 16:25-26
In November 2019, Andrew Stewart was released from prison after serving 36 years. He was wrongfully convicted of murder as a teenager. "I really don't have the words to say, but I just thank God. It's surreal (to be released)," he said.
Stewart, along with Alfred Chestnut and Ransom Watkins, were all just 16-years-old when they were first imprisoned for the murder of Dewitt Duckett, age 14, on November 18, 1983, at Harlem Park Junior High School in Baltimore, Maryland.
Baltimore Circuit Court Judge Charles J. Peters declared all three men innocent and apologized for what happened to them.
“On behalf of the criminal justice system, and I’m sure this means very little to you, I’m going to apologize,” Judge Peters said.
Stewart's mother, Mary Stewart, also praised God. “This is the first time I've been able to hug my son in about 20-some years. This is wonderful. God bless, God is good all the time, not sometimes, but all the time," she said.
Our God hears our prayers and our praise. Today in prayer, praise the Lord no matter where you are in life.
“O for a heart to praise my God,
A heart from sin set free,
A heart that always feels Thy blood
So freely shed for me.” – Charles Wesley
God’s Word: “Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance” – Romans 5:3
A Few Clouds, 61°