Psalm 107:13-14
“They cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he saved them from their distress.  He brought them out of darkness and the deepest gloom and broke away their chains.”

Daniel 4:33b-34a
“[Nebuchadnezzar] was driven away from people and ate grass like cattle.  His body was drenched with the dew of heaven until his hair grew like the feathers of an eagle and his nails like the claws of a bird.  At the end of that time, I, Nebuchadnezzar, raised my eyes toward heaven, and my sanity was restored.  Then I praised the Most High; I honored and glorified him who lives forever.”

Mark 5:2-7a, 8, 15
“When Jesus got out of the boat, a man with an evil spirit came from the tombs to meet him.  This man lived in the tombs, and no one could bind him any more, not even with a chain.  For he had often been chained hand and foot, but he tore the chains apart and broke the irons on his feet…Night and day among the tombs and in the hills he would cry out and cut himself with stones.  When he saw Jesus from a distance, he ran and fell on his knees in front of him.  He shouted at the top of his voice, ‘What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God?’…For Jesus had said to him, ‘Come out of this man, you evil sprit!’…When [the people] came to Jesus, they saw the man who had been possessed by the legion of demons, sitting there, dressed and in his right mind; and they were afraid.”

Most High God, you are present even in the dark places of mind and spirit.

Only when you break our chains do we become unbroken.  You tear apart the iron links of agony to integrate and make us whole.

Release us from the heavy thoughts that bind us to isolation.  As we kneel before you, free us with the weight of your love and glory.

This we ask in the name of Christ, who was bound in body so that we might have freedom for our souls.

Listen to ‘And Can It Be That I Should Gain‘ by Wendell Kimbrough & Friends, featuring Rachel Wilhelm