The Day Alone
In The Day Alone, Bonhoeffer offers guidance on how to have a spiritually healthy time alone. He is adamant that solitude must be purposeful, sought with goals such as meditating on Scripture, praying, and interceding for others. These practices are integral to what he calls the daily period of meditation. Purposeful alone time not only strengthens the individual but also fortifies the Church as a whole. During solitude, the individual reflects, grows, intercedes, and becomes spiritually stronger—strength that ultimately benefits the Christian community. Bonhoeffer wrote, “Blessed are those who are alone in the strength of the community. Blessed are those who preserve community in the strength of solitude.”
Many might assume that inmates would have no trouble finding time to meditate, given their circumstances. After all, they are in prison. One might think that their schedules, lockdowns, and the physical confines of fences would naturally allow for plenty of solitude. However, this is often not the case. Many inmates struggle greatly to find time alone. Everywhere they go, they are surrounded by other inmates. Even at night, a quiet cell block is a rare gift. While some inmates are on 23-hour lockdown in maximum-security facilities or mental health units, the vast majority live in overcrowded prisons, housed in close quarters at all times. As one pastor-inmate once told me, “You get to leave your church people at the end of the day. Mine follow me home.”
This is where Bonhoeffer’s guidance becomes essential. He wrote, “When a community lives close together in a confined space and outwardly cannot give the individual the necessary quiet, then regular times of silence are absolutely essential.” Though finding purposeful alone time may be challenging, it is critically important. My four friends suggested several ways Christian inmates can carve out solitude in crowded quarters.
Larry began waking up earlier than usual to beat the noise of his cell block. This practice not only allows him time alone but also enhances the Christian community time he shares with his cellmate immediately afterward. Bonhoeffer wrote, “We are silent early in the morning because God should have the first word, and we are silent before going to bed because the last word belongs to God.” For Larry, this routine has helped him prepare to hear from God in the morning and digest God’s Word in the evening.
Lockdowns—often lasting several days—are another opportunity for solitude. Fredrick shared how he used to view lockdowns negatively but, after reading Life Together, he now sees them as “an opportunity to get quiet, to meditate, to focus on the Word, to grow. . . Who would ever guess that lockdown would be a reason to get excited?”
Matthew suggested a creative solution to ensure all Christian inmates on the yard have access to essential alone time: organizing “quiet retreats” in the chapel or gymnasium. With approval from the chaplain and warden, the church could offer a designated twelve-hour block each week for inmates to come and go as they please, spending quiet time in prayer, Scripture meditation, and intercession. The four men noted that most church services on the yard follow a standard format where someone speaks, and everyone else listens. No one had ever considered scheduling retreats specifically for quiet reflection. They believed this initiative could fill a vital gap in their spiritual practice.
Intercession also plays a significant role in The Day Alone. Bonhoeffer emphasizes the power of intercessory prayer, not only for the Christian community but also as part of the inmate’s rehabilitation and the overall atmosphere of the prison yard. Bonhoeffer wrote, “A Christian community either lives by the intercessory prayers of its members for one another, or the community will be destroyed. I can no longer condemn or hate other Christians for whom I pray, no matter how much trouble they cause me.”
During our third book study—held over bloated Chipotle burritos—Larry Richter said, “When I intercede for someone, it makes me see them the way God sees them.” Intercessory prayer has the power to foster real remorse and repentance, particularly when an inmate prays for their victims and their victims’ families. For inmates feuding with one another—a situation that can harm the entire yard and sometimes lead to violence—prayer allows them to release anger and seek peace. This improves the community for everyone: inmates, guards, and staff alike. Larry, sporting 25 stitches on his forehead from a recent altercation, reflected, “It’s hard to keep beefing with someone I’m praying for.” He had recently been given the perfect opportunity to put this principle into practice by interceding for his attacker.
Intercessory prayer, as the men recognized, also has a rehabilitative effect on the soul. It creates opportunities for forgiveness, reconciliation, and spiritual growth.
While some inmates struggle to find any human contact, most are inundated with it. Christian inmates live among people who neither share nor respect their faith, often indifferent to the Christian’s need for quiet time. Bonhoeffer reminds us that these environments are true testing grounds for faith. “This is the proving ground of genuine meditation and genuine Christian community,” he wrote.
The Church behind bars must strive for solitude, where its members can pray, meditate on Scripture, and intercede. Purposeful alone time is another powerful way for inmates to do their time well.
