"Let this be recorded for a generation to come, so that a people yet to be created may praise the LORD: that he looked down from his holy height; from heaven the LORD looked at the earth, to hear the groans of the prisoners, to set free those who were doomed to die." Psalm 102:18-20

I was browsing the Des Moines Register's website the other day, and I decided to peruse the mug shots of the recently arrested. I've always been curious as to why these photos are up -- is it a public shaming sort of thing? Or like the criminal version of Facebook? Maybe it's just a, "Hey, FYI, these people have been arrested." I don’t really get it.

I discovered that I was drawn into the expressions in these unlikely portraits, and I found myself looking at page after page of photos. You see a lot of defiance and anger, maybe some apathy, and smirks of pride mixed with drunkenness. When I looked long enough, I started imagining that the eyes on everyone looked deeply sad.

I was drawn to these pictures because I've been mediating on Psalm 102, especially the part about how the Lord would bend down from his throne just to hear the groans of prisoners. It also says in Psalm 102:17 that the Lord regards the prayer of the destitute. That God would get off his throne to listen to criminals -- wow!

Who is a prisoner? Who is destitute? You don't have to be in an orange suit with your picture on the Register's website to be in chains. You could be a millionaire and have the world at your fingertips but be completely bankrupt and in bondage inside.

I was struck by the thought that I’m not necessarily any better off than those prisoners. My attitudes and my thoughts more often than not leave me spiritually empty or imprisoned by my own hatred or criticism or lust or -- fill in the blank. Maybe outwardly I have it more "together" than someone who just got arrested, but inside I can be just as broken and messed up. We all equally need the Lord to listen to our groans and set us free of the things that keep us in bondage. The question is, am I calling out to ask him to free me?