Man Pronounced Judgment, but God Pronounced Deliverance

Testimony of God’s Deliverance – Debra's Story

My name is Debra, and this is the testimony of how I encountered Jesus in one of the darkest seasons of my life.

I was eight months into my prison sentence and eight months pregnant. One day, while standing in the prison yard waiting for ministry to begin, I suddenly heard a voice singing. The sound was so beautiful, so anointed, that it reminded me of the music group Mighty Clouds of Joy. The moment I heard it, my heart was touched, and tears filled my eyes. The voice kept replaying in my spirit, and I knew I had heard it somewhere before.

I was standing all the way in the back of the crowd, but something in me said, You need to see who is singing. I thought about the woman in the Bible with the issue of blood — how she said, “If I could just touch the hem of His garment, I shall be made whole.” Her faith stirred something in me. I believed that if I could just push my way through the crowd, I could receive a blessing too. At that moment, Philippians 4:13 rose up inside me: “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”

So even though I was eight months pregnant, I pressed my way forward. Step by step, I pushed through the crowd until I finally reached the front. When I looked up and saw the man singing, I recognized him instantly. He was my Aunt Linda’s husband — Mr. Phillips. I will never forget his face nor his voice.

The moment he stopped singing, I took the opportunity. The guard wasn’t paying attention, so I walked up to him and asked, “Sir, do you have a wife named Linda?” When he said yes and asked who I was, emotion overcame me. With tears in my eyes, I told him, “Linda is my father’s sister.” His eyes filled with tears too, seeing me there in that condition. Without hesitation, he began to pray over me.

When he prayed, it felt as though the heavens opened. I felt the anointing fall on me, and I knew God had heard my cry.

Just one week later, my public defender, Margaret Good Ernest, traveled all the way to Lowell Correctional Institution to see me in person — something she had never done before. When they told me I had a visitor and that it was my attorney, I was stunned. As I walked to the visitation room, I prayed and called on Jesus.

She sat down, looked at me, and said, “Debra, I have good news — you’re coming home.”

I was speechless. All I could think about was the moment I pushed my way through the crowd, believing by faith that God would move on my behalf. The Bible says faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen, and that day my faith came alive. I spoke to my mountain, and it moved.

Although I had been sentenced to three years, I served only eighteen months. My attorney did tell me I might still be in custody when I delivered my baby, but that I would be released shortly after. And she was right — God brought me out.

Man said three years, but God had the final say.
Man pronounced judgment, but God pronounced deliverance.

Satan comes to kill, steal, and destroy, but Jesus came that we might have life — and have it more abundantly. I am a witness that when you trust Him, He will see you through.

This is my testimony.
To God be the glory, 
 Debra

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Debra Galloway is a resident of South Florida. She is a loving mother, grandmother, and a servant of Christ. Debra enjoys caring for others and spending quality time with her family.