By Randall White

There were a couple of scriptures that really carried me through my time behind bars—scriptures I didn’t just read, but made personal. I put my name in them. I didn’t want it to be something general. I wanted it to be God talking to me.

Psalm 91 – The Foundation of My Faith in Trouble

Psalm 91 was number one for me—especially verses 14, 15, and 16. It says:

“Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore will I deliver him; I will set him on high because he has known My name. He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him. With long life will I satisfy him and show him My salvation.”

But what I did was switch it. I replaced the “he” and “him” with my name. I said:

“Because Randall has set his love upon Me, therefore will I deliver Randall. I will set Randall on high because Randall has known My name. Randall shall call upon Me, and I will answer Randall. I will be with Randall in trouble, I will deliver Randall and honor Randall. With long life will I satisfy Randall and show him My salvation.”

That scripture was everything to me. I wasn’t just repeating words—I was talking directly to God and expecting Him to respond. That part where He says “I will honor him”—I really had to stop and ask, “Lord, You’re gonna honor me?” That hit me deep.

And then there’s the beginning of Psalm 91, which says:

“He that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.”

It says He will deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the noisome pestilence. That means if you listen to God, He can keep you from getting into trouble—but even if you end up in it, He’s still able to bring you out. That whole chapter, man—it covered every part of what I was going through.

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Psalm 107:17–20 – A Mirror of My Story

Another one was Psalm 107, especially verses 17 through 20:

“Fools, because of their transgressions and because of their iniquities, are afflicted. Their soul abhorreth all manner of meat, and they draw near unto the gates of death. Then they cry unto the Lord in their trouble, and He saveth them out of their distresses. He sent His word, and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions.”

That right there was me. That was a perfect description of my situation. I was that fool. I was afflicted because of my own transgressions and iniquities. But then I cried out to the Lord in my trouble, and He saved me. He sent His Word, and He healed me. He delivered me from my own destruction. That’s real.

Why I Made It Personal

Putting my name in those scriptures changed the way I read the Bible. It wasn’t just for “people”—it was for me. I was speaking it. I was believing it. I was expecting it. I wanted to visualize God doing exactly what He said He’d do. That’s what kept me going day after day.

These weren’t just “go-to verses”—they were life lines. When nothing else made sense and nobody else could help, the Word of God showed up. These scriptures gave me hope, direction, identity, and the strength to make it through 16 years of a 100-year sentence. And they’re still carrying me today.

If you’re in a hard place, grab a Bible and speak it like you mean it. Put your name in it. Make it personal. Because God’s Word is alive—and it works.

— Randall White