Inspiring Words Behind Bars: A Powerful Collection of Inspirational Quotes for the Incarcerated

"I am not a product of my circumstances. I am a product of my decisions."

- Stephen R. Covey

"Hardships often prepare ordinary people for an extraordinary destiny."

- C.S. Lewis

"It is in the darkest hour that we must focus to see the light."

- Aristotle

"It is not what happens to you, but how you react to it that matters."

- Epictetus

"There is no saint without a past, no sinner without a future."

- Augustine of Hippo

"Rock bottom became the solid foundation on which I rebuilt my life."

- J.K. Rowling

"I’ve missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times I’ve been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed."

- Michael Jordan

"Hope is being able to see that there is light despite all the darkness."

- Desmond Tutu

"Once you choose hope, anything is possible."

- Christopher Reeve

"Every saint has a past, and every sinner has a future."

- Oscar Wilde

"We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope."

- Martin Luther King, Jr.

"Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall."

- Confucius

"Your present circumstances don’t determine where you can go; they merely determine where you start."

- Nibo Qubein

"What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us."

- Ralph Waldo Emerson

"You are not defined by your worst moment."

- Bryan Stevenson

"Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong."

- Gandhi

"The hardest prison to escape, is your own mind."

- Bob Marley

"It is never too late to be what you might have been."

- George Eliot

"You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream."

- C.S. Lewis

"Mistakes are always forgivable if one has the courage to admit them."

- Bruce Lee

"Out of suffering have emerged the strongest souls."

- Kahlil Gibran

"Every adversity, every failure, every heartache carries with it the seed of an equal or greater benefit."

- Napoleon Hill

"Every moment is a fresh beginning."

- T.S. Eliot

"In the middle of a difficulty lies opportunity."

- Albert Einstein

"A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step."

- Sun Tzu

"When one door of happiness closes, another opens, but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one that has been opened for us."

- Helen Keller

"It is during our darkest moments that we must focus to see the light."

- Aristotle

"Whatever the mind of man can conceive and believe, it can achieve."

- Napoleon Hill

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to Him, and He will make your paths straight."

- Proverbs 3:5–6

"The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged."

- Deuteronomy 31:8

"Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain."

- 1 Corinthians 15:58

"Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance."

- James

"Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal."

- 2 Corinthians 4:16-18

"For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love, and self-discipline."

- 2 Timothy 1:7

"Peace I leave with you; My peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid."

- John 14:27

"’For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.’"

- Jeremiah 29:11

"Dear Young Black Males… Juvenile Hall, Jail, and Prison are overflowing with young Black youth that look just like you. You’ve got to be willing to change the narrative of your life! Respect yourself by NOT going down that dead-end road. Enough of the countless excuses! Your life matters, right? So, dare to go against the norm, and do the RIGHT things. If not, you’ll find your life disrupted, destroyed, or ended. Is incarceration or death really worth it? Think it through… THINK IT THOUGH. The choice is yours young Kings, choose wisely! Consequences are VERY real."

- Stephanie LaHart

"For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come."

- 1 Timothy 4:8

"He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds."

- Psalm 147:3

"But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength."

- Isaiah 40:31

"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."

- Philippians 4:13

"The righteous may fall seven times, but they rise again."

- Proverbs 24:16

"Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good."

- Romans 12:21

"God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble."

- Psalm 46:1

"Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer."

- Romans 12:12

"Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God."

- Isaiah 41:10

"Come to me, all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest."

- Matthew 11:28

"The Lord is a stronghold for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble."

- Psalm 9:9

"For God did not give us a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and self-discipline."

- 2 Timothy 1:7

"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him."

- Romans 8:28

"My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness."

- 2 Corinthians 12:9

"The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit."

- Psalm 34:18

"Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you."

- Psalm 143:8

"You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you."

- Isaiah 26:3

"Let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap if we do not give up."

- Galatians 6:9

"Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me."

- Psalm 23:4

"If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."

- 1 John 1:9

"Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go."

- Bible (Joshua 1:9)

"For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

- Jeremiah 29:11

"Do what you can, with what you have, where you are."

- Theodore Roosevelt

"Healing takes courage, and we all have courage, even if we have to dig a little to find it."

- Tori Amos

"No one saves us but ourselves. No one can, and no one may."

- Buddha

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart."

- Proverbs 3:5

"With God, all things are possible."

- Matthew 19:26

"The Lord is close to the brokenhearted."

- Psalm 34:18

"Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial."

- James 1:12

"Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you."

- 1 Peter 5:7

"Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy."

- Matthew 5:7

"The Lord is my light and my salvation – whom shall I fear?"

- Psalm 27:1

"Nothing is impossible, the word itself says ‘I’m possible’!"

- Audrey Hepburn

"Start by doing what’s necessary; then do what’s possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible."

- St. Francis of Assisi

"Remember no one can make you feel inferior without your consent."

- Eleanor Roosevelt

"We know what we are, but know not what we may be."

- Shakespeare

"He who has a why to live can bear almost any how."

- Friedrich Nietzsche

"Hate the sin, love the sinner."

- Mahatma Gandhi

"The best preparation for tomorrow is doing your best today."

- Jackson Brown Jr.

"Outcome is not in your control. What’s in your control is your effort and your intentions."

- Amit Sood

"Change your thoughts and you change your world."

- Norman Vincent Peale

"Life isn’t about getting and having, it’s about giving and being."

- Kevin Kruse

"When I was 5 years old, my mother always told me that happiness was the key to life. When I went to school, they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I wrote down ‘happy’. They told me I didn’t understand the assignment, and I told them they didn’t understand life."

- John Lennon

"We can’t help everyone, but everyone can help someone."

- Ronald Reagan

"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing."

- Edmund Burke

"When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left and could say, I used everything you gave me."

- Erma Bombeck

"Everyone has a prison they are stuck in! Words are the author's prison; the scenes, the actors 'prison; the fields, the peasants' prison; boats, fishermen's prison; love, lovers’ prison! Always remind yourself of the world outside of your own prison so that the prison knows its limits and doesn't make you a slave! Remember, the perfect prison is still a prison! Never put your freedom at the disposal of anything or anyone, because it belongs only to you!"

- Mehmet Murat ildan

"You are not free the day you walk out of prison; you are free the day you walk out of ignorance."

- Matshona Dhliwayo

"The strongest prison is the one where you are afraid to leave even though the door is open! There is no more heavy imprisonment than being afraid to be free!"

- Mehmet Murat ildan

"Darkness is a prison from which only light escapes."

- Matshona Dhliwayo

"If love was a crime, God would encourage us all to go to prison."

- Matshona Dhliwayo

"There is only one way to avoid criticism: do nothing, say nothing, and be nothing."

- Aristotle

"Every man is guilty of all the good he did not do."

- Voltaire

"It is not what you do for your children, but what you have taught them to do for themselves, that will make them successful human beings."

- Ann Landers

"You can’t use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have."

- Maya Angelou

"You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough."

- Mae West

"Our hearts are all prison walls when we hold people captive with chains of unforgiveness."

- Ikechukwu Izuakor

"You are as free as a prisoner in an open air prison"

- Bangambiki Habyarimana

"There came a situation in my life, to bribe or to be imprisoned, even if the second option was to be hanged, write it in my funeral, I had never opted corruption, bribe, and violence in my life"

- P.S. Jagadeesh Kumar

"Obligation is a prison. To get out of it, we must serve our time."

- Kamil Alvi

"If life is a prison, then some people are prisoners who have too much freedom."

- Tamerlan Kuzgov

"For we walk by faith, not by sight."

"Look for something positive in each day, even if you have to look a little harder some days."