The Power of Prayer
Prayer
By Mollie Ziegler
God tenderly invites us to believe that He is our true Father and that we are His true children, so that with all boldness and confidence we may ask Him as dear children ask their dear Father. (Luther’s Small Catechism)
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r. Gao Zhan, a sociologist and researcher at American University in Washington, D.C., is thankful for the gift of prayer, the privilege of being able to approach God at every hour. She recently experienced a terrifying arrest and false imprisonment for espionage. Held 166 days against her will in Chinese detention centers, Dr. Gao described the experience as “the most horrifying moment in my life,” but added,“God listened and answered our prayers. He sustained me. He is my great redeemer and my Lord.” Dr. Gao, her husband Donghua Xue, and five-year-old son Andrew, visited China last year to celebrate the Chinese New Year with relatives. A day before they were to return to their jobs in the United States, they arrived at the Beijing International Airport to catch their flight home.The family was met by armed agents who searched their luggage, confiscated it, and whisked each of them away in separate cars. “As a social scientist, I knew about the secret police in China. I knew their secret practices, I knew people who were detained before me,” Dr. Gao remembered.“ But in that very short moment, I just didn’t know what would happen to me. There was no way for us to escape. I felt very hopeless.” After being blindfolded and sent to a detention house for a couple months, Dr. Gao was formally arrested and charged with espionage. The guards took away her glasses and refused to provide her with reading materials. She suffered from mosquito bites and was permitted only three hours of rest a day. Day after day she was grilled for hours at a time by interrogators to reveal state secrets.The punishment for espionage in China, like many other countries, is death or life in prison. Dr. Gao became terrified about her future. She became depressed and even contemplated suicide. “There were sessions where they pressed me to produce answers I didn’t have to things I didn’t do, to crimes I never committed,” said Dr. Gao.“It was my faith that saved me. It helped me to survive my handlers’ emotional and psychological torture of me.” Dr. Gao Zhan and her husband, Donghua Xue
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