By Paul Hattaway
The Lord encouraged me with a promise from Hebrews 10:35, "So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded." I awoke with these words in my mind.
Here is an excerpt from the book:
It was during my third imprisonment that I experienced the lowest point of my life and bitterly complained to the Lord.
I was 39 years old but saw no hope or future for me. I told the Lord, "When I was young you called me to preach your gospel in the west and south. How can I do that now? I'm sitting here in this prison with crushed legs and I'm resigned to rot in this place until the day I die. I'll never see my family again. You have cheated me!"
Rumors abounded as to what would happen to us. Even outside the prison, believers knew our arrest was extremely serious because the order had come from the central government.
And now, Brother Xu was suggesting to me that I should try to escape! I know Xu is a man of God who listens closely to God's voice, so I politely told him, "My legs are smashed and I am locked in my own cell with an iron door. I can [barely] even walk! How can I escape? Your legs are fine. Why don't you escape?"
On the evening of 4 May 1997, like every evening for the previous six weeks, I reached down and took hold of my limp legs. Pain raced through my body as I propped them up against the wall. I found this was the best way to minimize the agony. By diverting the blood flow away from my legs they became numb and I could sleep fitfully throughout the night.
The very next morning, in my depressed and hopeless condition, the Lord encouraged me with a promise from Hebrews 10:35, "So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded." I awoke with these words in my mind.
As the prison slowly stirred to life, I started to read the Book of Jeremiah. The Lord related it to my injuries and my situation in a very powerful and personal way. It was as if the Holy Spirit was speaking to me directly through his Word: "Let my eyes overflow with tears night and day without ceasing; for my virgin daughter-my people-has suffered a grievous wound, a crushing blow. . . . Have you rejected Judah completely? Do you despise Zion? Why have you afflicted us so that we cannot be healed? We hoped for peace but no good has come, for a time of healing but there is only terror. . . . For the sake of your name do not despise us; do not dishonour your glorious throne. Remember your covenant with us and do not break it." Jeremiah 14:17, 19, 21.
I felt just like Jeremiah . . . I cried out to the Lord, echoing Jeremiah's words, "Please Lord, do not despise me."
God's Word came again to me with both a severe warning and a promise, "Therefore this is what the Lord says: 'If you repent, I will restore you that you may serve me; if you utter worthy, not worthless, words, you will be my spokesman. . . . I will save you from the hands of the wicked and redeem you from the grasp of the cruel.'" Jeremiah 15:19-21.
The Lord spoke to me, "This is the hour of your salvation." Immediately I knew this was . . . from the Lord, and that I was meant to try to escape.
It was just before eight o'clock in the morning of 5 May 1997. To the natural mind, this time of day was the worst possible time to try to escape! [But] I shuffled out of my cell and walked towards the locked iron gate in the hallway. My mind was solely focused on obeying God. I looked straight ahead and prayed beneath my breath with every step I took.
I continued past [the guards] and didn't look back. I knew I could be shot in the back at any moment. I continued to silently ask the Lord to be ready to receive my spirit, thinking these moments were to be my last in this world.
I continued walking down the stairs, but nobody stopped me and none of the guards said a word to me!
When I arrived at the main iron gate leading out to the courtyard I discovered it was already open! This was strange, as it was usually the most secure gate of all.
The bright morning light made me wince. I walked past several guards in the yard but nobody said a word to me. I then strolled through the main gate of the prison, which for some strange reason was also standing ajar!
My heart was pounding! I was now standing on the street outside the Zhengzhou Number One Maximum Security Prison! I was told later nobody had ever escaped from that prison before.
Immediately a small yellow taxi-van pulled up next to me, and the driver . . . opened the passenger door. He asked, "Where are you heading?"
I got in and replied, "I need to go to my office as quickly as possible, so please drive fast." I gave the driver the address of a Christian family I knew in Zhengzhou and we drove away from the prison. I told him that if we came to a traffic jam to drive around it, and not to stop for any reason.
All of these events seemed to happen in just a few moments. It was like a daydream. I was unsure if the whole thing had really happened or if I was dreaming. I don't know how the Lord did it or why all those iron gates, usually so tightly locked, were standing open for me. All I knew was I was sitting in a taxi and we were heading to the home of my friends.