Prayer brings release from treason charge

I was a pupil in a Christian Science Sunday...

I was a pupil in a Christian Science Sunday School in eastern Germany, where firm faith and love for God were planted in my consciousness. Through all my life this Science has provided me with purpose and direction; it has never left me comfortless. God and man are inseparable; therefore man is never helpless or alone.

During my service in the German forces during World War II there were dark hours and great challenges. At one time I was arrested by the Gestapo and charged with treason because soldiers in my command had been caught delivering fuel to the underground. This crime was punishable by death, and it was left up to me to prove my innocence. As the commanding officer, in the eyes of the Gestapo I was responsible for the activities of the men who had been caught, even though I had actually been ignorant of them. But I had no proof of my innocence, and my word was not sufficient.

I never felt so grateful for my Sunday School years as at that time. The prayers I had learned sustained me with the assurance of divine power as I pondered them in utter sincerity. I felt as the Psalmist must have when he wrote this verse (Ps. 139:11): "If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me; even the night shall be light about me." My mental darkness gave way to an inspired feeling of God's presence and love, and this brought me peace of mind. All fear vanished.

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September 17, 1979
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