Watchman Nee lived in China. The Chinese people use letters that look very strange to us. If we were to write Watchman Nee’s name the way he would have written it, it would be very difficult for us to read, so we will just use the letters that we use in our country.

Mr. Nee really loved God and he wanted to tell everyone about how the Lord Jesus, the Son of God, came from Heaven into this world to save us from our sins by dying for us on the cross.

Watchman Nee knew that Jesus had risen from the dead and is alive for ever and so, like Daniel, he talked to the Lord in prayer every day. He asked God to help him spread the Good News about Jesus to many, many people in China. But at that time the rulers of China were communists and they did not like that. They believed and taught the children in schools that there was no God. They did not believe what the Bible teaches us – that God created the world out of nothing. These communists just imagined that the world formed itself! They certainly did not want Mr. Nee teaching the people that there was a great, powerful God who loved them and wanted to become their Father in Heaven. They warned him, “If you keep on teaching and preaching and writing books about Jesus, you will be severely punished.”

Watchman Nee knew that the communists might put him into prison and so he began to work even harder and as long as he could each day. Often he would sleep only two hours at night before he got back to writing. He wrote down into the books all he had learnt from the Bible. If he were put in prison, then his students would have his books to study and learn from. These books were printed and translated into many languages and have been a great help to Christians in many countries all over the world.

Well, the communists did put him in prison. He was accused of all sorts of crimes that he had never committed and sentenced to 15 years of hard work in prison. For eight hours each day he had to go and do heavy work in a factory. Then at night for eight hours more he had to listen to teaching being shouted from a loudspeaker. The communist teachers were trying to make him stop believing in God. Mr. Nee and the other prisoners were given very little rest and little food. Soon their ribs stuck out from their thin and tired bodies. But they had to keep up with the hard work.

Like Daniel, Watchman Nee was prepared to suffer for God. Maybe in some small way you too may have to suffer because you are a Christian. Perhaps your friends may make fun of you because you won’t go with them to steal or to look at some “dirty“ or violent video. Those things don’t please God and so you make up your mind not to do them even if your friends tease you or laugh at you. God can help you to be brave like Daniel or like Mr. Nee in China.

Watchman Nee was not even allowed home after he had been in prison for 15 years. He was kept there another five years until he died. Other prisoners, who had been with him in prison and were set free, told his family that Watchman Nee stayed cheerful, he prayed and sang hymns to God. God was with him in that dark, sad place and that is why he was able to be brave right till the end of his life.