A U.K. pastor says the “power of prayer” and “divine providence” are what brought him back to life after he was dead for 15 minutes.
The 47-year-old pastor, Christopher Wickland, suffered a cardiac arrest while jumping at a trampoline park with three of his children. The Daily Echo says Wickland went to the dressing room to change when he began vomiting and collapsed. His children stood nearby, praying for a miracle as staff tried to help him.
Wickland was rushed to St. Mary’s Hospital in Southampton, where doctors told his wife, Tracey, that he had been dead for 15 minutes and warned her that if he did survive, he would suffer lasting damage to his heart and brain.
After hearing the doctors’ report, Tracey—who pastors Living Word Pentecostal Church in Fareham, Hampshire, alongside her husband—immediately contacted intercessors and asked them to pray, according to the Daily Mail.
“I put it on Facebook and it was amazing because hundreds of people from around the world contacted me and told me they were praying for Chris,” she says, according to MailOnline.
Wickland was in an induced coma for almost 48 hours before waking up Sunday morning during his church’s worship service.
In a Facebook post, Wickland says that while he visited the staff at the trampoline park who saved his life, he was shocked to hear he was physically dead for 15 minutes.
“The ambulance person said he has never in 24 years seen anyone come back to life after a fourth electric shock to the heart,” he wrote on Jan. 10. “This whole event was nothing short of a miracle. A big thanks to the professional response from the personnel at Flip Out. Thank you.”
Wickland was also surprised he had a heart attack at all, especially considering his attention to his physical health through exercise and a healthy diet.
“No one knows why it happened,” he says, according to the Daily Echo.
“I’m fit, I live healthily, and there has been no damage on my heart, even though the hospital staff told my wife I would die or suffer from permanent brain damage.
“I’ve seen quite a lot of miracles, and this was down to the power of prayer. This is a miracle that is all down to divine providence and the very quick actions of some people.
“My congregation and other Christians around the world were also praying for me. All this power was harnessed to keep me alive. I’m not lucky, I’m blessed.”
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