A pastor in the UK who was dead for 15 minutes before coming back to life has credited the “power of prayer” and “divine providence” for saving his life. Last November, Christopher Wickland, pastor of Living Word Pentecostal Church in Fareham, Hampshire, was jumping at a trampoline park with three of his youngest children, when he became sick and collapsed, according to The Daily Echo.
The park’s staff quickly administered CPR to Wickland, 47, but he had stopped breathing for 15 minutes. The staff used a defibrillator four times to restart his heart, and he was taken to the intensive care unit of St. Mary’s Hospital.
Doctors at the hospital informed Wickland’s wife Tracey about their grim prognosis. He had suffered a cardiac arrest and had died for 15 minutes. They also warned her that he could suffer brain and heart damage as a result if he was lucky enough to pull through.
That’s when Tracey went to work. She immediately posted about her husband’s condition on social media and asked if people could start praying for him.
“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 told The Daily Mail, adding that while the jump park staff and doctors did an “incredible job,” her husband would be dead “if it wasn’t for all these people praying.”
Wickland spent almost 48 hours in an induced coma. He woke up on a Sunday morning just as his church was conducting their morning services. When informed that their pastor had awakened, the congregation launched an immense celebration with wild applause and tears of relief.
“This is a miracle that is all down to divine providence and the very quick actions of some people,” the pastor told The Daily Mail. “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.”
Speaking about his recovery, Wickland said, “I’ve been checked out by the doctors several times now and there’s absolutely nothing wrong with me. They can’t believe that I died for so long and there’s no permanent damage.”
He has returned to his preaching duties at the Living Word Church. In a Facebook post, Wickland wrote the entire ordeal was “nothing short of a miracle.”