On January 12, 2015, my husband experienced a cardiac arrest in his car one block from a major freeway entrance. Losing consciousness, his car glided forward and gently hit the car in front of him. Fortunately, the other driver got out of his car, found my husband unconscious, and called 911. Several minutes later, the paramedic team arrived to find my husband's heartbeat was stopped, and he was not breathing. According to the medical report, his face was pale, there was no pulse or brain activity, and his eyes were already dilated. Every indication was that he was already dead.

The paramedics rushed into action and attempted to revitalize my husband's heart. After many attempts, amazingly, they were successful, and rushed him to the nearby hospital where he lay in a coma for two weeks. During this time, the doctors determined that all of my husband’s major heart arteries were severely clogged 90-99 percent—a complete surprise because my husband had no indication that he had heart disease. There were no warning signs.

Besides the devastating heart condition, my husband's lungs were punctured so that he was not able to take in enough oxygen. Night after night we wondered if he would make it. One of the nurses who worked in the Intensive Care Unit said she had not seen a worst case of pneumonia in her 25 years of experience as a nurse. We also learned later that nine of my husband's ribs were broken due to the CPR pressure given him by the paramedics. The doctors repeatedly told us that due to the lack of oxygen in his brain, even if my husband woke up, he most likely would not be the same person.

Before the Heart Attack

I had been a Christian for more than 20 years, but for various reasons, I wasn't a regular churchgoer. I enjoyed worshipping God in spirit and truth anywhere. I said my prayers every day, but my prayers were short and always in private. I knew God loved me. I was grateful for that and acknowledged that He had blessed my life and shown grace to me many times, but I lived my faith in everyday life passively rather than actively.

Praying Earnestly

Now, feeling extremely stressed, sad, scared, and guilty, I turned to God with desperation. I knew that only through God's mercy would my husband's life be saved. But in moments of weakness, thinking of my three children—the youngest one only five years old—I would cry out to God and ask why this disaster was happening to us. I sometimes was tempted to despair that perhaps God didn't exist—or He didn't care. I felt guilty, blaming myself for being a “bad” wife and not taking better care of my husband's health.

When the doctor told me to prepare myself for the end should my husband not make it, I cried out to God and asked Him to speak to me. I desperately needed God to reveal Himself to me. As weird as it may seem, I googled “Where is God?” on my phone. From somewhere on the web, the words popped up, “Although you don't see me or hear me with your eyes and ears, I am with you always.” How precious those words were to me! I accepted them as a reminder that God was right there with me—that He loved me and would help me get through this terrible situation. When I picked up my diary and flipped through the pages, I saw how often through the years I had asked God to bless my husband. As a believer in Christ—albeit a passive one—I longed for my husband to give his heart to the Lord also. In that moment, it was as if I could hear the Lord say to me, “I have not forgotten your prayers. You have been a good wife.”

On the morning of the third day after my husband's incident, my little daughter (the 5-year-old) woke me up from sleep. It was 6 a.m.—an unusual hour for her to be awake. She shook me and said excitedly, “Mom, I just dreamed of Papa. He is living in a different place now!” Shocked at her saying this (because I had not told her about her dad's situation, since she was too young to understand), I asked anxiously, “Did Papa say anything?” Then she said, “Papa said that he is going to live in this new place for a while, and he will be home soon, and we will be together again!” By this time, I was in tears. I told my other daughter what her little sister had shared with me, and we got down on our knees and prayed. This time, we prayed with tears of joy, giving thanks to God for His comforting and loving message.

From that point on, even though my husband was still in a coma, I felt deep peace and strength from God. Every time I prayed to God, His love filled my soul. His love was so powerful that I had to share it with others. I began to comfort my husband's parents and his siblings. I comforted the other patients in the hospital. But it wasn't me—it was God in me.

Many people covered us with their prayers. During the time my husband was in the Intensive Care Unit, Margaret, a volunteer from the hospital chaplain service, came and prayed for my husband with such love and passion that I could feel the blessing and comfort from God almost instantly. Christina, my friend, prayed for my husband daily and sent text messages of encouragement to me. Some of my Christian friends who worked for Creation TV came over and prayed for my husband. We held hands and prayed with great passion—all feeling the presence of God with us. Another friend said she had a vision of Jesus carrying my husband in His arms. Our prayers were fervent—and without a doubt, God heard our prayers.

On the Twelfth Day

On the twelfth day after my husband's hospitalization, he woke up. And he recognized all of us! He remembered everything—except the accident! Within a few days, he was able to walk on his own. His mind was clear and his body was recovering so quickly that the doctors and nurses in the hospital were shocked! God had made a miracle happen in front of all of us!

At the appropriate time, I told my husband that our Heavenly Father loved him a lot—that God had healed him and sent comfort to us through our little daughter, and that lots of people had prayed for him through Jesus’ name. I told him I had prayed that God would fill him with divine love, because love heals all things. I had prayed for God to heal him and restore him to complete health. I asked God to wake him up so he could bear a beautiful testimony of God's love to others.

And God granted my request. He healed my husband completely—not just his body but, most amazingly, his soul as well. Today he is a Christian. After the heart attack and his miraculous healing, my husband completely surrendered his heart to God.

The Sequel to Prayer

Although I had been a Christian for more than 20 years before my husband's heart attack, I was more like a “secret” Christian. I had not actively told others about God's love and truth. There were so many things that sidetracked me from loving God and serving Him with my whole heart. But after my husband's traumatic event, I have no excuse to push away from serving God. I clearly hear Him call me to find others who are like lost sheep, as I was. I know God will guide me as I do this.

Every verse in Psalm 23 touches my soul: The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want…Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I fear no evil; for you are with me; Your rod and your staff, they comfort me…You anoint my head with oil; My cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the day of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord my whole life long.

What a wonderful God we have! He is full of love and mercy—a living God who didn't just live a few thousand years ago, but who lives among us today. He is actively healing bodies and souls—performing miracles every single day!

(Sophin Lang is a daughter of our loving Heavenly Father and mother of three beautiful children.)