Solutions February 2018 | Page 44

me a single puff of artificial respiration before crying out, “God, I promise I will never do another bad thing in my entire life if Mitch will just wake up!” I was completely powerless to do anything about what was happening around me. And then something different, something dark and frightening began to happen. I knew that I was going to die. I Idon’t know how to describe it, but it felt as if I were lying on a conveyor belt that started to pull me away from life. I knew that my death, my exit from mortality, was imminent and I desperately wanted to live, but I was powerless against this dark force that seemed to be smothering me. 44 Solutions I thought that if I could just say a prayer, just call on God in even the simplest way, my life would be spared. But I was unable to formulate a prayer even in my mind. This dark, oppressive presence not only bound my tongue but prevented my mind from uttering a plea for help. And then, when it was clear to me that my life was about to be snuffed out, at least my mortal life, God reached out to me. I heard His voice. It was mild and loving and calm, not any kind of booming, Cecil B. DeMille voice. The message was an expression of God’s unconditional love for me, followed by the words, “Ask in confidence.” Knowing that God was aware of my circumstance and that He loved and cared about me somehow freed me from the dark force that had previously bound my tongue. I was able to formulate a very simple prayer in my mind. One word: “Father!” And immediately I was released from the dark force of death that had previously dominated me.