Pastor Robert Morris recently returned to a standing ovation to his very own Gateway Church.
His welcome back, issued by thousands of congregants, came after his nearly two month absence. This absence wasn’t one caused by Morris taking time off to enjoy his family or to bask in the sun. Instead, he was fighting for his very life after nearly dying. This experience gave him a real-life, personal look at the power of prayer. In fact, Pastor Morris says “I’m here because of prayers,” giving credit to God for his miraculous recovery.
Morris was enjoying some time with his wife Debbie on some remote property they owned located some 1 ½ hours away from Dallas-Fort Worth in April. The 56-year-old passed out unexpectedly and stopped breathing after feeling bad for a few days prior. It turns out he was bleeding internally due to two torn arteries, but they didn’t know the issue at the time.
Paramedics were called and were unable to find a pulse or get a blood pressure reading. This led them to call in a helicopter to fly Morris out of the remote location to a hospital. First responders told Morris wife Debbie, “You might want to get in and talk to him.” Morris said “We both thought it was over. So Debbie and I said goodbyes and I recorded a video to our children and grandchildren.”
As the helicopter lifted Morris off the ground and they begin heading to the hospital to try to save his life, he recalls having “an encounter with the Lord.”
“I didn’t go to Heaven, but the Lord’s presence filled the helicopter and I felt like I was about to go to Heaven,” Morris recalled.
He called the experience “extremely peaceful, happy and he was excited and felt no fear.” Morris went on to explain “I was excited that I was about to see Jesus, that I was going to Heaven. I thought about my family and my church family, but… I just knew God will take care of them.”
Although Morris lost over half the blood in his body, paramedics were unable to find a pulse and he was hemorrhaging blood internally, it wasn’t time for him to die. Morris said he didn’t want to leave his family and he wanted to watch his children “fulfill the destiny God has for them.” He also wanted to watch his grandchildren grow up. Morris prayed in the helicopter “If this is it I’m ready to come, but I’d like to stay for my family. And I just don’t think you’re finished with me yet on earth.” Morris said God told him “I’m not,” and that was when he knew he wasn’t dying that day.
Surgeons went to work at once on Morris to find the source of his problems. They discovered a hematoma the size of a cantaloupe. Once repairing that, surgeons believed they had got his bleeding under control. They quickly realized he was still bleeding, though, when his blood pressure remained low. They eventually had to go back in surgically and found another hematoma due to a torn artery. Morris says that there is no medical reason the surgeons could name that caused his internal bleeding. Of course, they could also not offer an explanation for why Morris lived through the ordeal when at one point he didn’t even have a discernible pulse or a readable blood pressure. Morris can explain that mystery, though, as being a direct result of prayer.
Due to the severity of his condition, and the fact that it took so long to get him to the hospital to get the help he needed, Morris most certainly should have succumbed to his condition and went to meet his Lord. Morris believes the power of prayer is what saved him. During the ordeal, those who loved him put social media went to work and joined together thousands of believers to pray on his behalf. This alone is the reason that Morris believes he is still here today.
~ 1776 Christian
