Supernatural Rescues

This subplot follows reports in which a voice, presence, or light appears to guide people out of mortal danger and changes their religious outlook.

increasingBearing stren­gth in each eventdecreasing

A Boy in the Fog

A Call from Behind The Cliff Danger As recounted in A Man Called Peter, Peter Marshall is in fog near a cliff and faces a potentially fatal fall. A voice calls from behind him before he goes over the edge. A Life Reoriented The rescue becomes a lasting turning point in the story Moody cites. Marshall later becomes a minister, and the event is remembered as a moment of divine intervention.

Trapped in the Vat

No Human Exit Heat and Panic A worker is trapped in a vat as hot acid and steam fill the space. He believes that his clothes cannot protect him and that death is only minutes away. Giving Up Unable to see and unable to find his way out, he accepts that he is doomed. His surrender sets the stage for the unexplained light and voice he says follow.

The Guiding Light

A Route Appears A Voice and a Verse The worker perceives a glow and hears “Lo, I am with thee always.” He follows the light with his eyes closed, believing that it marks the only safe way out. Narrow Escape He says that moving in another direction would have killed him. The rescue is understood by him not as courage alone but as guidance beyond his own ability.

A Soldier’s Reassurance

A Presence Under Fire The Approaching Plane A soldier sees an enemy aircraft attacking the building where his unit is positioned. Dust from the bullets seems to track toward the men, and he expects they will be killed. A Voice of Safety He feels a comforting presence and hears that his time has not come. He recalls no visible speaker, but the assurance changes his later attitude toward death.

Breathing Back to Life

Instructions in Crisis A Wish to Live A gravely ill woman hears the people around her while feeling life leave her body. She wants to live to raise her children and take part in their lives. Breath and Return She says a loving voice tells her to breathe, and she manages one breath, then another. The doctors are amazed by her recovery, while the woman interprets it as divine help.

During Peter Marshall’s boyhood in Scotland

During an industrial accident reported to Moody

Within minutes of the worker realizing he is trapped

During World War II in Europe

During a woman’s life-threatening infection