The story of a teenager who fell through the ice in 2015, was under water for 15 minutes, and was clinically dead for over an hour before miraculously being brought back to life has captivated audiences.
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John Smith’s story was so compelling it was made into a feature film, “Breakthrough,” a 2019 drama starring Chrissy Metz of “This Is Us” fame. Jason Noble, the real-life preacher who ministered to Smith’s family during the ordeal, recently reflected on the impact of the story nearly a decade later.
“It’s a modern-day Lazarus story when you look back and you see,” he said. “John — he was 15 years old — fell through the ice in St. Louis, was dead, was under for 15 minutes, dead for an hour and 15 [minutes].”
But while Smith lay dead in a hospital, his mother turned to the Lord and pleaded for her son’s life.
“His mom [Joyce] walked in and she prayed, ‘Holy Spirit, bring my son back to life,'” Noble said. “And a lot more animated and a lot more intense than that, and it was at that moment, every machine came back to life and John was back to life.”
The battle persisted from there, as Smith coded three or four more times, but God kept showing up.
Even after the miraculous prayer, doctors said there was a 99% chance Smith wouldn’t live through the night — and, if he lived, they said he would be in a vegetative state.
But the family, friends, and Noble weren’t willing to give up, despite the teen’s lungs and body being so badly harmed by what unfolded.
“We prayed, and there’s so much more to the story than even what was told in the film,” Noble said. “We prayed, we took a group of pastors in the room, we started praying over John, because we were not going to let John go.”
The preacher also made another remarkable claim: he said he saw an angel in the room from “floor to ceiling” as the group prayed over Smith.
And those prayers paid off. Not only did Smith wake up, but he also fully healed, later got married, and is now a father.
Noble said the miracles he witnessed surrounding Smith and the ordeal taught him some powerful lessons about life and the Lord.
“One thing I’ve learned is that we have to position ourselves to work with God to see these miracles happen,” he said, noting he wrote about this in his book, “Breakthrough to Your Miracle.” “We’re the conduit.”
Noble added, “I think we play a really important part in seeing miracles happen. If you are walking in with doubt, and unbelief, and fear, and all of those things, I think it can literally stop the miracle-working power of God in our lives.”
Ultimately, the outcome doesn’t depend on humans, but he believes the Lord partners with believers. In the end, many healings don’t unfold on this side of eternity, but Noble said people can take joy in the fact that “the greatest miracle is salvation.”
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