Actor Matthew Perry, famous for his role on the hit sitcom ‘Friends’ recently opened up about his life-changing experience with God which helped him get sober after years of suffering from a drug and alcohol addiction. According to CBN News, Perry prayed to God for help, and it was at that moment that he felt he was in the presence of God and he was finally safe.
According to CBN News, Perry suffered from a drug and alcohol addiction that was so severe he needed 14 stints in rehab, 15 stomach surgeries, and more than 60 attempts at detox. Speaking with HBO’s Bill Maher, Perry shared that at one point when he was hospitalized, he was out on an ECMO [Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation] machine, which he says is called the “hail Mary,” adding the four other patients who were using the machine that night did not survive.
In his memoir, Perry recalls pleading for God’s help, noting that as the light around him grew larger, he started feeling better. He shared that he started crying, saying, “I really started to cry – that shoulder-shaking kind of uncontrollable weeping. I wasn’t crying because I was sad. I was crying because, for the first time in my life, I felt OK. I felt safe, taken care of. Decades of struggling with God, and wrestling with life, and sadness, all was being washed away, like a river of pain gone into oblivion […] I had been in the presence of God. I was certain of it. And this time I had prayed for the right thing: help.”
Perry’s story is one that shows the power of God and faith. Not only asking for help, but believing in the light of God, changed Perry’s life and helped him find a healthier and happier path. After sharing details of his addiction, Perry’s story and sobriety may inspire others to find refuge in faith and seek God’s help, and give them hope that their lives too can change.