Saddleback Church pastor Rick Warren whose book Purpose Driven Life gave successful swimmer Michael Phelps hope in his difficult times has revealed that he is praying daily for the athlete.
The megachurch pastor also congratulated 31 year old for his record 23rd gold medal at the Olympic games in Rio De Janeiro.
"Saw Michael Phelps, #PurposeDrivenSwimmer, win his 23rd gold! I've prayed for you each day in Rio. God has a great future for you," he wrote with a picture of Phelps and three of his teammates holding their gold medals and posing.
Warren's book helped the most decorated American athlete when he suffered from an identity crisis which pushed him to comtemplate suicide. It is when he landed in a psychological trauma and addiction treatment center in Arizona called The Meadows where he started reading the book and rediscovered himself.
When Phelps made this public, Warren at that time too encouraged the swimmer by posting a message on Facebook saying he is proud of Phelp's achievements and he is also excited about him carrying the US flag in the Olympics opener.
According to BBC, the American has declared this year's game as his last.
"Getting off the bus and walking to the pool tonight, I pretty much felt myself starting to crack," said the legendary swimmer.
"Last warm-up, last time putting on a suit, last time walking out in front of people, representing my country... it's insane. This is how I wanted to finish my career. I've lived a dream come true. Being able to cap it off with these Games is just the perfect way to finish" he added.