OPINION | This article contains the author's opinion.
New Orleans Saints linebacker Demario Davis acknowledged that his postgame interview had been “untraditional.”
As he recounted the events leading up to his appearance on the field for the game against the Tennessee Titans, it became evident why he felt compelled to convey his narrative.
“We play this game on Sundays, and it’s really the Lord’s day,” he said, adding, “Since so many of us didn’t get to go to church today, I have a word that I want to share.”
"I didn't ask for my daughter to make it through, I'm asking that she's better than before… God gave me just what I was asking for plus some. I was blown away."
Demario Davis tells a beautiful story about his faith and family 💛 pic.twitter.com/H1puxwpJpy
— New Orleans Saints (@Saints) September 10, 2023
“I know this is a little untraditional,” he said and read Revelations 3:20. “See, I stand at the door, and knock: If anyone hears my voice, and opens the door, I will come in and dine with him, and eat with him, and he with me,” he said.
“I want to tell you all about a knock that I heard recently,” he said his daughter who is 4 years old just had another seizure.
“It was on Friday when a bunch of kids were over at the house and she was playing, and I noticed something was off. And I told her mom that I thought she was having a seizure.
“Her mom was pretty good. She saw it, my wife [Tamela]. We took her in the room and didn’t want to cause a scene and she started to foam at the mouth. It was her worst seizure,” he continued.
“For 30 minutes, she seized. She wouldn’t calm. We had to call the paramedics. They came, and so over the course of time, it had been a total of 30 minutes, they got her in.
“My wife got in the paramedics with her. I got behind them driving. You could imagine all the thoughts that’s racing through your mind. The last sight you see of your daughter is she’s totally out of it,” he said.
“At this point, if she’s seized for 30 minutes, you start to fear that there could be development issues that could mess with her brain. She stopped breathing, there’s no oxygen going to her brain. Starting to think her speech could be slurred, or anything. Or worse,” he said.
He wife stayed at the hospital.
“And in the middle of the night, probably about 3 o’clock, I heard a knock,” he said. “And the knock was my daughter. I prayed for her. I said, ‘God, let this just be an attack from the enemy that’s just trying to be a distraction, and let him have overplayed his hand and my daughter come back stronger than before.’”
“When I heard my daughter talk in the middle of the night — and my daughter she doesn’t have any development issues, praise God. She doesn’t have any slurred speech prior to this.
“She woke up talking clearer than she was talking before. Now anyone who deals with epilepsy knows that it takes a few days for them to come back,” he said.
“The next morning when she got up, my daughter was so sharp. She was able to talk to me and her mom. I mean, clear conversation. She’s sharp for a 4-year-old. No stuttering, all her words clear,” he said, noting that he brought his daughter home that day to be part of a birthday celebration for his 7-year-old daughter.
When he knew she was alright, “I started saying praise God, praise God.”
That is what he called his “knock from God.”
“What I want to share is, we get to play this game and that’s great. And there’s so many amazing things that happened in that game, and everyone wants to hear about it. But when we leave this game, we go back to being regular people. And regular people are living life, and people are waiting for a knock,” he said.
“And the Word says who Jesus is, He’s knocking at the door. All you’ve got to do is get up. And so on the way, I’m nervous, but I’m praying, and I’m trusting, and I’m believing.
“And I’m not asking for my daughter to make it through, I’m asking that she’s better than before. And God gave me just what I asked for, plus some,” he said.
“I was blown away. And at that point, I knew the game was going to take care of itself. My knock had already been answered, and I just want people to know if you’ve got stuff going on in your life, lay it before the Lord. Lay it before the Lord and trust. And be expecting of a knock. Because the word says what you have to do is, you have to get up and open the door. And your blessing is going to be there,” he continued.
“My life is one that’s not only surrendered to God, but God is the mover in my life. That’s the battle every day, to stay surrendered,” he said.
Davis has previously discussed the significance of faith in his life.