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Ben Carson Says God Helped Him Ace College Chemistry Exam by Giving Answers in Dream

Republican U.S. presidential candidate and retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson officially launches his bid for the Republican presidential nomination in Detroit, Michigan, May 4, 2015.
Republican U.S. presidential candidate and retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson officially launches his bid for the Republican presidential nomination in Detroit, Michigan, May 4, 2015. | (Photo: Reuters/Rebecca Cook)

Republican presidential candidate Dr. Ben Carson said God helped him "ace" his college chemistry exam by showing him all the answers. But he promised the Lord He wouldn't have to do that for him ever again.

Carson, who was a featured speaker at the official National Day of Prayer gathering in Washington, D.C., earlier this week, said he won a scholarship to Yale and thought he was a "pretty hot stuff" but only until he got to the end of the first semester.

"I was failing chemistry; that wasn't cool at all. And you can't be a pre-med and fail in chemistry," said Carson, an accomplished neurosurgeon and conservative Christian.

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The night before the final exam, he was thinking about his life. He prayed, saying, "Lord, medicine is the only thing I ever wanted to do… Would you please tell me what is it you really want me to do?"

He planned to prepare for the exam the whole night, but fell asleep. He had a dream in which he was alone in an auditorium as some "nebulous figure" wrote out chemistry problems on the blackboard.

"When I went to take the test the next morning, it was like 'The Twilight Zone,'" he said. "I opened that book and I recognized the first problem as one of the ones I dreamed about. And the next, and the next, and the next, and I aced the exam and got a good mark in chemistry. It worked out okay," he added.

"And I promised the Lord He would never have to do that for me again."

Carson earlier told David Brody of Christian Broadcasting Network that there's a "good chance" he will run for president as he can feel "God's fingers" touching him gently for the 2016 race.

In the interview, Brody asked, "How is that conversation going with God about this potential presidential run? Has He grabbed you by the collar yet? I read an article about that."

"I feel fingers," Carson replied. "But it's mostly me. I have to be sure and it's part of my personality that says always look before you leap but don't leap before you have to."

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