Michael Phelps dubbed 'Purpose Driven Swimmer' by Pastor Rick Warren

Michael Phelps, the world's most decorated Olympian also gets named by Pastor Rick Warren as a "Purpose Driven Swimmer" after revealing how the Christian book saved his life.

The 62-year-old megachurch pastor turned out to be a fan of the 31-year-old competitive swimmer as Pastor Warren took to Facebook on Sunday and congratulated Phelps for winning his 23rd Olympic gold.

"Saw Michael Phelps, #PurposeDrivenSwimmer, win his 23rd gold! I've prayed for you each day in Rio. God has a great future for you!" wrote the senior pastor and founder of Saddleback Church.

ESPN revealed two months ago that the Olympic champion battled an identity crisis two years ago to the point that he even contemplated ending his life.

"I thought the world would just be better off without me," ESPN quoted Phelps as saying. "I figured that was the best thing to do — just end my life."

Phelps finally decided to check himself to rehab at The Meadows in Arizona back in October last year and became known as "Preacher Mike" to fellow patients whom he read the Pastor Warren's best-selling book "The Purpose Driven Life" every start of the day.

"I'm proud of @MichaelPhelps for his victories even before the Olympics begin. Excited he'll be carrying the flag for the US," wrote the pastor, also a New York Times best-selling author, after learning about this trivia.

Phelps amassed a total of 28 medals, including 23 golds, after grabbing five golds and one silver at the Rio Olympics 2016.

He maintained that this would be the culminating part of his career as he's finally prepared to move on from swimming and that this decision made him especially eager to give his best at Rio.

An ideal headline to sum up his games in this year's summer Olympics "would say something along the lines of, I finally gave 100 percent," shared Phelps.

"Or I'm happy to turn the page to the next chapter. I'm happy to move on from my swimming career and go out how I wanted to," he told TODAY host Matt Lauer in an interview back in April.