The power of prayer stunned a 32-year-old single mother from Asheville, North Carolina, when she got the biggest surprise of her life: A total stranger volunteered to buy her a new car right after she prayed for it.

Connie Cole recently contacted a car dealership to ask for a vehicle she could afford after her car broke down and she couldn't meet the expenses for the repair. The company's sales manager answered Cole's call on speakerphone and a stranger accidentally heard the conversation.

Wesley Gurley, owner of Carolina Auto Sales, said the stranger "heard the distress in her voice." Gurley said the stranger, who identified himself only as David, told him, "If she comes in, call me. I'm gonna pray on this. If the Lord wants me to do something, I may buy her that car."

David was already at the dealership when Cole arrived to look for a car she could afford to buy. To her utter surprise, David approached and told her he would pay for the new car she needed.

The good Samaritan bought Cole a 2004 Chevy Impala for $2,200.

Cole's father, whom she relied on for rides and just had a knee surgery, had offered to pitch in $800 for the down payment, but the dealership said a down payment was not needed anymore since the stranger already paid for the car in full, the New York Daily News said.

Cole told ABC News that she "cried and thanked him at least a thousand times. He gave me an extra $100 and said the first tank of gas was on him. To me that just means the Lord is out there. Keep high hopes, pray and don't give up."

The man known only as David requested to remain anonymous. David did mention to the WLOS news network that the philosophy of Christ Community Church in Montreat, North Carolina, inspired him to help out.

Gurley said what he did was a "good deed without a single gain."

This amazing news appeared to support a study published last year in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences which concluded that human behaviour is "surprisingly altruistic."

In the study, the authors had people go through an experiment where the benefactors underwent electric shocks for cash. It turned out that they were more willing to lose their money to "reduce others' pain than they were to reduce their own," according to the LA Times.

The mystery man who helped Cole and other people like him might just be what the world needs to restore faith in humanity.