Respectfully, I ask, do you really need to know?
We often hear people say that religion gives us ideas about the nature of the universe and tells us we must believe them. That's not entirely true. Here's a quotation from the Buddha.
"Suppose there is a hereafter and there is a fruit, result, of deeds done well or ill. Then it is possible that at the dissolution of the body after death, I shall arise in the heavenly world, which is possessed of the state of bliss.' This is the first solace found by him.
"Suppose there is no hereafter and there is no fruit, no result, of deeds done well or ill. Yet in this world, here and now, free from hatred, free from malice, safe and sound, and happy, I keep myself.' This is the second solace found by him."
- Kalama Sutra
He's saying it's possible to live with doubt about a fundamental question such as afterlife - live contentedly.
I think a lot of people feel better if they have some evidence, even if it's not "smoking-gun" evidence. An analogy I like is the scene in It's a Wonderful Life when George stops a panic at the bank by asking people how much money they need to get them through the week. I think I can offer you enough evidence that you'll see the idea of a higher power concerned with individual men and women is possible, if not probable,
About the higher power, read "Near-Death Experience" in Wikipedia.
Since the 1970's, scientists have been studying the stories told by people who have survived heart attacks. At first, it was a matter of collecting a few stories here and there. Then it was big studies in hospitals, like the 2001 study by van Lommel, which was published in one of the world's most influential medical journals, The Lancet. In 1997, two researchers named Ring and Cooper published a study about people born blind. People blind from birth were interviewed about their near-death experiences. That people blind from birth report seeing for the first time is interesting. What is truly remarkable is that they report recognizing what they see. Congenitally blind people who acquire sight through surgery don't recognize anything they see at first, and require training in this. Expecting the congenitally blind to recognize what they see immediately is like expecting first graders in an Idaho school to read hieroglyphs from King Tut's tomb when first exposed to them.
MSNBC report - the surgeon who performed the hour-long procedure on Pam Reynolds says that he has considered but dismisses explanations provided by skeptics
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YO8UVebuA0g
Comments related to the validity of these studies and their conclusions is welcome.