Actress Melissa Joan Hart says prayer exponentially deepened her faith walk with Jesus and described a Holy Spirit encounter as her “born again” moment. In recent years, Hart has linked with World Vision to be part of the life-changing work the organization does worldwide to provide resources and clean water to those in need.
The veteran entertainer said her work with the Zambia organization has immensely impacted her and her family. She recently returned from a trip to the country where she, her husband, and three sons visited with several impoverished families, including a family she’s sponsored for the past couple of years. She told The Christian Post, “It was really eye-opening. It was encouraging.”
The difference in her sponsored family since her first trip in 2019 was noticeable. She praised World Vision because she could see that her sponsorship money benefitted the family. Despite her many years of mainstream success, Hart, who was raised Catholic, has grown stronger in her faith in God. After marrying her husband, Mark Wilkerson, who was Baptist, the couple chose to change their denominational affiliations and started attending a Presbyterian church where their faith grew.
For the last 13 years, Hart has been committed to the Community Bible Study Program. Moving from California to Tennessee has also allowed her family to attend Sunday School, which she admittedly had never done previously. She explained to The Christian Post, “Everyone’s always talking about their moment of coming to Jesus or their moment of being born again. I feel like I’ve always walked with God; it’s just gotten deeper and closer and more fulfilling.”
The combination of the story of The Footprints on Sand and the testimony of Katherine Wolf greatly impacted Hart and taught her how to pray. Hart recalled, “I feel like that’s the moment that really opened up my prayer life. I had a big moment there where my prayer life changed and where I started to understand more about how to pray, and then my husband also helped me. My husband taught me to pray for mercy.”
As she shared her faith story, Hart remembered having a moment she calls her born-again moment. “I did have a born-again, Holy Spirit moment,” she shared. “I never really understood the Holy Spirit or the Trinity in a sense. One day, we were in Bible study, and it just hit, like the Holy Spirit made sense to me all of a sudden!” She continued, “One day, I just felt it, and I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, that’s the Holy Spirit talking to me. I get it now.’ Like a lightning bolt just hit me, and I was like, ‘The Holy Spirit! I don’t know why it just hit me, and I got it.’ Then I better understood the Trinity and all that.”
She shared with CBN that prayer plays an important role in her life and her career, even though at one point she wanted to give up on it. “I think that all through my life faith has always been there for me. As I talk to myself as I go through my day, I’m always going to God. It’s never just me talking to myself. I’m always talking to God about what the best course of action would be in a particular situation,” Hart said.
“I’m constantly asking the Holy Spirit to calm me down and quiet me. Being upset about something isn’t going to get me there any faster. I’m constantly just finding little moments throughout the day to spend with God,” she said. Hart added, “Of course, I fall to my knees when I come to a real crossroads when I have a major conflict in my life or something that is really on my heart. As a family, we make it a habit to go to church every Sunday. We don’t show any shame in our faith. Prayer is just a very important part of our family. Faith is all very much an important part of our lives.”
Along with being an ambassador, Hart has been a long-time spokesperson for the World Vision Gift Catalog, which also helps contribute to helping those in need. The organization has been the leading nongovernmental organization providing clean water in the developing world and is on the ground in Zambia, responding to the water crisis.