Actor Kevin Sorbo says miracles often happen without people realizing it, and he hopes a new movie about the subject helps open a few eyes to that fact.
The Girl Who Believes in Miracles (PG) opens in theaters this weekend, telling the story of a young girl in a small town who hears her pastor preach about faith and begins praying for miracles – both big and small. God heals multiple people, sparking attention from both the community and the media.
The film stars Oscar winner Mira Sorvino (Reservation Road, Do You Believe?) as the girl's mother, Burgess Jenkins (Remember the Titans) as the girl's father, Emmy nominee Peter Coyote (A Walk to Remember) as Sam Donovan, Sorbo (God's Not Dead) as Dr. Ben Riley, and Austyn Johnson (The Greatest Showman) as the young girl, Sara.
"Miracles happen every day," but people miss them because "we've become so jaded and so filled with self-loathing," Sorbo told Christian Headlines.
"I think what this movie shows is that we need the faith of a child. We need that innocence," Sorbo said. "Because as we get older ... I think a lot of people just become jaded, and they just sort of give up and don't pay attention. I think miracles happen every day. Just because you're not walking in water, it can still be a miracle. How many times have you read stories about doctors saying, 'It's a miracle. I don't know how they survived; they should have died'?"
Another central theme in the movie is faith, Sorbo said. The film opens by showing the young girl sitting in church, listening intently to the pastor's sermon and absorbing what he says from God's Word.
"Faith can move mountains," Sorbo said. "'The Mustard Seed' was the original title of this movie. She has the innocence of a child, so she starts to pray and believes there's power in prayer. I think we need more movies like this, and thank God more people are making them. I'm making them myself. We need movies that have more of a positive message instead of a negative message."
It was directed by Richard Correll, a well-known filmmaker who has helmed such series as Fuller House, Bunk'd and Hannah Montana.
"I like movies that deal with redemption," Sorbo said. "I think that that's the biggest thing we need in the world right now, more than anything else. People with all their anger and hate – I think a lot of it comes from the fact that they feel lost and have nowhere to turn to. Redemption is a great message out there for people, and this movie offers it."
Visit TheGirlWhoBelievesInMiracles.com.
Photo courtesy: ©120dB Films
Michael Foust has covered the intersection of faith and news for 20 years. His stories have appeared in Baptist Press, Christianity Today, The Christian Post, the Leaf-Chronicle, the Toronto Star and the Knoxville News-Sentinel.
