Jennifer Garner, inspired by 'Miracles From Heaven,' is now more vocal about her Christian faith

Jennifer Garner is 'grateful' for the film 'Miracles From Heaven' because it inspired her children to seek a relationship with God.(Wikimedia Commons)

American actress Jennifer Garner has always been a devout Christian who attends church regularly.

However, she used to feel awkward broadcasting her faith.

"It makes kind of, 'Ahhhh,'" she said during a visit to Pastor T.D. Jakes' ministry, according to Charisma News.

Things all changed when Garner took on the role of Christy Beam in the faith-based movie "Miracles From Heaven."

The movie is based on the real life story of Annabel Beam, a young girl who had a near-death experience after being knocked out by a hollow tree, went to heaven, then woke up completely healed.

In one scene in the movie, Annabel's mother Christy, while sitting beside her daughter's hospital bed, is overwhelmed and terrified when her daughter asks her: "Mommy, I want to die and go to heaven and be with Jesus where there is no pain... you would kill yourself and go with me?"

Commenting on what her daughter said, Christy says she "felt sick, felt like throwing up."

"What that meant to me wasn't the loss of me, too, but it meant she had processed it, that Daddy will be here to take care of other girls, they will be fine. She wasn't going to go without me," she says.

The spiritual bond Christy had with her daughter Annabel deeply resonated with Garner, who felt inspired to pass on her Christian faith to her children.

Now, Garner does not hesitate anymore about sharing her faith, knowing that her children will benefit from it.

"I will say that being around this community, and while I've always gone to church in West Virginia, that when I got back to Los Angeles, I was talking to my kids about the movie, and they said, 'Mom you don't take us to church,' and we went that Sunday, and they went today without me. That decision was a direct gift from this movie and for that I'm very grateful," the actress said.