"Guardians of the Galaxy" star Chris Pratt has shared how the "unbreakable faith" of children inspires and encourages his own Christian walk.
Recently, the 37-year-old Christian actor visited the Great Ormand Street Children's Hospital in London and shared several photos of the event on Instagram. In one photo, Pratt, along with his "Jurassic World" co-star Bryce Dallas Howard, are pictured sitting next to a young patient.
"Bryce and I had the tremendous pleasure of spending some time with our new buddy Elle and a few other patients at Great Ormand Street Children's Hospital in London," the actor captioned the photo. "I'll never fail to be moved by the unbreakable spirit of a child. #godisgood."
Pratt then quoted Psalm 107:8-9: "Let them praise the LORD for his loving kindness, for his wonderful deeds to the children of men! For he satisfies the longing soul. He fills the hungry soul with good."
"No doubt," the actor said. "Today my longing and hungry soul is filled."
In addition to being one of Hollywood's most successful actors, Pratt is also well-known for visiting children's hospitals, and is involved in a lot of charitable work. He frequently urges his 11.5 million social media followers to pray for young fans struggling with life-threatening illnesses.
Last week, the actor shared a photo of himself spending time with a young fan at the Ronald McDonald House in New York. He captioned the photo: "I'm privileged to have my job for so many reasons, the very best of which is the fulfillment I feel in my soul brightening the day of a sick kid and his/her family. #godisgood."
In October, the actor visited Seattle Children's Hospital, where he met families in the NICU and spent time with young patients battling cancer.
Along with posting stories about each of the patients he met on social media, Pratt wrote, "My heart is full. Proverbs 3:27 Don't withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in the power of your hand to do it."
One photo the "Guardians of the Galaxy" shared was with a little boy named Rowan. He wrote: "What an awesome kid. Great parents and from a great family. You're in my prayers tonight little man."
Pratt's passion for helping children stems from his own experience; the actor earlier shared how he and his wife, Anna Faris, spent quite a bit of time at the neo-natal intensive care back in 2012 after his son, Jack, was born prematurely.
"Ever since Jack's premature birth, we have a special affinity for the NICU (neo-natal intensive care unit)," he captioned one photo. "Today I spent a little time with Coen and Zion, twins who were born too early only a pound and a half each. Thank you to the doctors and nurses at @seattlechildrens The boys are doing fine. Although they're both missing their big sis."
A few short months after Jack's birth, the "Parks and Recreation" appeared on the Late Show with David Letterman to announce that their son was "totally healthy" and hitting all of his milestones, and nearly a year after becoming a dad, Pratt credited his son with restoring his faith in God.
"We were scared for a long time. We prayed a lot," Pratt said. "It restored my faith in God, not that it needed to be restored, but it really redefined it."
He added, "The baby was so beautiful to us, and I look back at the photos of him and it must have been jarring for other people to come in and see him, but to us he was so beautiful and perfect."
