Actress Reveals Moment that Led Her to Christ: ‘I Want to Know You’

Published: December 23, 2025

By Michaela Gordoni

Actress Jen Lilley was on fire for Christ from the moment she heard the story of Elijah at age 9.

“I remember asking the Lord, like ‘If you’re real, I want to know you.’ And I remember the Holy Spirit, like, talking me through things as I was reading the Bible,” she expressed.

Lilley first heard the story of Elijah at Sunday school. When she got home, she started reading through the whole book and was amazed at what she read.

“I was like…I need to see how this story ends,” she recalled. “If you go through the story of Elijah, it is wild. Like he outruns chariots…He raises a boy from the dead.”

“I mean…he’s on mount Carmel with, like, the 300 prophets of Baal. He’s calling down fire,” she continued. “I was like, ‘What?’”

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She told Crosswalk that she was “awestruck” that an Old Testament prophet like Elijah had the Holy Spirit.

“So I’m reading through these stories, and I’m like, this is the craziest, most exciting thing I’ve ever read as a 9-year-old,” she said in a recent podcast. “And so I remember being like, my gosh, what else does this book say?”

“I spent the entire summer of turning 9 to 10, I read my whole Bible cover to cover,” she said.

From then on, she was on fire for the Lord. She even went by the nickname “Jen for Jesus.”

Elijah’s story inspires her faith today.

“I mean, if God says it, he can do it. And that’s what the word ‘testimony’ means. It means he’ll do it again, which is pretty amazing,” she said.

“I just really love Jesus. I love the Holy Spirit. I know that He is still active today,” she added.

Lilley recently released a 365-day devotional called Wake Up Your Faith.

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“What if your daily routine is stealing your passion — and you didn’t even notice?” Brodstreet Publishing wrote of the book. “Wake Up Your Faith by Jen Lilley is your invitation to rise above spiritual dryness and rediscover what it means to live fully awake in Christ. With daily Scriptures and bold action steps, this devotional will help you break free from fear, reclaim your authority, and walk in the power of the Holy Spirit.”

Lilley said, “Wake Up Your Faith isn’t just a book — it will teach you how to truly experience God’s Presence and turn your daily life into an incredible adventure.”

Wake Up Your Faith is currently available on Amazon and other online sellers.

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