National Day of Prayer 2025

A few years ago, I made a promise.

I love to write, but I had no time while working and raising a family. Once I retired, I was ready to reinvent myself but had no platform, no following, and no clue where to begin. I promised God that if He would open doors, I would ignore my introverted self and boldly walk through them.

God has faithfully opened a gazillion doors, and – so far, so good – I haven’t ran in the other direction yet, but I’ve sure been challenged.

A few weeks ago, another opportunity came. I got a message from the pastor organizing the 2025 National Day of Prayer (NDOP) event in a neighboring community. I had interviewed her for a newspaper article when she moved to town, but we’d never met in person. Pastor Charlotte was enlisting the help of people to pray at the NDOP event for our government, military, businesses, education, families, and media, and asked if I would be willing to pray for the media since she knew I was a freelance writer. I immediately felt so inadequate.

“Well….uhhhh….let me check my calendar,” I said, hoping I had a conflict. Besides, God and I had to have a little chat. I’ve spoken before audiences, taught classes, shared my testimony, been an emcee for events, and even prayed in groups of people. But somehow, being asked to lead the community in prayer was overwhelming.

Well, God and I had that chat and my calendar was free so I got busy – researching and writing – because words flow better from my fingertips than my mouth.

I just returned from that NDOP event, thankful for another open-door blessing from God.

In today’s turbulent times, when opinions outweigh truth, would you join me in praying for our media?

We love you, Lord, and we come before you on the 2025 National Day of Prayer to pray for our media.

First of all, we pray for media professionals. Those in the spotlight or behind the scenes who work together to influence our communities and our culture. We are reminded in 1 Timothy 2:2 to pray for those in authority so we can live peaceful and quiet lives marked by godliness and dignity. Lord, make it so for all communicators in today’s world who bring news, information, and entertainment.

We pray for those…

• …in print media – journalists, columnists, and authors.
• …on social media – those who blog, tweet, share, and post.
• …who entertain audiences on stage, in film, and on TV.
• …in communication roles within our churches, businesses, and organizations.

All of us need prayer because…

• …we write what others read.
• …we speak to those who listen.
• …we post what many see.
• …we potentially reach global audiences.

And, we need you, God!

* * * * * *

God, thank you for calling us to this important work. Help us recognize our responsibility to those we serve. Flood our hearts with light (Ephesians 1:18) so we understand the confident hope you give to those you call. The Bible tells us (2 Timothy 2:15) to work hard and present ourselves to You as good workers, unashamed, presenting the word of truth, correctly. Help us, Lord.

• We invite you to be present in all aspects of the media industry – local and worldwide.
• We acknowledge your past faithfulness and confidently trust you for our future.
• We praise you for giving us talents and technical abilities to serve our audiences well.
• Open doors of opportunity for us and bless our efforts to communicate effectively.
• We thank you for community relationships that help us gather and deliver information.
• Keep us sensitive to the needs within our communities.
• Infuse us with excellence, integrity, creativity, & respect.
• Give us a strong moral compass and temper our actions with boldness & grace.
• May we seek truth, gather evidence, and present issues with clarity & without bias.
• Help us learn to utilize the unique connection between our faith, our work, & our stories.
• Grant us wisdom to know what to share and the discernment to do so responsibly.
• Help us create content to influence people and bring healing to our broken world.
• May we bring hope and extend grace and comfort to the lost, forgotten & marginalized.
• Help us respond to ugly news by praying instead of obsessing about the ugliness.
• May we maintain a constructive attitude when we face destructive obstacles.
• Protect storytellers worldwide who face corruption, opposition, threats, & brutality.
• May we boldly confront evil and reject false narratives meant to deceive & divide.
• Forgive us, Lord, for any attitudes or actions that fail to reflect You.

* * * * * *

Father, today we pray not only for media professionals but for each of us, as media consumers. Every day, we are part of the audience receiving information from multiple media sources. Because of that, God, we need you, too!

• Give us wisdom and discernment as we listen, read, and watch.
• Protect us from fake news, embedded lies, and normalized wrongs.
• Guard our hearts against anything shared for evil purposes.
• Control our reactions to media influencers who have opposing views.
• May we be a people of love, not hatred; understanding, not doubt; and courage, not fear.

We are confident You hear us when we ask for anything that pleases You (1 John 5:14) so prompt us to pray whenever we face tough stuff, even when we can’t put our needs into words.

Lord, whether we are media professionals or consumers, may we fix our minds on what is true, honorable, right, pure, lovely, and admirable. May we continue to think of what is excellent and worthy of praise (Philippians 4:8).

Father God, we thank you for every good thing you provide. We are a blessed people, and we pray all of this in the mighty name of Jesus.

Amen.