Can Churches Pray for Media?
When I joined our church almost 8 years ago, I was worried they would think their new pastor’s wife was a strange creature with her penchant for writing fiction, talking on the radio, and spending time on social media.
I was delighted to find two other writers in the church, as well as two artists and someone who worked in Christian publishing. It wasn’t until this year that I felt brave enough to ask if we could take some time in the service to pray together on the National Day of Prayer for the Media.
On Sunday 29 of October, I led the service, and included in the wider prayers for radio, TV, journalism and social media was a special request for a local church who I’m about to start to help get online. They have no one with tech expertise in their church, but they all have a real desire to reach beyond their four walls.
Not many people prayed aloud but I trusted that all were praying in their hearts. After the service, one of our older members came to me and said he was 100% behind what we’re doing, he couldn’t pray out loud because he hadn’t got the words, but he wanted us to know he was with us.
It was great to have the slides provided by Christians in Media. Also, in their Facebook group I asked for suggestions for songs to sing. Thanks to those who responded. We sang the new words to Eventide (Abide with Me), praying God will ‘transform, restore and heal society’.
Next year I will be more prepared! I will make sure it’s mentioned in our newsletter in advance and hopefully get one or two others involved. For a first go, we were very happy with how it went and I’m so glad I got over my hesitance and suggested it.
“When Annmarie shared with our Facebook community about her plans to hold a special Sunday service for our National Day of Prayer for the Media we had to find out more. We love how Annmarie wove the theme throughout the service from hymns to using our resources.
It’s encouraging to know that churches, prayers group and people were praying all across our land & beyond. Together we stood and prayed for this crucial industry, for the people behind the roles, for those in our congregations who work within the media arena and for church media teams to shine out the Gospel message.
Could you schedule in your church diary a service for next year’s National Day of Prayer for the Media? Pop your details in the connect form to find out the 2024 date. Until then, let’s continue to #pray4media.”
Blog Author
Annmarie Miles
Writer, Speaker, Podcaster, Radio Presenter and lover of all things social media. She comes from Dublin, Ireland and lives in Pontypool, South Wales. She is married to Richard who is a pastor. They have no children, but lots of books, musical instruments and fridge magnets.
Connect with Annmarie via her website or socials @amowriting.
