Pray News is Saying Goodbye (For Now)

Today, we have some hard news to share…

Pray News will be pausing production for the time being. It’s a bittersweet moment for us as a team. Pray News was an exciting endeavor for everyone at PRAY.COM. Launching a news podcast is risky, considering the divisive nature of news, politics, and culture. However, the risk to us was worth it. We saw a need for level-headed reporting and hopeful reflection. We sincerely hope we have offered that to you these past six months. 

We are pausing production to focus our efforts on our primary passion - encouraging people with the story of Scripture. The content team here at PRAY.COM is extremely passionate about bringing the Bible to life in the hearts and minds of our listeners. We’ve created podcasts like Bible in a Year, Heroes in the Bible, Stories of the Messiah, and Heartbeat of Faith to immerse people in the epic saga of scripture. 

Pray News was not a failure - far from it. Most of you love this podcast so much, you go back a second time to listen to each episode. Many of you have left us reviews, telling us that Pray News has become an integral part of your morning routine. That’s why we aren’t saying goodbye to Pray News, but “see you later.” When the time is right, we’ll be back. 

For now, we want to encourage you with some core values that make Pray News unique. Those values are hope and transformation. 

Hope is the driving force behind all of our work here at PRAY.COM. We want the hope of Christ to be known and lived out by everyone. We believe that there is no darkness that the light of Christ cannot overcome - that goes for the swamps of Washington to the war-torn roads of Gaza. Some would say culture is too far gone, and we are better off retreating into the safety of our pews and pulpits. Yet the calling of Christ compels us to do the opposite. We are meant to press into the uncomfortable and wage war on nihilism and hopelessness. With Christ as our anthem, and the word as our war drum, we march into the fray of culture with boldness. 

Take heart, brothers and sisters, and don’t grow bitter at the trajectory of culture. Instead, rejoice that the God of all creation has called and equipped you to bring life and light into dead and dark places. We are ambassadors of hope. Each day, we declared Hope is our only bias. That isn’t because we don’t have bias - nobody is without their bends. “Hope is our only bias,” was a declaration of intention. We wanted the world to know that while CNN pushed one agenda and FOX pushed another, we were straining to take the hopeful path. Did we always succeed? No. But to error is to be human. But we tried every day, and we can’t wait until we get to take up the task again when Pray News relaunches. 

Our second core value was transformation. Every day, we prayed that Pray News would leave people “informed and transformed.” Our aim was to report on the news, informing people about current events, while also offering reflections on how we can transform our thinking, actions, and words. When you immerse yourself in the news, it’s easy to grow cynical about how evil and corrupt some people are. That is why the news can be a trap. If we aren’t careful, the news can give us a superiority complex. When you see Hunter Biden on trial or George Santos being expelled from congress, you could be tempted to have an inflated sense of righteousness. “These people are so corrupt, I’m glad I’m not like them.” Watching and listening to the news with this attitude makes us no better than the Pharisee in Luke 18. The parable goes like this:

9 He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt: 10 “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed[a] thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’ 13 But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ 14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.” (Matthew 18:9-14)

We don’t want to consume the news and thank God that we aren’t like other people. Instead, we want to see people’s failures as a warning for our own hearts. We are all capable deep down of the same greed, corruption, and evil we watch on the news. That’s why with fists pounding on our chest, we want to ask God for mercy and reflect on how we can be better and do better. 

If you have been a faithful listener since the beginning, we want to thank you with sincerity for your support, and encourage you that we plan to be back in the future. When the time is right, and Pray News can get the time and attention it deserves, we will be back. 

There’s good news in all of this - a ray of hope in this otherwise bleak announcement - PRAY.COM has launched over a dozen new podcasts this year to enrich your faith and bring you hope. 

You can listen to Sleep Psalms with Bishop TD Jakes, be swept away in peaceful meditation. Sleep Psalms connects us to the heart of God, steadies our wandering mind, and gives us peace before we sleep. 

You can follow the epic adventures of David with Heroes in the Bible, featuring Dr. Tony Evans. Heroes in the Bible is a cinematic production following the highs and lows of David’s life. Complete with original music, sound effects, and voice acting, you truly feel like you are walking beside David as he faces Goliath. 

You can immerse yourself in the Christmas Story with Stories of the Messiah, hosted by Rabbi Schneider. Listen to dramatized stories about Mary and Joseph’s journey to Bethlehem. 

In January, you can follow Bible in a Year with Jack Graham. The Bible in a Year podcast takes you through all the stories of the Bible, complete with dramatic retellings, music, and epic narration. Discover new truths while being entertained. 

There are many more podcasts currently available and coming your way in 2024. Although Pray News won’t be launching new episodes for a time, the mission is alive and well in our vast library of content on PRAY.COM. 

So, for the last time in a while, we want to say thank you for joining us today on Pray News. It is our aim to be informed and transformed. We pray today you would proceed with hope, love, and determination to be a force for good. 

God bless!

- The Pray News Team