Roma Downey and her "Touched by an Angel" family used to say that coincidence is God's way of remaining anonymous, and he certainly did an incredible job of that for the families featured in Downey's new TLC show, "Answered Prayers."
The six-part series produced by Downey and her husband Mark Burnett will tell the stories of ordinary people who experienced such extraordinary moments in their lives that without any logical explanation, they can only attribute the outcome to God answering their prayers. The hour-long program combines heart-wrenching interviews, thrilling recreations and dramatic real footage to bring their inspiring stories to life.
The concept of the show came from Downey's own heartbreak over the devastating stories that dominate the daily news cycle and a desire to see more uplifting content that the family can enjoy together.
"It's impossible not to be heartbroken by the headlines," Downey told Headlines & Global News in an exclusive interview. "It seemed to me that there were stories that had different kinds of resolutions. That not all stories end in tragedy and wouldn't it be great to have a show that highlights those and celebrated those."
The producers searched for these miraculous stories on social media and reached out to the big churches across the country, including Rick Warren's Saddleback Church in California and Joel Osteen's Lakewood Church in Texas. In each case, a person had his or her prayers answered but not always in the most obvious way.
"I've had prayers answered in ways that I never expected, but God's ways are higher than our ways," Downey said.
The incredible true stories include a mother who heard "a quiet voice of warning inside her own heart" that told her to seek shelter for her family before a tornado lifted their home off the ground. In another story, a family flips their car upside down into a river and is saved by three good Samaritans, each possessing a unique skill set to pull everyone out alive.
"I know that prayer works," she said. "I know that he hears us and I think, well he told us [in Matthew 18:20], when two or more come together and pray in his name, there he will be. We just need that Holy Spirit to come down on our world, and it's my prayer that people are just reminded of prayer."
"Answered Prayers" is the latest project from Downey and Burnett's production company, Lightworkers Media. The company also produced the 2013 hit TV mini-series "The Bible" and its recent follow-up series on NBC, "A.D. The Bible Continues," as well as the movie "Son of God" (2014) and next year's re-imagining of "Ben-Hur."
"As a person of faith, it's a great privilege to be able to do what I do because I love producing and I love creating content. I love storytelling. So to be able to do what I do and combine it with what I believe and work together with my own husband has been great fun and a blessing," Downey said.
"Answered Prayers" will premiere on Sunday, July 26 at 10 p.m. on TLC.
