Roma Downey's 'Answered Prayers' aims to inspire

Roma Downey knows a thing or two, or many more, about prayers being answered.

Saying she begins and ends each day by praying, the "Touched by an Angel" alum has become a major force as a producer, generating faith-based television and movie projects - including the recent "A.D. The Bible Continues" and "The Dovekeepers" - along with husband Mark Burnett ("Survivor," "Shark Tank") as partners in running the United Artists studio. She works both sides of the camera as the host and an executive producer of "Answered Prayers," an unscripted TLC series premiering Sunday, July 26.

"With our company LightWorkers Media (now a division of United Artists), our interest always has been in finding ways that we can light a candle rather than curse the darkness," Downey says. "Essentially, we want to tell stories that are hopeful and uplifting, that elevate and inspire. It seemed a natural way to bring hope to television by telling stories about ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances, who have had to call in prayer to help them in their most desperate moments."

The two examples in the "Answered Prayers" debut, combining first-person recollections and dramatized sequences: an Indiana woman who believes she's received a heavenly warning of a tornado that actually strikes her family's house several minutes later; and a Florida couple torn over deciding whether to have their young son's leg amputated after a lawn mower accident.

"These stories celebrate the answers to those prayers," notes Downey, who acknowledges similar formats have been used by true-crime series. "What really sets this show apart is the spiritual element, and I think it will warm the hearts of those watching. Whether you are a person of faith or not, who doesn't like to see a story resolved with a hopeful ending?

"Certainly, we can turn the TV on at any moment in any day and be horrified at the bad news that's happening all around our world. This was just to create something that would offer a breath of fresh air for a Sunday night this summer, where you could curl up with your whole family and be inspired."

The "Answered Prayers" subjects came to forthcoming Hollywood Walk of Fame honoree Downey through various avenues. "We put out the fishing net to churches and communities all across the country to find these amazing, often miraculous stories, and I have learned that there are no atheists in the foxhole. In those moments when all else seems to have failed, even people who wouldn't profess to have a belief in God have said that they would cry out."

Having "Answered Prayers" in the Sunday lineup is significant for Downey, who allows "it's a comfortable spot for us." NBC aired "A.D. The Bible Continues" there, and she adds, "'Touched by an Angel' parked itself on Sunday nights for many years. And 'The Bible' ran there, too."