TODAY Show Anchors Discuss Faith: ‘God Has Been Present’
By Movieguide® Contributor
The anchors of the TODAY show discussed what their faith means to them and how they came to have a relationship with God.
For Al Roker and Hoda Kotb, their faith really came to life when they started having kids. Their desire for their children to have a strong foundation and someone to trust in to keep them safe caused the hosts to grow close to the Lord.
“I think my faith evolved. But it really does happen when those children come. That’s really it really – I always remember my mother going, ‘God give me strength,’ you know. And yes, I hear those words,” Roker said. “But it’s important to give [your kids] that foundation.”
“I feel like my path to faith has been evolving throughout my life,” Kotb added. “Each day I have a little journal where I write, ‘Dear God, thank you for this precious day.’ And I feel Him all the time, more so now than I think I have ever before.”
“He used to be someone I was mad at. Like, when my dad died, I was mad at Him,” Kotb continued. “All of a sudden, in due time, here I sit with two kids and I think to myself, God has been present, sitting here. I asked Him on bended knee for Haley and Hope, and they came.”
Much like Kotb, Craig Melvin and Carson Daly found God was on their mind after the death of a close family member.
“The closest I have been with God has been when I have struggled mightily. [Savannah was] there when I got a call one morning before the show that my brother had slipped away,” Melvin said. “We sort of knew it was coming, but I convinced myself that maybe this wasn’t going to be it. There I am in my dressing room, and who comes in first? The one who wrote the book [Savannah]. She comes in, and we prayed. And it was in that moment precisely what I needed. I didn’t know I needed it.”
“My parents died six weeks apart,” Daly added. “It was a very difficult time. My mother died suddenly. You can either be mad at God in that moment or you can recognize there is no way I could have survived without His strength.”
Their conversation comes shortly after Guthrie released her book, “Mostly What God Does: Reflections on Seeking and Finding His Love Everywhere.”
“I need my foundation. I need my centering. I need the confidence that God gives me deep in my soul,” she told Parade of her faith.
It is encouraging to see these anchors be vulnerable about their faith and share their journey with God with fans of the show to help them find Christ.
Movieguide® previously reported:
Co-anchor of NBC’s TODAY Show Savannah Guthrie is unashamed of her relationship with Jesus and teaches her children to rely on God’s Word.
“I think sometimes people are surprised that my faith means so much to me,” Guthrie answered during an interview with Guidepost writer Celeste McCauley. “But I think that’s less and less true because I’ve talked about it publicly a bunch. If I’m asked, I talk about it.”
She added: “I love talking about my faith. I love talking about God’s love. I love talking about how we all struggle and are on this journey together.”
Guthrie’s heart for God started at a young age after her cousin encouraged her to memorize Psalm 23, a verse that sticks with Guthrie to this day.
