If I say, "here's a sad story" and then tell the story, I'm pre-indicating that it's sad so, in case the audience can't tell, they adjust themselves to hear this sad story. I assume people who like to pray will assume the obligation to pray if they want to without being directed to do so. And if it's on tv, and you are in an emotional state where you don't want to be disgusted anymore or feel sad, you can change the channel.
I already made a thread a while ago that discovered for the most part that people who pray don't actually pray about things they say they will. I think rather than suggest they do pray, if they pray, (and not a word to suggest what to do if one doesn't pray), just say what it is and, well, humans "should" know how to react. They are already making an assumption there is one right way to react and one sociopathic way. But I have noticed that news reporters offer to lead you to the right reaction by degrees - some stories are sad, and then they add extra details - she was a mom of *seven*, it was a church *that was standing for 280 years*, they get right up close with the dramatic pictures so you're sick to your stomach. For example, also, they may have a featured child who needs to be adopted, and the audience responds by many, having their guts wrenched for them, offering to adopt that child. (It might be a dog or a cat, too). The news features one story while ignoring thousands of others who don't get any coverage for equally gut-wrenching stories, and nobody prays for them, adopts them, or feels the adequate emotion for them.
That's what's kind of phony about any appeals to pray, if that's your deal, for any one thing. If you pray, pray for this thing. But I don't have enough airtime to tell you about all the other things, so you can ignore that they happened. If you don't have any personal sadness in your life, or it isn't a disaster of some unthinkable proportion, rest at ease that there's nothing to pray about unless we tell you about the fire, the fireman, the children, the grandmother, the just-married couple, the young beautiful mother, the young beautiful woman with so much going for her, the young beautiful pregnant glowing smiling woman (pictured here, last time she went on vacation and was so happy, young and beautiful), the small children and young widow of the soldier... yes, these are sad stories! But, there's a priority of what stories are sad enough to be on tv.
