Live Prayer is a Christian evangelical Internet and television ministry located in Tampa, Florida, founded and operated by Bill Keller.
[5] The Live Prayer television program began March 3, 2003 as a late-night show on WTOG where Bill Keller discussed current events from in relation to the ministry's theology and took phone calls.
Callers would mostly ask Keller to pray with them over specific issues in their lives, occasionally contributing testimony of religious experience and their comments on scripture.
Starting July 2006, the show was seen nationwide on i (Now Ion Television), however this ended in November when Keller could not raise enough money to pay the significantly higher airtime fees.
Keller also made his personal financial records available to reporters on request and informed viewers that his studio was austerely located on the donated grounds of a used car lot.
[7] On August 31, 2007, after 1,175[2] episodes and nearly 5 years, Live Prayer was pulled from WTOG after complaints from the Council on American-Islamic Relations, after Keller made remarks on the show describing Muhammad as a "murdering pedophile", and considering Islam to be a "1,400-year-old lie from the pits of hell.
The CD-ROM, sold for US$10 on the Live Prayer website, contained an archive of Keller's past daily devotionals as well as videos inviting viewers to "accept Jesus.
Barry Lynn of Americans United for Separation of Church and State later wrote a letter to the Internal Revenue Service asking them to revoke Live Prayer's tax exempt status due to Bill Keller's allegedly political statements.
[30] On September 17, 2007, Keller released a 10-minute video message,[31] in which he asked Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden to repent and "accept Jesus"; he also urged other Muslims to do the same.
[32][33] Keller frequently criticizes talk-show host and media personality Oprah Winfrey for promoting new age spiritual products, such as The Secret and A Course in Miracles.