yeah, that'll solve it.

Again, if you want to pray for something to change, how about the situation in Darfur, or China's policy on human rights? Is the price of gas really something to bother The Almighty over?

Clearly this is high on God's priority list.
Go ahead, pray away lemmings.

Praying for an end to hunger or human suffering is so "2000 years ago".

@EBone: Amen. It makes life suck, but our lives are still a walk in the park compared to the people in those mentioned countries. Maybe they should be thanking god for the opportunity to be able to purchase $4 a gallon gas, being able to sleep without fear of having your throat slashed by genocidal maniacs, and be mostly shielded from dying in the gutter. Count your blessings.

@EBone: Doesn't it seem that the "Christians" that get the most publicity are the ones praying for / protesting about things that benefit them?

Reminds me of George Carlin's numerous skits about these people.

These people have got to be kidding. What is wrong WITH YOU PEOPLE? Seriously...

How about you go do something about the gas prices rather than standing there praying..

How about you stop wasting yoru time driving to random gas stations and praying, and get yoruself a nice little prius hybrid, cut your driving, turn off the lights when you don't use them, lower air condition use, oh I dont know.. MAYBE EVEN GET A LIFE...

Pray for a kid to regrow a limb and then get back to me when it happens.

I guess these people don't under estimate the power of God.

My experience says that GOD doesn't take financial requests or medical requests.

This is what happens when you get a large collection of people who are so disconnected from the world that they have no real concept of how things work. The process of the gas getting to the pump is so mysterious and beyond their understanding that it all seems random. There is no reason they can grasp for the price going up, so it might as well be divine will.

An educated population demands changes and accountability from the people in charge. They can make connections between what is happening and outside factors. But when you don't have the education or the mindset to grasp the realities they have to fall back on what they know.

@EBone: Clearly people praying for low gas prices are taking it VERY SERIOUSLY, just like you're taking this prayer VERY SERIOUSLY.

ps - I love freedom. Freedom lets people make clowns of themselves in public and I get a free chuckle out of it.

"Is the price of gas really something to bother The Almighty over? "
@EBone: Most Definitely.

Hey, if god wanted you to have cheap gas then he would have made it more abundant and put more of it in America. It's intelligent design people, stop arguing with it.

Instead of using their brains to figure out how to cope with high gas prices, like taking the bus, carpooling, getting a hybrid or demanding accountability on the price issue they pray. This seems like the least effective way to solve your problem not to mention unbelievably petty and self centered.

All this proves is that God is an Exxon stockholder.

What would Jesus do?

I dunno...maybe walk?

Uggggggg - this marks a new low in American "Christianity".

I use the " " because most Christians appear to be followers of Christ in name only.

they use that sugar cane alcohol on flex fuel vehicles in Brazil. corn based gas gives about as much energy as it takes to make, whereas sugar alcohol in flex vehicles produces about seven times the energy it takes to make. This stuff costs something like $1.60/gal over in Brazil. If anyone in charge really cared about this hardship, and not getting richer off of people, we would probably be harvesting our gas right now.

@textilesdiva: He'd probably call them a bunch of fucking idiots and tell them to stop giving him such a bad name.

A read of the article reveals that the guy behind is a PR flack who likes publicity stunts:

A public relations consultant, Twyman is experienced at garnering publicity and has staged campaigns over the years for various causes, from tsunami relief to bone marrow donations for minorities.

In 2005, he began a movement to get Oprah Winfrey the Nobel Peace Prize. (She did not win.) Last year, he led prayers for rain in drought-afflicted Georgia. (Rain did eventually fall.)

I wish they would pray for competent leadership at all levels of government. Oh wait, they could could just vote for it..... doh

It's the least they could do.

Literally.

A few things, number one, praying for things to change, rather than trying to change them is foolish. When people act like this, all it does is reinforce the belief that religion is a crutch on which people fall when they do not understand what is happening around them (as stated above, fuel production and delivery is mysterious o most people). This is no different than doing a dance to bring rain. That being said, I will take a second to say that yes, God can answer even this specific request (and this is just me sharing, it is not an attempt to start a flame war). My wife and I have been getting kiled by gas prices and a long commute, since I am out of work and working to get a ministry built and functioning. My 1966 Ford truck runs great, but gets 8-10 MPG, and we don't have the resources to buy a new car. Then, Sunday, after much praying, we were literally given a car from someone with whom I have a business relationship, and now we are getting 25-30 MPG. These people will have their answer if God wants, but this is most likely an opportunity for us, as people, to solve our problem for ourself, with His guidance, rather than just expecting Him to make it change.

I hope a lightning bolt divines its way into these peoples homes shortly

Shame they didn't pray to ditch their gas-guzzling street-cleaner-fashioned monstrosities to ferry their saggy butts the two block distance to pick up their Big Gulp several years ago, huh?
Jesus: "Payback's a b*tch, ain't it?"

5)"And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. (6)But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. (7)And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. (8)Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. - Matthew 6.5-8 NASB

I think it'd be neat if during one of these prayer vigils a gas station employee went out and raised the price.

@TWinter: Amen. I cannot stand Christians who are too busy hurl the Bible at others to bother reading it for themselves.

"Faith without works is dead." In other words, pray... and then get off your ass and DO something!

CLUELESS: Adjective
* S: (adj) clueless (totally uninformed about what is going on; not having even a clue from which to infer what is occurring)
Princeton WordNet

If they spent that time praying on educating themselves maybe they could afford the gas

@textilesdiva: He could sell his car AND his boat...now that's conservation!

Why do people praying offend so many people? Its not like they are shoving tracts in your faces, or preaching at you. They have as much right to do with their time what they desire to do as anyone. If it seems silly, or a waste of time to you--so what? What is it to you anyways? If you want to talk wasting time, take a look at how you spend your day before you point fingers and scoff at someone else. Last time I checked people are allowed to believe in what they want whether or not it seems absurd to you all.

@Uriel: You really need to research why biofuels are not the solution for the United States. Please stop having an opinion. Thank you.

I'm thinking of starting a new group myself, it's called:

"Vote at the ballot box"

The group will organize people to go vote at the next election to change the government in the hope that our foreign policy will change and result in lower gas prices.

@carpediemcls:
Because many of us see blind prayer as a sign of the decline of civilization. Please note, this is not a story about how a prayer group was praying for lower gas prices while educating people about better MPG vehicles. They were not praying for gas prices while telling people to elect someone else. They were not generating publicity for a renewable energy project or local farmers or biking to work.

No, people concerned about an issue came together to do something. And holding hands in a circle and praying was not simply the best idea they could come up with, it was apparently the ONLY idea they could come up with. So they did that and then went home secure in the knowledge they they have done their part.

The whole thing is incredibly depressing.

Prayer never solved anything. These people are just wasting their time. But I guess thats what god is telling them to do. Funny how these people think god talks to them or that they can communicate through prayer. I would classify them as delusional.

@Ryan H:

*EXACTLY*

Actually, I have been saying "Jesus Christ!" and "Dear God!" a lot at the pump lately.

Of course, I am not expecting any results from it....

Every bit of worry, every bit of publicity, every bit of public fretting over the price of fuel does nothing but help keep prices high.

You're not buying just gasoline, you're also paying for FEAR.

I don't support any sort of prosperity gospel or material wealth prayer. I do think that gathering to pray for gas price "victims" is a fine activity (granted one might question the notion of praying for any American while the majority of the world lives on $1~ and may sample mud pies from time to time).

I do support the condemnation of jackasses who aren't spending wisely and then look for instant resolve and hand outs when their little 24-hour life cycle is shattered. Mature, pay yourself first, make good decisions, stop eating at Portillo's 7 days a week, don't have children out of wedlock and stay employed.

All that said, this type of story always seem to smoke out the mid-tier intellectuals and their emo atheist angst. Check yourselves.

This would have never happened during football season. These fine folks would be too busy praying for a Redskin's victory.

This really pains me. I'm a Christian, and public displays like this really give us a bad name. Prayer isn't supposed to be completely selfish like this. You pray for others first, then that God would have his will (what he knows is best) for a situation. Making requests is fine, but turning it into a freak show is ridiculous. And, like others have said before me, time could be better spent praying over issues that affect people in much more destitute situations. If your $80 gas bill becomes too much, walk. Jesus says he'll cover your needs. Walking doesn't exactly work for some other crises.

In this man's defense, he does admit that "there may not be an instant solution". Most people do nothing about gas prices, but he says that "prayer with activism will make a change..."

Though I don't agree with their methods and it's impossible to tell what they've accomplished, they have done more than I.

What if low gas prices aren't in God's Divine Plan?

What happens when these folks are matched by the oil company folks praying that prices continue to skyrocket?

Seriously? Think people, think!! How does praying equate to lowering gas prices? Actually, how does praying equate to anything tangible?

@mzhartz: D'oh, beat me to it! god's divine plan trumps all else, so prayer is a crapshoot at best.

@chuck0008: Thanks for your response. I was trying to come up with a reply but you have said it eloquently.