Rick Perry Prays For Obama At South Carolina Christian Gathering

GREENVILLE, S.C. -- Texas Gov. Rick Perry is taking a pause from partisan campaigning in South Carolina to pray for President Barack Obama's safety and wisdom.

Perry spoke Tuesday night at a large prayer gathering called "The Response" in Greenville, S.C. He made no direct mention of the GOP presidential contest or of Saturday's primary during his 10 minutes on stage.

Perry led a prayer in which he asked God to grant safety to "our president" and his family. He also said that "we pray that you light his way" in dealing with national issues.

Perry walked on stage without being introduced. Some in the audience seemed surprised to see him although his campaign had announced his plans earlier.

Perry led a huge rally last year in Houston to pray for America.

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Comments

[LilacGypsy]

12:22 AM on 01/20/2012

So what's up with Perry?
Could he have been an Obama secret admirer..
I always welcome blessings and prayers,
Could he be trying to balance out all his negative karma?

[Beccs]

01:44 PM on 01/19/2012

Rick Perry prays for rain and parts of Texas catch fire.
Rick Perry prays for the President. Keep a fire extinguisher nearby, Mr. Obama.

[ILoveGreatDanes]

08:25 AM on 01/19/2012

Rick Perry needs to stop praying. Every time he prays, the situation goes from bad to worse. When he prayed for the economy, the Dow fell 500 points, S & P downgraded the US for the first time, and NASDAQ fell 6.66%. When he prayed for rain, the drought in Texas became went from severe to extreme. Then he prayed for rain again, and it went from extreme to exceptional, leading to massive wildfires throughout the state. Either God doesn't like Rick Perry, or he doesn't exist. In any event, his prayers are not helping anything.

[FantasticFourFan]

01:06 PM on 01/19/2012

Maybe that's why he did it. To make Obama look bad.

[phyrro]

04:50 AM on 01/19/2012

If only Perry and the rest of the "clowns" would read Mark Twain's "War Prayer" so as to understand what prayer really envinces. Of course Mark Twain (perhaps the greatest American writer) is an anthema to them since Twain parodied religion, slavery and American colonialism which many a school board still can not (or refuses to) understand as satire. Thomas Paine is vilified as a "that little atheist" even though without his advocating democracy with pamphlets most notably "Common Sense" the US might not even be in existence as such. So to Perry I say, go pray that you don't get ingrown toenails.

[Havnagudtim]

08:03 AM on 01/19/2012

You are so F & F for that Twain reference!

[phyrro]

04:02 AM on 01/19/2012

If Perry would only pray for me I might be redeemed. Does anyone have his unlisted phone number to God? I think the area code is 666.

[Cindbird]

11:55 PM on 01/18/2012

I didn't know God listened to hypocrites.

[phyrro]

04:18 AM on 01/19/2012

Hypocrites are the only ones he listens to.

[gerorem]

08:14 PM on 01/19/2012

Well, that's His thing: being merciful to fools like us.

[shieldsray]

11:14 PM on 01/18/2012

Rick Petty praying for Obama . . . well we all need prayers. But all lets pray for the Huffington Post for its lack of courage to tell us about the Presidents decision on Keystone XL Pipeline! A number one job killer for many thousands of Americans. Nice going Huffington Post!

[margoharris]

02:17 AM on 01/19/2012

It was on the Front Page for hours. Go back to sleep. A foreign country wants to run a pipeline made with Chinese inferior steel, to move crude with a consistency of peanut butter with razor sharp shards of rock in it by cutting the crude to make it flow with chemicals that are the most toxic known to man through the entire bread basket of the country over the largest fresh water aquifer in the United States. A company who has a bad record of spills and shoddy work.
All to move this toxic stew through pipeline heated and pressurized.
All for 20-50 permanent jobs and 2500-4500 temporary constructions jobs.
What could go wrong??

[LilacGypsy]

12:07 AM on 01/20/2012

Well Said, exactly......
I couldnt have said it better,,
Fanned and Favored

[FantasticFourFan]

01:02 PM on 01/19/2012

He's a republican so God can't hear his prayers anyway.

[Tony Rochon]

11:02 PM on 01/18/2012

Why is it when a Christian says "I'll pray for you", they usually mean it as an insult?

[phyrro]

05:47 AM on 01/19/2012

Great question. It is very demeaning (maybe not for a dogmatic Christian). Even worse is when they insinuate that you are going to go to their make believe hell and you should shiver in fear.

I think we should come up with responses to "I'll pray for you":

1) Please mother - I would rather pray for myself.
2) Don't bother I went to confession today. But tomorrow is another day of committing "sin" or who knows some original sin might catch up to me.
3) Why are you preying on me?
4) Don't waste your prayers on me - If you must waste them then waste them on the starving children of the world.
5) I will pray for you to also. Yuk, Yuk, Yuk. So that you don't get dispatched to your imaginary hell.
6) The ultimate response which is the first reaction to such a demeaning insult but not appropriate to HP readers is "good **** grief".
7) But the ultimate message is encoded in GRINGICHudseiROMNEYbvuywuSANTORUMkALLjgfjsjPRAYdeufgjFORgfw098rejYOURnnfgnVOTE ger ANDgirewbiu YOU bfwhbuhWILL uhreiubgiuGOureuTOdsjbgfhjOURksdHEAVENiuribfiuMAYBEirewui.

It's getting late and I am tired so I hope HP bloggers come up with even better reasons why "I'll pray for you".

Wasting my time praying for you. I gotta get a life.

[gerorem]

08:28 PM on 01/19/2012

I just say thank you. (As sincerely as I need to).

[Havnagudtim]

08:05 AM on 01/19/2012

Often it even sounds like a threat.

[merle7]

10:50 PM on 01/18/2012

Thank you Rick the bible says we should pray for our leaders.
1 I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; 2 For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty.
1 Tim 2:1-2 (KJV)

[Godkiller]

10:27 PM on 01/18/2012

Perry prayed for rain - no rain.
Perry prayed for a stronger state economy - Texas is deeper in debt
Perry prays for Obama - Perry doesn't get near the White House.

Yup. God's a liberal.

[margoharris]

02:19 AM on 01/19/2012

His son was.

[gerorem]

08:38 PM on 01/19/2012

What??? You mean that carpenter who got kicked out of synagogues and threatened with death because he afflicted the comfortable and comforted the afflicted?

[gsw196]

10:14 PM on 01/18/2012

If Rick Perry prays for President Obama and that God "lights his way" in terms of national issues, shouldn't all Republicans and Democrats do the same, instead of criticizing Obama ... instead of demeaning him, instead of working against him ... those who "oppose" Obama ... should really be praying for him?

If Perry's prayer is actually answered, it would seem God would allow Obama the wisdom to straighten out our national problems (in God's time, of course) and everything will be fine. Perry, then, is actually telling his "constituents" to wait on God's will.

Or, was Perry really attempting to get that evangelical Christian support?

Hmmm ... I wonder which of those two ideas it is?

[juswondrin]

01:12 AM on 01/19/2012

Good PR....image repair. Actions speak louder than words. If Perry ACTS like a good Christian by praying aloud and publicly for his "enemy", he could impress narrow minded, single issue voters who insist any American president must qualify for sainthood.....BEFORE being elected.

'Course everyone knows that if ya use a mike to do yer praying, and ya do it in front of a Christian meeting, why that's GOTTA mean you're a good Christian, don't it? "Specially if yore "prayin" for someone you just accused of being everything from A to Z ...and then some.

Yessiree bob.....gonna hustle up them good Christian evangelical votes. Garrawnteed!!

[gsw196]

10:52 AM on 01/19/2012

Sounds like as good as explanation as any.

[eddy joe]

10:13 PM on 01/18/2012

The bible tells us to pray for our national leaders.

[juswondrin]

01:13 AM on 01/19/2012

The bible tells us not to lie, too.

[eddy joe]

09:52 PM on 01/19/2012

So that's one thing we should do, and one we should not.

[JuliaDemJules2020]

09:46 PM on 01/18/2012

Rick Perry continue your praying b/c no one is listening to you when you speak.

In fact evrywingle one of the GOTP who use their Bible as their crutch why don't you stop talking completely and continue praying elsewhere.

[ratitouille]

09:32 PM on 01/18/2012

There are few gestures as empty as prayer.

[eddy joe]

10:13 PM on 01/18/2012

Except a comment like yours.

[RadioRhoda]

09:19 PM on 01/18/2012

Now the GOP is bringing out the big guns. Have Perry "pray" for Obama. That worked so well with the wildfires in Texas and all.

[juswondrin]

11:50 PM on 01/18/2012

Oh come on...give poor old Perry boy a break. It don't work for Texas 'cause everybody knows God don't like Texas.. 'atsa fact, but ya'll won't find it in no bible. Check out the history books.