People are doing all sorts of things these days to cope with the highest gas prices seen in this (or any) lifetime—driving less, trading in SUVs for more fuel efficient vehicles, investing with managed futures vehicles and commodity index funds, or the always-popular driving tour in search of that filling station that’s a nickel less than everywhere else. But whether it’s plunking down $50 per fill-up or making do with $10 squirts every day or two, the pain is palpable.

Some are appealing to a higher power. In April, a public relations consultant from Rockville, Md. launched Pray at the Pump, a traveling group that’s held pray-ins at filling stations across the country—at a San Francisco Chevron in April, where he implored the Almighty to “deliver us from these high gas prices.” A month later he was at a Shell station in Washington, leading believers in a rendition of “We Shall Overcome” featuring modified, gasoline-centric lyrics.

For those who want to do their part at home, Mr. Twyman launched a “Pray Down the High Gas Prices Movement” online petition, in which “prayer warriors” agree to pray no less than three times per day to bring on relief at the pump.

Twyman claims that gas prices in Florida eased after he spoke on the radio, and no doubt he’s giving thanks for the recent pullback in crude oil markets, after prices traded as high as $135 per barrel in May. But since March, gas prices are still up something like 75 cents, according to AAA, and oil remains volatile. Nevertheless, one hopes that his followers keep the faith, and don’t redirect their prayers to other sources.

This entry was posted on Thursday, June 5th, 2008 at 2:59 pm and is filed under Commodities, Odd Stuff. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.