Back in the fall of 2005, when Palin was running for governor of Alaska, a Kenyan pastor named Thomas Muthee preached several times at Wasilla Assembly of God, Palin's church home for more than two decades. In one service, Palin joined Moothy onstage while he prayed for her.
"We say grace to be reigned upon her in the name of Jesus," Muthee prayed while Palin bowed her head. "We are asking you as the body of Christ in this valley make a way for Sarah even in the political arena . . . Bring finances her way even for the campaign in the name of Jesus . . . Give her men and women who will buck her up in the name of Jesus . . . Oh, Father, use her to turn this nation the other way around . . . "
Intercessory public prayer is a common and often powerful form of encouragement and blessing in evangelical or Pentecostal settings, for politicians or anyone else