Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz turned one of his campaign events into a “prayer revival” on Tuesday, giving members of the audience an opportunity to ask God to make him the next president.

Cruz opened his Nashville rally by vowing to make the Department of Justice investigate Planned Parenthood and promising an end to what he called “religious persecution.”

ADVERTISEMENT

After the normal slate of campaign promises, the event took an odd turn when Cruz introduced “the man who led my father to Jesus,” Pastor Gaylon Wiley of Clay Road Baptist Church in Houston.

Over the course of the next five minutes, Cruz told a story about how his father had been a scientist and an atheist when he agreed to meet Wiley after attending a Bible study.

“My dad describes that hit him like a sledgehammer and he dropped to his knees and he gave his life to Jesus,” the Texas senator explained. Several years later, Cruz said he was also baptized by Wiley.

“By passing on the Good News, not only did you transform his life, not only did you transform my mother’s life, but it transformed my life, it transformed the lives of my two little girls,” Cruz said. “The impact of one faithful servant spreading the Good News ripples for generations.”

“Don’t drop the ball,” Wiley told Cruz as they embraced.

ADVERTISEMENT

At that point, Wiley took the microphone so he could lead the room in a prayer.

“I’m telling you the providence of God will work in your life,” Wiley insisted. “You never know. The seed that you sow will come to fruit.”

“And I don’t want occasions like this to end without realizing that God is in control and Ted Cruz is committed to not only conservative philosophy but with conservative theology as well,” he continued. “He’s going to make us a great president to make our nation a great nation again.”

ADVERTISEMENT

Asking the audience to stretch their hands toward the stage, Wiley placed his hand on the candidate’s head.

“We’re going to lay hands on Ted Cruz,” he said. “Father, in the name of Jesus and by the power of the Holy Spirit, I come to anoint my brother in the Lord. That son, Lord, that’s raised up to follow you, and I pray, Lord Jesus, that he will not let those who gave their lives in World War II like my brother Preston did go in vain, like the thousands of others that are in this crowd that lost loved ones in the wars since.”

ADVERTISEMENT

“And I pray, Lord Jesus, that you take the hands of this man and put the mantle up on him, that he might lead our land back to where we were, to the forefathers of our father and our mother. Our God, Lord of days gone by, we will return our land to you. We commit that to you today, Lord.”

“Lord, he’s been a good senator from my home state. He’ll be a good president to all of our states. In Jesus name. Amen.”

Cruz raised his head and smiled: “This one is part political reality, one part prayer revival!”

ADVERTISEMENT

Watch the video below.