Fact Check

Greg Comer Prayer Request

The lack of dates in prayer chains often causes confusion about the validity of such messages.

Published April 25, 2017

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Claim:
Prayers are requested for Greg Comer, a North Carolina man who is battling cancer.

A message requesting prayers Greg Comer, a man who battled cancer for over six years, is periodically reposted on social media sites:

Greg Comer has battled cancer for almost 7 yrs. The doctors are giving him only days to live. Greg is 41, married & has 2 children, Jacob 11 & Alyssa 7. Jacob has asked his Mom for a special request, for everyone to pray for a miracle for his daddy. He wants a prayer chain across the world. Please pray for Greg and help start this prayer chain across the world for Jacob.

Copy & re-post, and add your city and state before posting in order to keep prayer chain going.

Bethpage Tn
Gallatin Tn
Gallatin,Tn
Shiro, TX
Magnolia, TX
Conroe, TX
Porter, TX
Brenham, tx
Willis, TX
Zanesville, Ohio
Dunnellon, Fl
Marshalltown, IA.
Mountain View, MO
Waterford,NJ
Magnolia, NJ
Amarillo, Texas
Pittsburgh, Pa.
Honolulu, HI
Johnstown PA
Phoenix, AZ
Sacramento Ca
Dix Hills, NY
Suwanee Ga
Laurel Hollow,NY
Chandler, AZ
Buffalo, NY
East Elmhurst, NY
Forest Hills NY

It is true that Greg Comer, a 41 year-old North Carolina man, put up a years-long fight against cancer. Unfortunately, however, messages requesting prayers on his behalf are outdated, as Comer has since passed away.

This viral Facebook message was first shared in January 2011. Comer fought the disease for another month before he died on 26 February 2011:

Gregory Lee Comer, 41, of Lincolnton, won his battle and was welcomed into Heaven to be with the Lord on February 26th, 2011. He leaves behind - but will see again one day -- his loving wife Tina Hilton Comer (he called his angel, the love of his life); their daughter Alyssa Brooke Comer, and his son Jacob Carl Comer. His loving parents, Ernest & Sue Clemmer Comer; his brother and sister-in-law, Jeff Carl & Emily Albright Comer; grandmother, Catherine Southerland; brother-in-law, Kenneth R. Hilton; brother-in-law and sister-in-law, Mark & Melissa Hilton Saunders; father-in-law and mother-in-law, Tony and Juanita Hilton nieces & nephews, Nick & Katie Sue Comer, Kensie, Kayla and Brodie Hilton and numerous aunts, uncles and cousins.

Greg being the man he was would want you not to mourn his loss but rejoice for him. His concern would be for his family through this difficult time.

Pray for them to have comfort only God can give because his family and faith gave him strength to battle for so long.

Prayer chains are quite popular on social media, but they often contain incomplete, outdated, or inaccurate information. In many cases, such as this one, the lack of a date in the original message often fosters renewed circulation of information that is no longer current.

Sources

Legacy.com.   "Greg Comer Obituary."     28 February 2011.

Dan Evon is a former writer for Snopes.

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