Let us therefore
come BOLDLY before
the throne of grace
so that we may obtain
mercy and find grace
to help in time of need.  
Hebrews 4:16

To further the coming of God's kingdom and the fullfillment of the Father's will for our region (on earth as it is in heaven),
invited local congregations and ministries to join in united, daily prayer and fasting for Lancaster County and its needs.

THE THRONE OF GRACE: A YEAR-LONG PRAYER MEETING
The THRONE OF GRACE prayer and fasting initiative was a 52-week period in which prayer for our region ascended to God continually from congregations, ministries, prayer groups, homes and individuals believers.

THE BODY OF CHRIST IN PARTNERED PRAYER
During the 52 consecutive weeks between the National Day of Prayer 2003 and the National Day of Prayer 2004, nearly 50 separate Christian groups joined in prayer and fasting in the Throne of Grace prayer partnership. Congregations, regional leadership networks, house churches, youth groups, camps, crisis pregancy services, adoption agencies, Christian foundations and other ministries found ways to creatively and sacrificially join in prayer for the local needs highlighted in the weekly Throne Of Grace Prayer Guide. Some of these groups adopted several weeks in the TOG calendar, sometimes praying a week in concert with several other congregations who were praying those same weeks. This was a beautiful expression of corporate prayer and spiritual unity in action.

A COUNTY-WIDE PRAYER GUIDE
To help facilitate a full year of prayer and fasting, The Regional Church created a list of weekly prayer concerns related to the spiritual and social concerns of our region. This list was completed from prayer concerns gathered by a team of local intercessors and pastors after contacting congregational and prayer group leaders from around the county. Each week in the Throne of Grace prayer guide had a theme, a suggested matter for corporate prayer, a personal commitment for individualized action, and scripture references.

PRAYER WAVES ON THE AIR WAVES
In January of 2004, thanks to a gracious gift from an out-of-county Christian brother who believes in our vision of a Lancaster County "blanketed in prayer", we were able to make professional audio recordings of the remaining weekly prayer items on our TOG calendar. 18 area pastors and leaders lent their voices to the opening greetings of these audio spots, and WJTL and WDAC gave us air time each day for the broacasting of these creative prayer reminders. In this way, many thousands more joined in prayer as they listened to their radios on the way to work, at home, or on the job. The radio spots also resulted in more weeks being adopted for the Throne Of Grace.

GOD HEARS OUR PRAYERS
Who could possibly gage the overall effect upon our region of this year-long initiative of prayer and fasting? Who can know what God has done in answer to the faithful intercession of his people?
We can only say that we know that God commands us to pray, that he hears and takes delight in our prayers, and that he answers.
As we look around our county, we see so much need, so much sin, so much disunity within the Body of Christ, but we also see an increase in unity, in prayer and in partnership among God's people, among the leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ in Lancaster County. Walls are going down. Bridges are being built. Needs are being met in the name of Christ. The gospel is being preached, and souls are being saved. Miracles are happening.
If we had eyes to see the spiritual world, I believe we would have seen an increase in the victory of the heavenly hosts in our region since the National Day of Prayer 2003, and I believe we will see a great deal more with our natural eyes in the days ahead.

DEAD TO SELF, ALIVE TO GOD
Those who went before the Throne Of Grace took seriously the prayers they were prayed, following up their prayers with personal commitments in line with the topics of each week's prayer concern.Churches and ministries were encouraged and envisioned through their week's adoption. Families, neighborhoods, schools and workplaces were impacted.

THANK YOU!
From the members of the Leadership Council and the Leadership Community of the Regional Church of Lancaster County, THANK YOU to all who contributed in any way to the success of this regional prayer venture. Though we will not be continuing this particular initiative at this time, we are continually working at ways to increase the prayers of God's people for our region. There is presently an emerging prayer base in our County which is stronger and deeper and wider than any we have seen in years. For information on just a few of the region-wide inititives that are currently in motion, check out our PRAY page.

The Throne of Grace
52 Weeks of Fasting and Prayer for Lancaster County
May 2003 to May 2004

"This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us—whatever we ask —we know that we have what we asked of Him."

GOD ANSWERS PRAYER! Read an exciting and inspiring report of God’s answers to Lancaster County’s prayers during 2002's OctoberFast.

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