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The 2022 Bible Reading Marathon on the square in downtown Troy ended at noon on Thursday, the National Day of Prayer, and closed with Christine Barron singing “There’s a sweet, sweet spirit in this place.”

Ken Baggett, director of missions for the sponsoring Salem Troy Baptist Association, said, there was a sweet, sweet spirit surrounding the place where the God’s Word was being read aloud.

“Once again, God’s Word has gone out from this place and with the certainty that His Word would not return void,” Baggett said.

The close of the 2022 Bible Reading Marathon opened the National Day of Prayer Service with Rob Jackson of the Alabama State Board of Missions as guest speaker.

Jackson shared the story of how man’s transgressions, no matter how small, can have a devastating and long-lasting -effect.

Jackson shared how a small crack in an iron bridge in China gave way to a torrent of water- a year’s worth of rain in 24 hours. The flood waters came rushing, 23 feet high and 6.1 miles wide and causing mammoth destruction and a death toll estimated at up to 240,000 along its path.

“Just as there was a crack in that iron bridge, there is a crack in the American nation,” Jackson told those who gathered.  “We are in danger of perishing. We must pray for a change in America. Prayer is more powerful than water, than the military. We must pray for God to do what only He can do.”

Jackson said prayer is the answer to repairing the crack(s) in America.

If the large cracks are repaired and the smaller ones remain, America could perish, Jackson said.

Louis Johnson, pastor of The Vine Church, said there is a need for revival in hearts around the world.

“We need to pray for the fulfilling of the Holy Spirit in our lives and the lives of those around the world,” he said. “We need a time of awakening and the healing touch on our world.”