8-hour Prayer Meeting

Held at State Capital

       Saturday, November 1, 2008 saw representatives from many houses of prayer and other prayer ministries meet in the Senate Hearing Room in the State Capitol building in Harrisburg for 8 hours of sustained prayer and worship. One-hour segments of the day were led by various worship leaders and intercessors from across the Commonwealth, including Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Scranton, Meadville, State College, York and Harrisburg.

This historic occasion was marked by deep, detailed intercession for the body of believers across Pennsylvania. An increase in holiness and devotion to Jesus was a frequent prayer topic. One of the many highlights of the day was the taking of communion together. A buffet dinner was enjoyed by all afterwards in the lobby. Special thanks go to Ruth Willard and her team for organizing and executing the event.

            A meeting of state leaders of houses of prayer was held during dinner to discuss future plans for developing and unifying 24/7 prayer across Pennsylvania.

Pennsylvania Houses of Prayer Gather to Unite in 24/7 Fervent Prayer

Ralph Egyud (March 31, 2008)

Meadville, Pennsylvania

            Intercessors and musicians from all across the state gathered for 24 hours this past weekend at The Altar International House of Prayer in Meadville, PA to pray for Pennsylvania. Worship/prayer teams from Gateway House of Prayer (Ephrata), Reading House of Prayer, Northeast Pennsylvania House of Prayer (Scranton), Voice of the Bride (Pittsburgh), House of Prayer State College, and The Altar (Meadville) as well as a team from Philadelphia/Norristown stormed heaven’s gates in twelve two-hour shifts starting at 7PM on Friday, March 28 and ending with a prophetic celebration at 7PM Saturday, March 29.

Pastor Dennis See, director of The Altar and host of the event, was led to have this historic gathering focus on the political and spiritual government of Pennsylvania, as well as the unity of the body of Christ and ministry to one another. Included in the vision for the meeting were the many prophecies made about the state over the years, especially those made by Chuck Pierce and Dutch Sheets during their 50-state tour of 2003-04. One of these prophecies spoke of seven prayer centers rising up around the state, and that is exactly how many were represented by teams at this event!

Nathan Eckel of Philadelphia provided extra historical information on William Penn, who established Pennsylvania as a “holy experiment”. The assembled worshippers prayed and proclaimed aloud Penn’s prayer for Philadelphia from 1684, echoing the founder’s God-given vision for the city and the state across the centuries:

“And Thou Philadelphia the virgin settlement of this province named before thou wert born, what care, what service, what travail have there been to bring thee forth and preserve thee from such as would abuse and defile thee.  Oh, that thou mayest be kept from the evil that would overwhelm thee, that faithful to the God of thy mercies in the life of righteousness, thou mayest be preserved to the end.  My soul prays to God for thee that thou mayest stand in the day of trial, that thy children may be blest of the Lord and thy people saved by His power.”

Strongholds were torn down and proclamations of victory and holiness were made as the teams led by Ken Eberley, Teresa Mayhoff, Weston Shertzer, Dennis See, Nathan Eckel, Ralph Egyud, Jim Morda, Jamie Fitt, Marcia Rhoades and Teri Bealer flowed together for 24 hours in extraordinary unity. Teams ministered and made impartations to each other during the event. A Meadville team led by Egyud, one of the event coordinators, spent the entire 5-7AM session praying exclusively for the state’s largest city, Philadelphia.   

Each house also provided a statement of their visions and prayer focuses, which were assembled into a prayer packet along with historical information and the Pennsylvania excerpt from Pierce and Sheets’ book, “Releasing The Destiny of a Nation”. These packets were used during the gathering to help focus prayer, and were taken home by the attendees so that they can continue to lift up one another.

The leaders of the various teams will soon be discussing continuing these meetings across the state, encompassing Pennsylvania with God’s power and glory.