The 6th Annual Bible Reading Marathon being held at the Gazebo in downtown Troy will conclude at noon to day to coincide with the National Day of Prayer.

The Bible Reading Marathon event opened at 6:30 p.m. Sunday with a Prayer Walk in downtown Troy.

“About 60 people participated and we walked in different directions – to the Pike County Courthouse, Troy City Hall, the police station and the fire station and then came together on the square,” said Linda Adams, Association interim director. “At each place, we stopped and prayed for our leaders, our businesses, our county, our state and our country.”

The purpose of the Bible Reading Marathon is to be faithful to God’s Word and to honor it, Adams said.

“By reading the Bible publicly, we are witnessing that we are committed to people hearing God’s Word.”

Adams said many people made time to hear the reading of God’s word. Some took their lunch breaks to sit and listen to the Word being read.

“A man from Canada was traveling through Troy and stopped to listen,” she said. “He said it was wonderful to hear the World of God being read publicly.”

More than 360 readers from several area churches, college students and individuals participated in the 90-hour Bible Reading Marathon, which is sponsored annually by the Salem-Troy Baptist Association.

The Bible Reading Marathon began with Genesis 1:1 “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth,” with the Rev. Donnie Dunn, pastor of Banks Baptist Church, reading and will conclude at whatever point is reached by noon today.

The Bible had been read in its entirety, from Genesis 1:1 to Revelation 22:21 by noon Wednesday.

“The readers then began re-reading the New Testament and we’ll read through it and start back over before we conclude the 2012 Bible Reading Marathon,” Adams said.

Troy Mayor Jimmy Lunsford has traditionally been the last reader in the Bible Reading Marathon and will begin reading at 11:45 today.

The Rev. Rick Hayes, pastor of Hephzibah Baptist Church in Troy, will be the featured speaker at the National Day of Prayer service at the Gazebo at noon. Peggy Kent will provide special music for the event.

The community is invited to be a part of the national event.