It's amazing to him, David Jeremiah said, how prayer so often is "something we turn to only when we get into trouble."

"We try everything else but prayer" to find our way, he said, because "when the political, military and financial solutions are not working," we often call on God only as a last resort.

Simply put, "All of us, if we're honest with ourselves, know we don't pray enough," he said.

Jeremiah, author of more than 30 books and founder and host of Turning Point Radio and Television Ministries, will bring a message on the urgency of prayer to Lancaster next week.

Jeremiah, who also is senior pastor of Shadow Mountain Community Church, an evangelical megachurch in El Cajon, Calif., will be the keynote speaker for the main "Celebration of Prayer" at Lancaster's National Day of Prayer event Thursday at Lancaster Bible College, 901 Eden Road.

The celebration, from 6 to 8 p.m. at the LBC campus, will conclude two days of events — Wednesday and Thursday — across Lancaster County, including:

• A city "Youth Edition" at 6 p.m. Wednesday at Binns Park, along North Duke Street in downtown Lancaster, and a county "Youth Edition" at the same time at LBC.

The city youth event has been run for the last four years by Water Street Ministries' Teen Haven.

Organizers aim "to bring together churches and youth from all over the city" and give city youths "a platform to know they do not have to be ashamed of the Gospel," said Jose Jimenez, Teen Haven's Lancaster field director.

As the city and county youth editions are being held simultaneously at different locations, they will be Skyping each other to keep up on what's happening at the other place.

"I see it as the same heartbeat in different locations," Jimenez said.

• A series of "community prayer gatherings," featuring churches, community public buildings and restaurants around the county opening their doors for prayer. Visit www.lancasterndp.com for a list of sites.

• A Bible-reading marathon, from the books of Genesis to Revelation, on Thursday, from 6 a.m. to 5 p.m., on the LBC campus.

• A day of prayer and worship, also at LBC, on Thursday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Led by community leaders, it will be called "The Seven-Mountain Prayer," with each hour to focus on a different prayer "mountain."

• A motorcycle ride around Lancaster County on Thursday starting at noon at the Eden Resort & Suites parking lot at 222 Eden Road.

Motorcyclists are invited to join Rick and Eileen Steffy of the Christian Motorcyclists Association "for a fun and scenic motorcycle ride around the county, including strategic prayer stops," as a description states.

• A speech by Jeremiah on Thursday at the main prayer celebration, which begins with worship music starting at 5:30 p.m. Visitors are encouraged to bring lawn chairs and blankets.

The celebration will include a 120-member community choir made up of members from some 50 Lancaster County churches.

In addition to parking at LBC, shuttle bus transportation will be available every 15 minutes from 4 to 9:15 p.m. from Calvary Church, 1051 Landis Valley Road, and Intelligencer Printing, 330 Eden Road.

In a recent interview, Jeremiah said he ought to propose a new holiday for Americans, who all know about Independence Day, to be called "Dependence Day."

As in, a dependence on God.

"It seems that no matter how desperate we get, we're still trying to figure it all out for ourselves," he said.

Jeremiah has spent time studying the biblical story of the Prodigal Son, the young man who asked for his inheritance, left his father and then quickly lost his money in wild living.

The young man eventually returned home and begged for his father's forgiveness, but before that, "even in the worst situation, he was still trying to figure it out" on his own, Jeremiah noted.

All of the two-day activities will be held rain or shine, according to organizers.

doconnor@lnpnews.com