Dick Eastman - The Hour That Changes the World: A Practical Plan for Personal Prayer

1978, 2002 by Dick Eastman

Published by Chosen Books
11400 Hampshire Avenue South
Bloomington, Minnesota 55438
www.chosenbooks.com

Chosen Books is a division of
Baker Publishing Group, Grand Rapids, Michigan.
www.bakerpublishinggroup.com

An earlier version of this book was published by Baker Books

Ebook edition created 2011

Ebook corrections 04.14.2016 (VBN), 01.06.2017

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meansfor example, electronic, photocopy, recordingwithout the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file at the Library of Congress, Washington, DC.

ISBN 978-1-58558-832-9

Unless otherwise noted, Scripture is taken from the King James Version.

Scripture marked NKJV is taken from the New King James Version. Copyright 1979, 1980, 1982, by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture marked RSV is taken from the Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright 1946, 1952, 1971 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA. Used by permission.

Scripture marked NASB is taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE . Copyright The Lockman Foundation 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995. Used by permission.

Scripture marked LB is taken from The LivingBible 1971. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, IL 60189. All rights reserved.

For information concerning prayer helps mentioned in this book, the reader may contact:

Every Home for Christ
P.O. Box 6400
Colorado Springs, CO 80962
www.ehc.org
info@ehc.org

To
the memory
of a wonderful friend
Jean Baumgardner
who 25 years ago
inspired the writing
of this book.

May God honor Jeans memory
with a glorious new army
of mighty praying warriors!

Contents

Before You Begin: Thoughts
from Joni Eareckson Tada

A Quarter-Century of Blessing: Thoughts
from the Author

5. Scripture Praying: The Act of Faith
Appropriation

9. Thanksgiving: The Act of Expressed
Appreciation

14. The Destiny of Our Neighbors and Nations:
Your Invitation to Be a Watchman Warrior

15. Final Thoughts: Scriptural Intercession and
Practical Involvement

I t was the summer of 1984 and I was catching up with an old friend over lunch. When she asked me about my journey with the Lord Jesus, I smiled and replied, I am convinced theres so much more to know, so much more to enjoy and understand about the Lord, and Ive been asking Him to show me how to go deeper.

My friend grinned and said, Joni, I just happen to have something that may be an answer to your prayer. She then pulled out of her handbag a copy of The Hour That Changesthe World.

At first I was skeptical. It was such an unpretentious-looking little book. After I read it, however, I realized its insights and directives were just what I needed. The following week I made a copy of the page with the prayer plan, asked my husband to tape it to my bedroom wall unit, and then every night I dived into praise and waiting, confession and Scripture praying, watching, intercession, and all the rest. Little did I know that I was embarking on the most marvelous, awe-inspiring adventure of my Christian walk.

From that time on, my bed became an altar of praise. As a quadriplegic I cannot sit in my wheelchair too long, and I used to resent the early-to-bed routine. But when I began to see my bed as a prayer platform, when I realized that lying down gave me a looking-up position (a great prayer stance!), I started to look forward to 8:30 P.M.

The hours I spent communing with the Lord Jesus catapulted me into a whole new dimension of joy in the Lord. Those hoursand many hours sincehave ushered me into the deep recesses of my Saviors heart. My time of prayer became the hour that changed not only my world but the world of our mission at Joni and Friends as we strive to reach for Christ thousands of people around the globe with disabilities.

I am sure this explains why, years later, I always keep a couple of extra copies of Dick Eastmans little masterpiece on my office shelf. I do so for those occasions when my conversation with a visitor to our office turns to deeper and more personal things in life. It happened not long ago when a young college student asked, How can I know Jesus better? How can I make a difference in the world? Sometimes it can be a tired saint who wonders, How can I regain myfirst love?

The Hour That Changes the World may appear small and modest, but dont let its size fool you. Full of biblical insights about prayer, packed with testimonies of prayer warriors from years past, brimming with practical suggestions that will help you carve out a purposeful time of praise and intercession, Dick Eastmans book is arguably the most significant book on prayer written in modern times. It may look small, but in every way it is definitely large.

It is a hurting world around us, and this poor planet, splitting apart at the seams, needs prayer. From Afghanistan to Africa, hurting people need someone who will intercede for them. Even here in Americafrom schoolteachers to hairstylists, from grocers to gas station attendants, from policemen to the people over your backyard fenceour world is desperate for a prayerful touch. Together may we seek the Lord in prayer as to how we can fit into His strategy to reach for Christ those who are helpless and hopeless. And in so doing may we discover that our hours in praise, confession, and intercession change not only the world beyond us... but our world, too.

Joni Eareckson Tada
Agoura Hills, California

I grew up singing the old hymn Draw Me Nearer, and particularly recall the stanza that begins O the pure delight of a single hour that before Thy throne I spend. Yet it was not until my early thirties that I discovered how this delight could touch every day that I lived, in a practical way. That discovery changed my prayer life.

Moved by Christs appeal to Peter in Matthew 26:40, Could you not watch with Me one hour? (NKJV), I embarked on a journey of blessing that has touched every day since.

Twenty-five years ago this simple challenge to set aside an hour a day to be with the Lord, in His Word, was born. It resulted from those early days of seeking to develop a consistent, daily, devotional hour. Because of a special burden for world evangelization, my hour included a plan to pray for the nations each day, thus becoming a daily hour that let me partner with God in changing our world.

It is with my deep gratitude to the Lord for His blessing that this special twenty-fifth anniversary edition of TheHour That Changes the World is being published. I have been encouraged that some fifty printings of this book have been released in numerous languages over these twenty-five years.

I believe God is raising up an entirely new generation of faithful, fervent warriors of worship and intercession who will truly change our world through their prayers. If they are like me when I started out, they will appreciate a few guidelines to help them beginand to stay faithful. I pray these pages will help.

In addition to the hundreds of thousands who have read this simple book, the circle of prayer, central to this study (with twelve prayer focuses of five minutes each), has been reprinted in magazines, newsletters, prayer guides, and church bulletins. It has also been photocopied all over the world, often presented to groups with accompanying teaching, even in such places as Saudi Arabia, Iran, Syria, Jordan, and Cuba. This training has touched people of various languages, including Chinese, Russian, Arabic, Swahili, Lingala, Farsi, Hindi, Indonesian, Tagalog, Nepalese, Burmese, Thai, Korean, and Vietnamese, as well as more familiar languages like German, French, Spanish, Portuguese, and Italian (to name only several).