Dick Eastman - No Easy Road: Discover the Extraordinary Power of Personal Prayer

NO EASY

ROAD

Discover the Extraordinary Power

of Personal Prayer

Dick Eastman

1971, 2003 by Dick Eastman

Published by Chosen Books
a division of Baker Publishing Group
P.O. Box 6287, Grand Rapids, MI 49516-6287
www.chosenbooks.com

An earlier version of this book was published by Baker Books

Ebook edition created 2011

Ebook corrections 11.18.2013

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.

ISBN 978-1-4412-3188-8

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

Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture is taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.

Scripture marked KJV is taken from the King James Version of the Bible.

Scripture marked NIV is taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version. NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com

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

Contents

No Easy Road

The Christians Journey on the Road of Prayer

Oh, ye who sigh and languish
And mourn your lack of power,

Hear ye this gentle whisper:
Could ye not watch one hour?

For fruitfulness and blessing

There is no royal road;

The power for holy service
Is intercourse with God.

Foreword

Vonette and I first became familiar with Dick Eastman and his heart for prayer through No Easy Road when it was first published in the early 1970s. We were impressed by the powerful thoughts Dick put forth, and invited him to take part with us in a prayer gathering in Washington, D.C., in 1972 (which Vonette chaired). Out of that meeting was born the National Prayer Committee, which continues to this day and of which Dick is currently president. His ideas for prayer sparked others to get on their knees, and anything that gets people to pray is something to get excited about!

Dick went on from those early years to become the international president of Every Home for Christ, a ministry that has planted more than two billion Gospel messages, home by home, in more than 190 countries. It was while at Every Home for Christ that Dick developed The Change the World School of Prayer , which some leaders have said may have had as much impact on the global prayer movement in the past 25 years as any other prayer training activity. More than two million Christians have been impacted by this training in more than 100 countries.

No Easy Road is now considered by some as one of the classic books on the power of prayer written in the last half-century. Having touched more than three-quarters of a million lives globally in many languages, No Easy Road has been called a Pilgrims Progress of prayer, taking the reader on a unique journey, first conquering the Peak of Unbelief and then removing the Mountain of Sin. He guides the reader on through an Avalanche of Excuses, The Peak of Habit and across The Plateau of Intercession. There are other unique chapters dealing with such themes as The Cove of Holiness, The Mountain of Self-Will, The Bridge of Balance, and The Mountain of Persistence. Finally, the reader is brought to Trails End: The Mountain of Gods Power.

When we heard Dick was revising No Easy Road for a new generation of praying Christians, we again experienced that old feeling of excitement. Campus Crusade for Christ was born in prayer in 1951. Our first action was to divide each hour into 15-minute periods and recruit others to join us in prayer. Our enthusiasm for prayer has only grown in the past 50 years. We have dedicated ourselves to fasting and praying for our nation and the world, especially in the past ten years, and to promoting those potent disciplines throughout the Christian community. Prayer is not just another Christian activityit is our incredible, God-given opportunity to relate to Him personally, bringing our praise, thanksgiving, cares, woes, and requests directly to His throne of Grace. It is a privilege that can be experienced nowhere else. And not only does He wish for us to experience this intimacy with Him, His Word tells us He commands it.

God has led us to fast and pray for 40 days each year since 1994, for national and world revival and the fulfillment of the Great Commission. Dick Eastman and No Easy Road are a real answer to our fasting and prayer.

We encourage you to read this faith-building book expectantly. Christians need to master the discipline of prayer, and now you have the opportunity to learn at the feet of a true prayer warrior. We trust you will be blessed and challenged!

Dr. Bill Bright
Founder and Chairman
Campus Crusade for Christ

Thoughts for the Journey

It happened almost overnight. It was as if I had swallowed sandpaper while asleep and the irritation had finally awakened me. Little could I have known as I tried to clear my throat that humid August morning in 1969 that I was embarking on a lifelong spiritual journey toward the very heart of God. It was a pilgrimage that began with a difficult trek through some rather rugged territory of suffering and uncertainty.

Within a few days of that sandpaper sensation, I knew something was terribly wrong with my throat. It became increasingly painful for me to swallow, and I was slowly losing my voice. Doctors (several of them) couldnt explain why.

Since I was a 25-year-old youth minister with a passion for preaching, my fear was understandable, especially when a throat specialist told me I might never get better. Within six weeks, I was out of the pulpit entirely. My ministry suffered. Even soft conversation in counseling situations caused severe pain.

Testing and Trusting

A series of tests revealed that one of my vocal chords appeared to have something pushing against it. A doctor explained that there were two possibilities: first, my condition might be congenitalsomething that had existed since birth; or second, a foreign object might be pushing against one of my vocal chords. My doctors response when I asked what he meant by a foreign object was not encouraging.

It could be a tumor, perhaps cancerous, he advised.

More tests had to be done. Soon I was sitting in the lobby of a leading California clinic, waiting for what my primary doctor said would be a definitive test. Anxiously I clutched my small leather-bound copy of the New Testament and Psalms.

God, I said softly, I need a word of encouragement from Scripture. Speak to me specifically, even now.

I held the small Testament in one hand, closed my eyes and let it fall open. With my eyes still closed, I placed my other hand on the open pages and placed two fingers randomly on one page.

Whatever verse Im pointing to, God, I prayed, Ill take as directly from you.

I opened my eyes and gazed intently at the randomly selected verse. It was Psalm 55:22. Tears filled my eyes as I read.

Cast thy burden upon the L ORD , and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved ( KJV ).

Although the verse was understandably encouraging, almost instantly my anxiety returned. My mind was racing. What if that verse was merely a coincidence and not really prompted by the Lord?