Billy Graham (1918 – 2018)

Who Was He?

William Franklin Graham Jr. was born on 7 November 1918 on a dairy farm near Charlotte, North Carolina. He grew up during the Great Depression, learning the value of hard work and a simple faith. In the autumn of 1934, at the age of fifteen, he attended a series of revival meetings led by the travelling evangelist Mordecai Ham. One evening, under deep conviction, he walked to the front and gave his life to Christ.

After attending Bob Jones College, the Florida Bible Institute, and Wheaton College (where he met his future wife Ruth Bell, daughter of medical missionaries to China), Graham was ordained and began pastoral work. In 1945 he joined Youth for Christ and began preaching at rallies across America and in postwar Europe.

In September 1949, Graham opened a series of revival meetings in Los Angeles. Planned for three weeks, the tent meetings were extended to eight weeks as the city was gripped by what newspapers called the greatest religious revival in the history of Southern California. Over 350,000 attended, and 3,000 publicly committed their lives to Christ. Almost overnight, Billy Graham became a national figure.

Over the following six decades, Graham preached the Gospel in live crusades to an estimated 215 million people in 185 countries, with many millions more reached through radio, television, and film. He counselled twelve US presidents. He was the first major evangelist to insist on racially integrated crusades in the American South. The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, which he founded in 1950, continues its work around the world. Graham died at his home in Montreat, North Carolina, on 21 February 2018, at the age of 99.

A Great Answer to Prayer The Los Angeles crusade of 1949 was born out of extraordinary prayer. A cross-denominational revival prayer network with over one hundred and twenty clergy had been meeting and praying for a city-wide awakening for months before Graham arrived. More than one thousand prayer groups across Los Angeles were interceding specifically for the crusade.

In the months before the crusade opened, Graham himself had retreated to the San Bernardino mountains in a personal crisis of faith — wrestling with intellectual doubts about the Bible. On his knees before God, he placed his open Bible on a tr ee stump and said, in essence, “Lord, I cannot answer all the questions. But I accept this Book as Your Word by faith.” A deep peace settled over him. He arose and went to preach.

The results surpassed all expectation. Country music star Stuart Hamblen was converted and his changed life became front-page news. When media magnate William Randolph Hearst — for reasons no one has fully explained — sent the telegram to all his editors “Puff Graham,” the crusade exploded into national prominence overnight. Thousands came to faith in those eight weeks. Graham always said it was entirely the work of prayer.

Key Scriptures Romans 10:14 — “How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed?

And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher?”

2 Timothy 4:2 — “Preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage — with great patience and careful instruction.”

John 3:16 — “For God so loved the world that He gave His onl y Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.”

His Words on Prayer “Prayer is for every moment of our lives, not just for times of suffering or joy. Prayer is really a place, a place where you meet God in genuine conversation.”

“In the Bible God speaks to us; in prayer we speak to God. Both are essential.”

“You cannot pray for someone and hate them at the same time.”

“True prayer is a way of life, not just for use in cases of emergency. Make it a habit, and when the need a rises you will be in practice.”

“Heaven is full of answers to prayer for which no one ever bothered to ask.”

Prayer and the Word of God “Pray frequently as you read the Bible and you will discover a fellowship with God.

Prayer and Bible study are inseparably linked. Effective prayer is born out of the prompting of God's Spirit as we read His Word.”

“The Spirit of God takes the Word of God and makes the child of God. Read your Bible daily. Do not be content to skim through a chapter merely to satisfy your conscience.

Hide the Word of God in your heart. It comforts, guides, corrects, encourages — all we need is there.”

Prayer and the Holy Spirit “Rely constantly on the Holy Spirit. We know that the Holy Spirit prays for us, and what a comfort that should be to the weakest of us. Stand aside and let Him take over all the choices and decisions of your life.”

“The Spirit -filled life is not abnormal; it is the normal Christian life. Anything less is subnormal; it is less than what God wants and provides for His children.”

“It is never a question of how much you and I have of the Spirit, but how much He has of us.”