Billy Graham
Billy Graham (1918–2018) was an American evangelical preacher who became one of the most influential Christian leaders of the 20th century. He founded the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and conducted numerous worldwide crusades, reaching millions through radio, television, and published works. Graham also served as a spiritual adviser to several U.S. presidents and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
“[God] knows that an uncontrolled life is an unhappy life, so He puts reins on our wayward souls that they may be directed into the “paths of righteousness.”
“Christ taught that in the sight of God one soul is worth the entire materialistic world! In God’s sight the individual is all-important. When Christ calls a man to follow Him, He calls him “out” from the “group.” Christ can fill the vacuums. He can restore your personal identity. He can become the truth to your generation.”
“I get many letters every day from people who got married because they wanted their own selfish needs satisfied, and have only later come to realize that this does not work.”
“People are little creatures with big capacities, finite beings with infinite desires, deserving nothing but demanding all. God made people with this huge capacity and desire in order that He might come in and completely satisfy that desire.”
“When that glorious day comes, sin and death will be destroyed and Satan will be banished. All the strife and hatred and suffering and death that twist and scar this world will vanish, and the Lord’s Prayer will be fulfilled: God’s will will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”
“Christ wants to give you hope for the future. He wants you to learn what it means to walk with Him every day. When you come to Christ, God gives you eternal life—which begins right now as you open your heart to Him.”
“In my years of global travels, I have seen a world in pain . . . Without God’s guidance, our response to suffering is a futile attempt to find solutions to conditions that cannot be solved.”
“We can react with bitterness and hate God, as some do, or we can accept suffering as a natural part of life and a condition that comes with living in this world. We cannot avoid suffering, but we can determine our response to it.”
“I hope the day will never come when the church abandons the “class meeting” and the prayer service . . .The old-fashioned “testimony” meeting should be revived, for through this medium we can share with others our faith and triumphs as well as our needs and mistakes.”
“True prayer is a way of life, not just for use in cases of emergency. Make it a habit, and when the need arises you will be in practice.”
“Jesus Christ is God in human flesh, and the story of His life, death, and resurrection is the only Good News the world will ever hear.”
“If we feed our spiritual lives and allow the Holy Spirit to empower us, He will have rule over us. If we starve our spiritual natures and instead feed the old, sinful nature, the flesh will dominate.”
“Jesus, by example, tells us that every true leader should be a helper, a servant, or even a bondslave. This is a command, not a suggestion, and applies with special force to leaders.”
“There is nothing wrong with men possessing riches. The wrong comes when riches possess men.”
“If Jesus had not risen from the dead, no right-minded person would have glorified anything so hideous and repulsive as a cross stained with the blood of Jesus . . .An unopened grave would never have opened heaven.”
“What stirs God most is not physical suffering but sin. All too often we are more afraid of physical pain than of moral wrong. The cross is the standing evidence of the fact that holiness is a principle for which God would die.”
“My wife and I were invited to have lunch with one of the wealthiest men in the world. He was seventy-five years old. Tears came down his cheeks. “I am the most miserable man in the world,” he said. I have everything anyone could ever want. If I want to go anywhere, I have my own yacht or private plane. But down inside I’m miserable and empty.” Shortly after, I met another man who preached in a small church nearby. He was vivacious and full of life, and he told us, “I don’t have a penny to my name, but I’m the happiest man in the world!”
“Bitterness is anger gone sour, an attitude of deep discontent that poisons our souls and destroys our peace.”
“I haven't been faithful to my own advice in the past. I will in the future.”
“Have you ever said, “Well, all we can do now is pray”? . . . When we come to the end of ourselves, we come to the beginning of God.”