Billy Graham Quotes - Page 7

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

Pray because Christ died to give us access to the Father. Pray because God is worthy of our praise. Pray because we need His forgiveness, cleansing, guidance, and protection. Pray because others need our prayers.

If you take a stand [for God] and mean it, you may suffer persecution. Some of your friends will drift away. They don’t want to be with people like you. You speak to their conscience. They feel uncomfortable in your presence because you live for God.

Cut out some of your “important social engagements,” and make your home the center of your social life. God will honor you, and your children will grow up to call you “blessed” [Proverbs 31:28].

Money takes our minds off God.

Two conflicting forces cannot exist in one human heart. When doubt reigns, faith cannot abide. Where hatred rules, love is crowded out. Where selfishness rules, there love cannot dwell.

Sin also affects the conscience, until one becomes slow to detect the approach of sin.

If our children grow up with no understanding of right and wrong . . .no desire to live with integrity . . . no faith in God . . .their souls will be impoverished and they will miss life’s highest good.

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’ve never seen such a hunger in people for spiritual things . . .People realize the past is gone, the future is uncertain, and the present seems to be hopeless. As a result, many [in Moscow] were open to God.

Many people are trying to steady themselves by taking tranquilizers. Jesus is the greatest tranquilizer of all. He can straighten out your life and put you back on center.

We’ve tried calling sin “errors” or mistakes” or “poor judgment,” but sin itself has stayed the same. No matter how we try to salve our conscience, we’ve known all along that men are still sinners; and the results of sin are still disease, disappointment, disillusionment, despair, and death.

May we store up the truths of God’s Word in our hearts as much as possible, so that we are prepared for whatever suffering we are called upon to endure.

We can take persecution because we know the purpose behind it. The purpose is to glorify God.

The world doesn’t give peace, for it doesn’t have any peace to give. It fights for peace, it negotiates for peace, it maneuvers for peace, but there is no ultimate peace in the world. But Jesus gives peace to those who put their trust in Him.

Christ . . . didn’t come to treat symptoms. He came to get at the very heart of man’s disease.

We must repent of our prayerlessness. We must make prayer our priority. Even our churches today have gotten away from prayer meetings.

If your heart is not attuned to God, it will become a catch basin for every device of the devil. Yes, Satan is at work in our world. The Bible is my authority.

Comfort and prosperity have never enriched the world as much as adversity has.

Tens of thousands of God’s saints and sufferers through the ages have found their dark nights lightened and tortured souls strengthened because they found help from the Spirit in the Word of God.

There are many bibles of different religions; there is the Mohammedan Koran, the Buddhist Canon of Sacred Scripture, the Zoroastrian Zend-Avesta, and the Brahman Veda . . . they all begin with some flashes of true light, and end in utter darkness. Even the most casual observer soon discovers that the Bible is radically different. It is the only Book that offers redemption to us and points the way out of our dilemma.

It is a tragedy that many of God’s people have conformed themselves to the world and its thinking, rather than being transformed by the renewing of their minds.

Just as the Bible is God’s written Word, so Jesus is God’s living Word.

Young people are caught up in whatever appears to be the most bizarre. They look for truth and settle for folly. False religions and the occult are clever in reaching seekers who want to experience a rush of any kind.

Escapism seems to be the order of the day . . .Escape with drugs or alcohol, and the bitterness of living will be blurred . . .We can’t escape from God.

The world doesn’t really have much respect for Christians who adopt its fashions and ideas. It is inclined to regard them with contempt—to write them off either as cowards who are ashamed of their faith or as frauds whose profession is not sincere.

Just because a person claims to be a Christian does not necessarily mean that he is one.

The greatest hindrance to Satan’s destructive efforts is our standing strong in the knowledge and fear of the Lord.

Before one can know what is right and wrong,he must first align himself with God. Only then is one in a position to do right.

Nothing will drive us to our knees quicker than trouble.

Sometimes we encourage someone without even being aware of it. Even the example we set by attending church may encourage someone who is searching for God.

The Bible teaches that our homes should be hospitable and that those who come in and out of our homes should sense the presence of Christ.

In this age of humanism, man is seduced by society with the lie that he can become his own god . . . the New Age movement is polluted with self and it will never bow before God—at least not until Christ returns.

Only the Christian faith claims that its Leader died and rose again and is alive at this moment. Many gravestones carry the inscription, “Here lies . . . ,” but on Christ’s tomb are emblazoned the words, “He is not here.

When my decision for Christ was made . . . I knelt in prayer. I opened my heart and knew for the first time the sweetness and joy of God, of truly being born again . . .I knew in my heart that I was somehow different and changed. That night absolutely changed the direction of my life.

Someday your life will be over, no matter how much attention you give to your health. Will you look back with regret, because you nourished your body but starved your soul?

One of life’s mysteries is why two children growing up in the same home sometimes take radically different paths—one following Christ, the other rebellious and scornful. Yet it happens.

The one and only choice by which you can be converted is your choice to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ as your own personal Lord and Savior. The word “conversion” means simply “turning.

How often do you cave in to the pressures of the crowd, seeking the approval of others instead of the approval of God? We all like to be liked—but that can be a very dangerous thing. Make it your goal to live for Christ and be faithful to Him, regardless of what the crowd demands.

Sometimes we get a little tired of the burdens of life, but it is exhilarating to know that Jesus Christ will meet us at the end of life’s journey.

A God of love must be a God of justice. It is because God loves that He is just. His justice balances His love and makes His acts of bothlove and justice meaningful.

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.

A new world is coming . . . The paradise that man lost will be regained . . . One day we will live in a brand-new world.

A senator once confided to me that the greatest need in Washington was the elimination of the cocktail party. He said: “It consumes so much of our time that we don’t have time for matters of state.

The home is basically a sacred institution . . . Faith in Christ is the most important of all principles in the building of a happy marriage and a successful home.

We are living in an age of grace, in which God promises that “whosoever will” may come and receive His Son. But this period of grace will not go on indefinitely. We are even now living on borrowed time.

I know where I’ve come from. I know why I’m here. I know where I’m going—and I have peace in my heart. His peace floods my heart and overwhelms my soul!

The Bible teaches that a man who can control his tongue can control his whole personality.

The destructive power of pride is that it countenances nothing higher than itself. Because of an inherent fault in our nature, man’s bias is on the side of error. In our willful desire to live independently of God, we have severed the lifeline that flows from the source of all life.

In earlier periods of history, adolescence was virtually unknown . . . Today, the span between childhood and adulthood may extend over ten years. Deferred adulthood is synonymous with deferred responsibility.

The pagan world is still trying to put its stamp of conformity on every follower of Jesus Christ. Every possible pressure is being brought to bear upon Christiansto make them conform to the standards of the present world . . .be a committed follower of Jesus Christ.

It is not wrong to want to work and earn a decent living; in fact, God has given work to us. But this legitimate desire can very easily cross the line into greed—especially in our materialistic society.

Your faith may be just a little thread. It may be small and weak, but act on that faith. It does not matter how big your faith is, but rather, where your faith is.

The Bible is to your soul what bread is to your body. You need it daily. One good meal does not suffice for a lifetime.

The Gospel should never be dull, for it is the most exciting and relevant news we could ever receive. When we find it dull, it is a warning sign that something is going on inside us and we need to take action to correct it.

God’s will is that we would be righteous in our living. God is holy, and the whole scheme of redemption has holiness for its goal.

Our worship must be directed to the One who holds the world in His hands.

The home only fulfills its true purpose when it is God-controlled. Leave Jesus Christ out of your home and it loses its meaning. But take Christ into your heart and the life of your family, and He will transform your home.

Jesus told His disciples that the “world,” meaning the world system, the political and social order organized apart from God, will despise Christians.

Blood is the symbol of the life sacrificed for sin.