Quotes from Billy Graham

Guard your tongue, and use it for good instead of evil. How many marriages or friendships have been destroyed because of criticism that spiraled out of control? How many relationships have broken down because of a word spoken thoughtlessly or in anger? A harsh word can't be taken back; no apology can fully repair its damage.

You cannot pray for someone and hate them at the same time. Even if you are asking God to restrain their evil actions, you should also be praying that He will change their hearts. Only eternity will reveal the impact of our prayers for others.

Suffering in life can uncover untold depths of character and unknown strength for service. People who go through life unscathed by sorrow and untouched by pain tend to be shallow in their perspectives on life. Suffering, on the other hand, tends to plow up the surface of our lives to uncover the depths that provide greater strength of purpose and accomplishment. Only deeply plowed earth can yield bountiful harvests.

People of the West have various forms of democracy based on a belief in God as well as on a general acceptance of moral law. However, in practice we are beginning to resemble the Marxists, who have little respect for moral law or religion.

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.

You can have religion but not know Christ. It's having Christ that counts.

The Bible tells us that the state of the world will grow darker as we near the end of the age.

Fear can banish faith, but faith can banish fear.

The saddest words I can ever imagine would be to hear the Lord say, "I never knew you. Away from Me" [Matthew 7:23 NIV].

When the "evil day" comes, we do not have to be dependent upon the circumstances around us, but rather on the resources of God!

Preach with authority. The authority for us is the Word of God. Preach with simplicity . . . Preach with urgency . . . heaven and hell are at stake. Preach for a decision.

Bible teaching about the Second Coming of Christ was thought of as "doomsday" preaching. But not anymore. It is the only ray of hope that shines as an ever brightening beam in a darkening world.

Can you see God? You haven't seen him? I've never seen the wind. I see the effects of the wind, but I've never seen the wind. There's a mystery to it.

Prayer is not just asking. It is listening for God's orders.

Pray to Him for forgiveness and, by faith, receive Jesus Christ into your life. Then you will have assurance that your name has been written in the Book of Life which God Himself will open and read someday. Nothing will bring us greater joy than hearing the Savior call our names.

Knowing we will be with Christ forever far outweighs our burdens today! Keep your eyes on eternity!

Sometimes it's best to start moving in the direction you think God may want you to go, and then trust Him to lead you—closing doors He doesn't want you to go through and opening up others.

God wants us to know His will and He reveals it to us both through the Bible and through the guidance of His Holy Spirit. Seek God's will when you pray, and He will help you know it.

A spirit of thankfulness is one of the most distinctive marks of a Christian whose heart is attuned to the Lord. Thank God in the midst of trials and every persecution.

God's will is for us to commit our lives to Christ and follow Him. God's will also is that we avoid sin.

We should not let a day go by without thanking God for His mercy and grace to us in Jesus Christ.

Thanksgiving is recognition of a debt that cannot be paid. We express thanks, whether or not we are able otherwise to reimburse the giver.

My wife Ruth once said, "If our children have the background of a godly, happy home and this unshakeable faith that the Bible is indeed the Word of God, they will have a foundation that the forces of hell cannot shake.

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