Yesterday was a homecoming of the best kind. We learned the news that Billy Graham had taken his last breath on earth and his first breath in heaven.
His global impact is immeasurable. Only God knows and heaven will reveal the fruit that one completely surrendered farmboy turned preacher sowed for the kingdom. He preached the gospel on every continent and in more than 184 countries reaching almost a quarter of a billion people in the crusades alone.
To celebrate the impact of the words Billy Graham spoke and wrote in his 99 years, and to honor his life, work and ministry, I’ve curated 50+ Billy Graham best quotes.
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- Anxiety is the natural result when our hopes are centered in anything short of God and His will for us. (Day by Day)
- The Bible is the only book in the world that predicts the future. The Bible is more modern than tomorrow morning’s newspaper. (Day by Day)
- From one end of the Bible to the other, God assures us that He will never go back on His promises. (The Journey)
- The words of this Book have a way of filling in the missing pieces, of bridging the gaps, of turning the tarnished colors of our life to jewel-like brilliance. Learn to take your every problem to the Bible. Within its pages you will find the correct answers. (Peace with God)
- The Bible will always be the center of controversy. (Alone with the Savior)
- The Bible opens with a tragedy and ends in a triumph. (Alone with the Savior)
- Trials and difficulties may assail the life of a believer, but they also have the ability to remold his character and banish from his life those impurities which might impair growth and service. (Till Armageddon)
- “…we don’t own our children. God has given them to us in trust. . . however, God may transfer our children to His home at any time. (Facing Death and the Life After)
- There is not a day that we do not have a chance to choose between the devil’s clever promises and God’s sure Word. (Peace with God)
- No church is perfect, but don’t let that discourage you. Someone has said that if you ever find one that is, it will stop being perfect the minute you join! (The Journey)
- Becoming a Christian is the work of a moment; being a Christian is the work of a lifetime. (The Journey)
- Before three thousand people were brought into the church on the day of Pentecost, the disciples had spent fifty days in prayer, fasting and spiritual travail. (The Secret of Happiness)
- The only one who can re-create us is the One who created us in the first place. (Day by Day)
- The ground is level at the foot of the cross. (Peace with God)
- God has a plan and the devil has a plan and you will have to decide which plan you are going to fit into. (Day by Day)
- [Satan] will create a religion without a Redeemer.
He will build a church without a Christ.
He will call for worship without the Word of God. (Peace with God) - Life is just a schoolroom with a glorious opportunity to prepare us for eternity. (Hope for the Troubled Heart)
- You cannot pray for someone and hate them at the same time. (The Journey)
- If God were to eradicate all evil from this planet, He would have to eradicate all evil men. Where would he start? “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23 NIV) God would rather transform the evil man than eradicate him. (Till Armageddon)
- Do you want your faith to grow? Then let the Bible begin to saturate your mind and soul. (The Journey)
- It does not matter how big your faith is but where your faith is. (Alone with the Savior)
- If God can be fully proved by the human mind, then He is no greater than the mind that proves Him. (Day by Day)
- The will of God will never take us where the grace of God cannot sustain us. (Till Armageddon)
- Grief turns us inward but compassion turns us outward and that’s what we need when grief threatens to crush us. (The Journey)
- Heaven doesn’t make this life less important; it makes it more important. (The Journey)
- One of the joys of heaven. . . will be discovering the hidden ways that God in His sovereignty acted in our lives on earth to protect and guide us [that we might] bring glory to His name, in spite of our frailty. (Just As I Am)
- 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 Holy Spirit)
- It’s never a question of how much you and I have of the Spirit, but how much He has of us. (The Holy Spirit)
- You cannot build a superstructure on a cracked foundation. (The World Aflame)
- God’s love did not begin at the cross. It began in eternity before the world was established. Before the time clock of civilization began to move. (Hope for the Troubled Heart)
- There’s one thing God’s love cannot do; it cannot forgive the unrepentant sinner. (Till Armageddon)
- Of all the people I have ever known my mother had the greatest influence on me. (Billy Graham: God’s Ambassador)
- Peace – [the ability] to sleep in the storm. (Day by Day)
- Tell me why the gardener trims and prunes his rosebushes, sometimes cutting away productive branches, and I will tell you why God’s people are afflicted. God’s hand never slips. (Day by Day)
- In a country where Christians were looked upon with suspicion and disfavor, a government leader said to me with a twinkle in his eye, “Christians seem to thrive under persecution. Perhaps we should prosper them and then they would disappear.” (Hope for the Troubled Heart)
- 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. (Hope for the Troubled Heart)
- Someone has said, “Prayer is the highest use to which speech can be put.” (Wisdom for Each Day)
- I firmly believe God continues to answer the prayers of His people even after He has taken them to heaven. Never forget that God isn’t bound by time the way we are. We see only the present moment; God sees everything. We see only part of what He is doing; He sees it all. (My Daily Prayer Journal)
- Pride flees when we compare ourselves to God instead of [to] other people. (The Journey)
- The closer the people of all races get to Christ and His cross, the closer they will get to one another. (Peace with God)
- The word repentance is sadly missing today from the average pulpit. It is a very unpopular word. The first sermon Jesus every preached was “Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” [Matthew 4:17] (Peace with God)
- It is entirely possible to be deeply sorry because of the devastation which sin has wrought in our lives – and yet not repent. (The Secret of Happiness)
- There is a difference between sin and sins. Sin is the root; sins are the fruit. (The Holy Spirit)
- Why did Jesus Christ leave heaven’s glory and enter this sin-infested world? For one reason: to make our eternal salvation possible. (The Journey)
- Nothing can calm our souls more or better prepare us for life’s challenges than time spent alone with God. (Wisdom for Each Day)
- He puts a little of heaven down in our souls. (The Secret of Happiness)
- We should say nothing that we would not wish to say in His Presence. We should do nothing that we would not do in His Presence. (The Billy Graham Library)
- We must learn to let the Word of God feed us and strengthen us in our faith in God its author, Christ its message, and the Holy Spirit its teacher. (A Biblical Standard for Evangelists)
- The book of Job does not set out to answer the problem of suffering, but to proclaim a God so great that no answer is needed. (Hope for Troubled Hearts)
- The Bible and the history of the church both demonstrate that God’s way for the suffering of His people has not always been the way of escape, but the way of endurance. (Till Armageddon)
- Tears become telescopes to heaven, bringing eternity a little closer. (Alone with the Savior)
- Jesus expects one hundred percent surrender, and when that is accomplished He rewards a thousandfold. (Peace with God)
- Surrendering to Christ is like signing your name to a blank check and letting the Lord put in the amount. (The Jesus Generation)
- If our minds and hearts are not filled with God’s truth, something else will take its place. (Wisdom for Each Day)
- The Spirit of God takes the Word of God and makes the child of God. (The Holy Spirit)
- It is strange that the world accepts enthusiasm in every realm but the spiritual. (Day by Day)
- Do not expect me to fall in with the evil customs and ways of the world. I am in Rome, but I will not do as Rome does. I am an alien, a stranger, and a foreigner. My citizenship is in heaven. (World Aflame)
- Satan will contest every hour you spend in Bible reading or prayer. (Alone with the Savior)
- I have walked down jungle trails in Africa where I met fellow Christians; and immediately we were brothers even though we were separated by language, race, and culture. (World Aflame)
- Today is the tomorrow you worried about yesterday. (Hope for the Troubled Heart)
Brenda says
Wow. Those were so good. Thanks for curating them all, Lisa. He was one of a kind, wasn’t he? I remember going to one of his rallies when I was a kid, and so many people walked up during the invitation. And, I love that He never made it about him or his fame…but about Jesus. Loved reading these, Lisa, thanks for sharing. ((xoxo))
Lisa Appelo says
Yes, he was a once-in-a-century man of God for sure.
Raju says
Great…. Can sense the touch of Holy Ghost
Celia Hubball says
Thank you Lisa, my family and I attended A Billy Graham crusade in Anfield Stadium, Liverpool, England. I had already accepted Christ as my saviour, but here in Liverpool the rest of my family did the same. These quotes have lifted and humbled me! Godbless you richlyxxxx
Jackie says
Lisa, what a gift you have provided by sharing these quotes. You have helped to sooth our loss of Rev. Graham by sharing his words. When I read through each one, it is so evident that Rev. Graham gives all glory and honor to our Lord and Savior. I take his words, ‘every Christian is a witness and steward of the Gospel’ as inspiration in this life as I prepare for the eternal one. Thank you again and may God continue to bless you, your family and your ministry, Jackie Freeman
Lisa Appelo says
I’ve been so inspired as well, Jackie, to recommit to being a steward of the gospel.
Donna Reidland says
I want to spend some time really thinking about some of these. They’re too good for just one read-through!
Lisa Appelo says
I had a hard time choosing just 50, Donna! Billy Graham has made an eternal impact that we’ll feel for generations.
litchell says
Omg thanks to Yahwah for such a great giant of a man in the army of the Lord may his soul rest in peace. He leave behind informative inspirational words to sturried the soul
Lisa Appelo says
Yes, so much.
Sue Donaldson says
Thanks, Lisa! I will share!
Lisa Appelo says
Thank you, Sue!
Sarah says
What an amazing man and legacy. Thanks for sharing these!
Lisa Appelo says
An eternal legacy . . . and an earthly legacy that only God can measure.
Bob Becker says
An amazing person. Can’t think of a better exa9
Margaret McDaniel says
I really, really loved and believed in Mr. Graham preaching, he was truly a man of God, I will always enjoy reading his words and books. Thank you Lisa.
Stacey Pardoe says
What a wonderful resource, Lisa! Thank you for finding and sharing so much wisdom! This blessed me today!
Margie says
I watched the TV special about Billy G. the other day. It moved me to tears, what an amazing & truly inspirational child of God! I never had the opportunity to hear him speak God’s word in person, sadly. I lost my youngest son 2 years ago as a result of violence in the parking lot of a Walmart as he unloaded his groceries. It is,still as raw today as it was when I list my son. The quotes you have shared with us and the TV special have brought me a bit of comfort & peace; I am thankful! I will save these quotes to refer back to as I continue to struggle to live life without my son, Stuart. Thank you for putting out this list of Billy’s inspirational and soul touching quotes. God Bless.
Cathy says
I’m excited to read through these encouraging quotes again. Billy Graham will be missed, but I know God will continue to speak His truth through His Gospel and raise up those who He calls and are willing to follow Him. Billy always pointed to Christ and now he is with Him. I’m thankful for Billy’s obedience to the Lord. Thanks for sharing these quotes!
Tessie says
Thank you , Liza! These are spiritual treasures.
Edwin Wooden says
Rev.Billy Graham,He was GOD’S Voice to his children.He is in heaven now, Come to Christ Jesus, Repent, ask forgiveness from our Lord and Savior.and he will forgive every one who ask him.Glory to God in the Highest.