{"id":32252,"date":"2022-09-10T16:02:18","date_gmt":"2022-09-10T21:02:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/the-crucial-prayer-that-set-the-trajectory-of-billy-grahams-public-ministry\/"},"modified":"2022-09-10T16:02:18","modified_gmt":"2022-09-10T21:02:18","slug":"the-crucial-prayer-that-set-the-trajectory-of-billy-grahams-public-ministry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/the-crucial-prayer-that-set-the-trajectory-of-billy-grahams-public-ministry\/","title":{"rendered":"The Crucial Prayer That Set the Trajectory of Billy Graham\u2019s Public Ministry"},"content":{"rendered":"
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By Joy Allmond<\/em><\/p>\n

The 1949 tent revival in Los Angeles that catapulted Billy Graham onto the national scene might not have happened if he hadn\u2019t boldly confronted a brief crisis of faith with prayer.<\/p>\n

Just a couple of months before the eight-week revival, Graham\u2014then president of Northwestern College\u2014spoke at a California college retreat. Also on the platform was Charles Templeton, another evangelist who happened to be a good friend of Graham\u2019s. Templeton\u2019s trust in the authority of Scripture had been waning.<\/p>\n

He challenged Graham with his relatively newfound approach to the Bible, saying Graham\u2019s approach was outdated. People no longer accept the infallibility of the Scriptures, claimed Templeton.<\/p>\n

After the challenge, Graham was prompted to grapple with his own beliefs.<\/p>\n

Could a Bible college-trained preacher and former Youth for Christ evangelist question his own faith? Yes, apparently.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI had no doubt concerning the deity of Jesus Christ or the validity of the gospel,\u201d he wrote decades later in his biography, Just As I Am<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut was the Bible completely true? With the Los Angeles campaign galloping toward me, I had to have an answer. If I could not trust the Bible, I could not go on. … I would have to leave pulpit evangelism.\u201d<\/p>\n

After the weight of Templeton\u2019s challenge stirred him, he went for a stroll on the grounds of Forest Home retreat center\u2014where he was scheduled to preach the gospel the next day\u2014and stopped at a tree stump.<\/p>\n

During his Florida Bible College days, he was known for standing on tree stumps and practicing his sermons at least 25 times before he delivered them.<\/p>\n

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See also  Fixing our Firsts and Lasts: Trading Our Screens for Scripture<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Now, he found himself kneeling at one, Bible open, praying through doubt\u2014something that was foreign and uncomfortable for him.<\/p>\n

\u201cO God!\u201d he recalled praying. \u201cThere are many things in this Book I do not understand \u2026 There are some areas in it that do not seem to correlate with modern science.\u201d<\/p>\n

Moments later, he said he felt the Holy Spirit began to move in a clear way.<\/p>\n

Graham then prayed, \u201cFather, I am going to accept this as Thy Word\u2014by faith! I\u2019m going to allow faith to go beyond my intellectual questions and doubts, and I will believe this to be Your inspired Word.\u201d<\/p>\n

After his prayer, he recalls his eyes brimming with tears.<\/p>\n

\u201cI sensed the presence and power of God as I had not sensed it in months. Not all my questions were answered, but \u2026 I knew a spiritual battle in my soul had been fought and won.\u201d<\/p>\n

As the world remembers Billy Graham on the one-year anniversary of his death, this particular victory can be recognized not only as one for Graham, personally, but for the millions who would hear him proclaim the gospel over the decades.<\/p>\n

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Joy Allmond<\/h2>\n

@joyallmond<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Joy is the executive communications manager at Lifeway.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n