4. Billy Graham’s Prayer for the Middle East at the Start of the Gulf War
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At the start of the first Gulf War, there was a tremendous amount of uncertainty and fear. The power in the Middle East was incredibly imbalanced, and there was a possibility of oil shortages which could have had tremendous fallout. Plus, of course, nothing strikes fear into people’s hearts as much as the word “war.”
Billy Graham released his prayer for the nation, that reminded us where we should place our trust, again calling our attention to Psalm 46.
“The Bible commands us to pray for “all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives” (I Timothy 2:2). Let us pray that God will give wisdom to all those leaders whose decisions can make a difference there, and for all the peoples in that part of the world. Let us pray also that God will intervene and bring peace to that troubled region.
May these events also remind us that our ultimate security must not be in economic or military strength alone. Let us instead remember the ancient words of the Psalmist, “God is our refuge and strength, an ever present help in trouble… He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth” (Psalm 46:1,9).”
5. Billy Graham’s Comments after the San Francisco Earthquake
Read more about it here.
In October of 1989, a 6.9 magnitude earthquake shook Northern California, causing more than $6 billion in property damage and claiming 63 lives. Touring the damage, Billy Graham offered words of encouragement to the survivors and those impacted – words that can continue to encourage us today.
“I’ve had a lot of people speak to me about hope and about God, about their faith in God, about finding God…I’ve told people as I’ve talked to them, don’t give up on God, He’s still there and He loves you and there’s a purpose in this for you.
I think, that we get our priorities straight and we find out what the real meaning of life is when we come to a moment like this. We see that some of the things that we think are very important are not so important after all.
And I’ve been told that several times today by people who have suffered the loss of their homes and who are living down there in tents…I hope that this is going to point people to the fact that we are fragile, transitory human beings, we’re mortal and that we have a great God that we ought to put our trust in and our confidence in because He has a plan for our lives.
We ought to recognize that God is a God of love and He’s interested in every one of us and that we can pray to Him and He will answer our prayers.
Why this disaster took place I cannot explain…I can only say that God gives peace and strength and grace to those who put their trust and their faith in Him.”
Brent Rinehart is a public relations practitioner and freelance writer. He blogs about the amazing things parenting teaches us about life, work, faith and more at www.apparentstuff.com. You can also follow him on Twitter at @brentrinehart.
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