“Do it again Lord. Lord, would You do it again? And would You do it again with me!”
The above statement was made by Billy Graham, one of the greatest evangelists this generation was privileged to have, even though he never envisioned that he would be the answer to the prayer point raised on his father’s farm in May 1934, “That out of Charlotte the Lord would raise up someone to preach the Gospel to the ends of the earth”, due to his resentment of his family’s Bible reading, praying and singing of Psalms during his teenage years. Six months later, on 1st November 1934, young Billy Graham surrendered to Jesus Christ at the age of 15.
Six years after in 1940, on a college tour to Epworth refectory led by Dr J Edwin Orr, the students went into John Wesley’s bedroom and were shown two worn impressions in the carpet where it was said that John Wesley knelt for hours in prayer for England’s social and spiritual renewal. While the other students were full of amazement, one of them had a different heart cry.
As the students were getting on the bus, Dr Orr noticed one missing. Going back upstairs, he found one student kneeling in the carpet kneeholes praying with his face on the bed.
“OH LORD, DO IT AGAIN! DO IT AGAIN!”
Dr Orr placed a hand on the student’s shoulder and said gently, “Come on Billy, we must be going.” And rising, Billy Graham joined the bus.
Nine years after this encounter, the evidence of his heart cry, ‘Oh Lord, do it again’ was confirmed through the mighty move of the Holy Spirit during the 1949 tent revival in Los Angeles, which also launched Billy Graham into national prominence.
Today, we reminisce on a man’s whose life purpose was borne out of prayer, shaped by prayer and strengthened by prayer. Even at the good old age of 99, Billy Graham continued his ministry through prayer in his Western North Carolina home. Just like Daniel in the Bible, he was relevant in the political sector of his country and served as spiritual advisers to 12 US Presidents from Harry S. Truman (33rd) to Barack Obama (44th). Just like Daniel, he also believed in the efficacy of prayers.
He was once asked, “Why do we need to pray?”
Billy Graham’s response: Because the Christian life is a journey and we need God’s strength and guidance along the way.
Some of his quotes on prayers include:
“Sometimes I’m asked to list the most important steps in preparing for an evangelistic mission, and my reply is always the same: prayer . . . prayer . . . prayer.”
“Before prayer changes others, it first changes us.”
“You cannot afford to be too busy to pray.”
“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.”
As we reflect on the lifestyle of this great evangelist, may we receive grace to inculcate same attitude and cry out sincerely to the Lord: “LORD, DO IT AGAIN. AND DO IT AGAIN WITH ME.”
Sources: Billy Graham Library online, history makers radio online, Billy Graham online (The night Billy Graham got born again), Church Gist Archives.
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