Billy Graham, The Queen and The United Kingdom

Discover the story of an unlikely friendship between Billy Graham and Queen Elizabeth II. Spanning decades, their bond was built on mutual respect, admiration, and a deep faith in Jesus Christ.

Dear Lord,
Today…….I am asking all my prayer warriors to say a prayer that may help others. So many people are hurting right now. Many are struggling with finances and need jobs. Some are facing foreclosure and don’t even know how they are going to make it from week to week.. Many are lonely. . Many are heartbroken. . Many are facing sickness and health is fading. . Some are dealing with difficult family members. Many have lost HOPE.. Tonight, let us put our prayers and faith together decree and declare breakthrough over our families. Financial miracles WILL take place. Jobs WILL be found. Our Bodies WILL be made whole & sickness WILL flee. Marriages and relationships WILL be restored. Family members WILL find Jesus. Heartbreaks WILL be healed. JOY WILL be restored and HOPE WILL be found. In Jesus Name. Amen!!!!!! Keep God First…….

I want to ask you all to pray that God may give me wisdom and strength and that I may faithfully serve him and you all the days of my life.
Buckingham Palace has announced the death of her Majesty.
Queen Elizabeth the second. When a sovereign is crowned, it’s recognized that it’s only temporary and that crown will someday be worn by the king of kings and Lord of Lords Elizabeth the second by the grace of God of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, queen head of the Commonwealth queen of Scots, defender of the faith.
For at the heart of our faith, stand not a preoccupation with our own welfare and comfort, but the concepts of service and sacrifice as shown in the life and teachings of the one who made himself nothing taking the very form of a servant.
When Queen Elizabeth the second was crowned the archbishop of Canterbury, laid the crown on her head and here is what he said.
I give the oh gracious lady this crown to wear until he who deserves the right to wear, it shall return.
Some people may seem surprised to hear that my father Billy Graham and her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth the second were friends.
It’s unlikely after all that American Southern evangelist and a British monarch would have anything in common.
But they did. Their friendship was built on a shared love for Jesus Christ and belief in God’s word.
He admired that she spoke publicly about her faith in Jesus Christ.
He also had a strong connection to the people of the United Kingdom.
This story reaches back to a time when my father’s ministry was just beginning at the end of World War Two.
And it was his first trip abroad.
In March of 1946 Billy Graham took the first ever commercial flight from Chicago to London.
He and his colleagues were embarking on a missionary trip to Britain and Europe.
World War Two had left the continent in shambles.
The despair he witnessed made a strong impact on the young preacher London was still a bombed out shell for the most part and people have not begun to recover.
It was very difficult, very tough. It touched my father what he saw what the war had done to Europe.
It gave him a burden to the people of the UK bars.
And I lived here with our wives during the entire winter.
We spent six months going from one place to another, whoever would have us and we lived with the people and we got to know a lot of people that way.
I was with my family uh my parents, uh and I think probably one of my sisters.
So I was quite a small player in the conversation.
Uh, but um he included me her clothes rationing was still on in those days and clothing was quite hard to come by and uh limited.
I remember very vividly that he gave me a pair of socks American style, which was a bit flashy and I enjoyed wearing them.
He was young. He was very warm, very personable, easy to talk to. He listened.
We didn’t have the itinerary all planned out.
We were believing that God would give us wisdom as we followed his leading.
He wasn’t the that the world knew at that point.
He was just a young preacher from North Carolina.
My father was there to preach the gospel after returning to the States, Billy continued to pray for Europe and the friends he had made.
He hoped for an opportunity to go back and share the gospel. Again.
Almost a decade later, an exciting invitation came, Billy accepted and a London crusade was set to begin on March 1st 1954 Billy and Ruth Graham made their journey by ocean liner but just days before they were due to arrive, they received some troubling news.
There was controversy as the mission was about to begin, the press were all over him before the campaign.
The reactions of the British press were significant. A number of the London dailies had been openly antagonistic and hostile.
My father had made some statements about British politics.
It made some enemies and of course, it made a little controversy.
They have members of parliament, there was petitions and others to keep him from coming.
The negative press gave Billy and his team deep doubts about whether people would even come to the first meeting.
And if they did come, would they respond to the message?
I’ve heard Mr Graham say that on the way to the arena, he thought to himself.
Well, this is entirely now God’s work we’ve done all we can do.
I imagine he had steeled himself to think that nobody would show.
But as they come into view of Herring Gay, there were scores of people and of course, the building was filled and they never looked back that little bit of controversy gave some publicity.
People didn’t know much about him. All of a sudden began to hear about this preacher Billy Graham.
We have not come here to the city of London to save England.
We have not come here with any great ideas that we are going to tell you how to do it.
We haven’t come here to try to reform you.
We have come here at the invitation of these churches to help lead you in a crusade to win to Jesus Christ and we are here to honor and glorify only one person and that is the man in the glory, Jesus Christ.
He is the only one that deserves our praise and our honor and our glory.
The press turned around, they were carrying huge stories and people were coming from everywhere to attend. It.
People were coming from the continent, they were coming from America just to see what was happening when I went to ring.
Uh They were great times. It was a great spirit.
I remember in the underground trains going back to Victoria groups, people singing in the trains, a sense that God was present and powerful and moving and active and changing people’s lives.
I think I would have been about 98 or nine years old.
And uh I, I was at a school and amazingly, it was a topic of conversation and uh it’s just incredible to think that that was so we went for six weeks and the Lord began to move in a marvelous way at Herring Gay.
And we went night after night with people filling every available place. It was extended for 12 weeks.
People realize something’s going on. Something is stirred in the hearts of people.
People want to know more about it.
And that’s why I think the meeting went over 12 weeks because the need was there.
People’s hearts were softened by the preaching of the gospel men and women all over the world today are looking for happiness, peace, security and joy.
The invitation was very much a part of Bill’s passion.
You have to choose the spirit of God has to change you and you have to accept the challenge that Jesus issues.
If you are ready to do that, you can receive him right tonight.
He often said to us, well, I had a hard time. I didn’t feel I had power in preaching.
But when I gave the invitation, I knew by faith that God was going to honor the preaching of His precious word.
That’s it quickly come on all over the place that lifted your hands.
Herring touched the entire UK, nothing like this had ever happened.
And those kinds of things you say, well, OK, big deal.
But it was a big deal in many ways.
It was a life altering for the church in England and it was a historic uh watermark for Mr Graham.
Just a year later, Billy and his team returned to Europe this time to Scotland.
The scripture says he was made to be sin for us who you know sin.
You must receive Christ by faith as your Lord and Savior.
On Good Friday of that year, the BBC carried Mr Graham’s preaching live in a really historic television moment.
It was the second most watched program in BBC history, other than the coronation of the queen.
Now there’s a difference in belief and receiving all of us believe in God.
We believe in the Bible, we believe in the church. We even believe in Christ. We believe that he died.
We believe that he rose again. But that’s not enough to make you a Christian. That’s an intellectual faith.
There must be the receiving that act of trusting and commitment to Jesus Christ as your Lord and master and Savior, the people were spelled out and the press was spellbound.
Who was this man who could preach like this, uh looking like a film star?
Quite frankly, no one had ever seen anything like this, not in living memory.
And tonight you can be a Christian.
I’m going to ask you to get up out of your seat in a moment and stand reverently in front of this platform before the cross of Christ.
Her Majesty watched it. He was just a young preacher.
I had a great smile and a loud voice.
He was animated when he preached and he’s preaching, of course, the simple word of God.
Mr Graham always said, regardless of who the audience was king queen or commoner that when he preached, that the Holy Spirit would take that scripture and drive it supernaturally into the hearts of people, educated man, uneducated, rich or poor.
You can come a few days after that broadcast, Billy received an unexpected visitor.
An officer of the British royal household had been dispatched by the Queen, extending an invitation to preach at Windsor Castle.
She hosted them and and then had my father speak at uh at the chapel and became very close friends as a result of that.
And it led to her becoming not only knowledgeable but also supportive of Billy Graham and his team in their evangelistic work.
Every time Mr Graham has come to London, it seems that her Majesty, the queen invites him to tea or invite him to preach for her at the Windsor Chapel.
My mother and father had been invited to spend the night at the palace with the royal family and it was a huge honor.
They were taking a walk at the queen’s palace there and they happened on what they thought was a gardener, feeding the dogs and they were just noticing the dogs and when the uh gardener stood up, it was actually the queen.
She was out caring for her. And Mr Graham laughed about that the rest of his life.
She had that marvelous sense of humor with them.
She was witty, very well read very astute on the political situation of the day.
Her majesty also recognized a changing culture that brought with it new challenges when Billy arrived to preach in 1966 not everyone welcomed his message.
The press were gunning for him with a vengeance.
They accused him of using gimmicks and tricks to stir the crowd. Love every one of you.
You’re important. Have you plans to engage in public debate while you’re here or is it going to be what I think people often do suggest about evangelists that it very often involves talking at people rather than with them, the the gospel message is a proclamation.
I don’t have to convince people the big thing is the work of the spirit of God in their hearts.
Does this mean that your appeal is to the emotion rather than the intellect?
I think the gospel appeals to the total man.
And I think that the greatest need that people have for fulfillment is a true encounter with Christ.
It was very important that Billy Graham never allowed the criticisms to overshadow his message.
It’s the gospel that has the impact. Not me.
I think the mistake is that people look to me and expect me to accomplish something.
I’m only a messenger to proclaim a message that I believe has within it the power to change lives.
For weeks before the first service ever took place, the press pointed to the invitation hymn just as I am as a gimmick, even propaganda.
The charge greatly concerned Billy Graham. Billy called me one day. He said cliff.
We know that it’s not the emotion of the song.
It’s the moving of the spirit of God and answer to the prayers of God’s people.
Let’s be prepared not to sing just as I am.
How many of you here tonight are searching for a purpose and a reason for your existence.
You don’t know where you came from. You don’t know why you’re here.
You don’t know where you’re going and there’s an emptiness down inside of you.
He died on the cross. He was made to be sin for us.
And on that cross, he took the hands of God with one of his hands and your hand with the other.
And he reconciled God and man.
Well, he gave the invitation and he said, we’re not going to have any music tonight.
I’m going to ask you to get up out of your seat and come and stand right here in front.
Then he stepped back, he folded his arms and he bowed his head in prayer for the first time in any crusade invitation, the choir, piano and organ were silent for 30 nights.
We didn’t have one note of just as I am.
There was no need for hype gimmicks or techniques.
Oh God, I am a sinner.
I am willing to turn from my sin.
I receive Christ as Savior in Christ’s name.
Ah Man, coming up. The queen faces a year of anguish.
1992 is not a year on which I shall look back with undiluted pleasure.
And never before seen personal letters reveal Billy Graham’s counsel for over 60 years, Billy Graham devoted his life to proclaiming the good news of Jesus Christ.
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My father went to the UK more than any other country.
When we look at Mr Graham’s history of preaching in the United Kingdom.
It is remarkable. It is decade upon decade. Mr Graham had a heart uh for the United Kingdom.
My wife and I a few months ago went to Buckingham Palace and uh I wasn’t sure I had the right clothes and I asked him now, what would I wear on this occasion?
Do I wear striped trousers and cut away coat? What do I wear?
They said no, just a business suit but be sure it’s blue and not black.
Well, I happen to have this suit I’ve got on right now and war it, but I had the right clothes on.
When I got there, nobody turned and stared and said, well, he’s dressed improperly.
My wife wasn’t sure what she was to wear.
So she went and used it as an excuse to get something.
Billy and Ruth Graham were careful to respect proper protocol when dealing with the queen, but this didn’t prevent them from reaching out when they knew she was facing difficulties.
1992 is not a year on which I shall look back with undiluted pleasure.
In the words of one of my more sympathetic correspondents.
It has turned out to be an Annus horribilis.
It had been a year in which three royal marriages had collapsed and a fire destroyed more than 100 rooms in Windsor Castle Billy sent a letter of understanding and empathy.
He wrote during our 50 years of marriage, Ruth and I have sometimes experienced personal heartache and difficulties.
I have found great comfort in verses from the scriptures such as Isaiah 43 2.
When thou passes through the waters, I will be with thee and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee.
When thou walk through the fire, thou shalt not be burned.
The queen’s private secretary responded the comfort and prayers extended by such friends as you and Ruth have done a great deal to enable her Majesty to bear up with all the faith, fortitude and sense of humor which you will know are typical of her.
My father was always very careful when he met public people, especially people in power to guard their privacy.
But my, my father did mention a number of times she had a great love for the Bible.
She wanted to study scripture and uh she just loved the word of God.
We understood that they would pray together.
We we, we know those things, what they talked about is known only to the two of them and to the Heavenly Father, there was a, a depth of their relationship.
Now, at the core of it was a spiritual, a common denominator in Jesus Christ.
What matters is holding firmly to the need to communicate the gospel with joy and conviction in our society.
Her faith was part of the rhythm of her life.
And so week in week out, she was part of a normal parish church and she would pray as they prayed, she would sing the hymns, listen to the sermon and the daily life of the Queen was something that was lived in the presence of Jesus.
She understood the gospel, found hope and courage in the gospel.
She’d often speak about it, especially in her Christmas messages to the people of the commonwealth.
And those were the speeches that she wrote herself.
And as those broadcasts progressed into the new millennium, she was very explicit and often talked about for me, the life of Jesus Christ is an inspiration, an anchor.
And you can trace through those annual events just how again and again.
She’d come back and talk about Jesus. She’d talk about her faith.
She’d talk about the good news of the gospel.
She came very close to doing an appeal on one occasion where, you know, it was almost like you can get up out of your seat now and make your commitment to Christ because the Queen was saying, look, you know, he wants to come and live in your life.
And it was just, just amazing. So her faith really did shine through.
She never backed down from her faith. Never.
She was very bold, very steadfast in a world that was changing so quickly around her where many monarchs might be tempted to go with the wind and go with the culture of that time.
She didn’t, she stayed very strong with her faith. And I think people respected her and loved her for that.
The queen has reflected a wonderful attitude of confidence and expectancy in life.
Knowing that in Jesus Christ, there is resurrection and there is hope for at the heart of our faith.
Stand not a preoccupation with our own welfare and comfort, but the concepts of service and of sacrifice as shown in the life and teachings of the one who made himself nothing, taking the very form of a servant.
The message of faith that Queen Elizabeth embraced was the same message proclaimed by her friend Billy Graham.
Now searching is important, searching for purpose and meaning in your life.
You can be alive right now physically, but your soul is dead, your spirit is dead and you keep searching for something and you can’t find it.
You don’t know what it is. You can’t find it in money.
You can’t find it in drugs, you can’t find it in sex.
You can’t find it in all of these other substitutes.
You’ll never find what you’re looking for in life till you come to the cross of Christ and are born again.
The problem in the world today is sin.
And the Bible says, we have all sinned and come short of the glory of God and that sin separates between you and God so that you don’t have the sense of fulfillment.
It’s at the cross where our sins were born by Christ. He was made to be sin for us.
He took your sins and my sins. He took my judgment.
He took the hell that I deserved on that cross.
Now, what does God require of? You? Repentance?
The word repentance simply means to change.
It means that you’re going in this direction, you turn around and start in a new direction that’s repentance and then you must receive Him by faith without faith.
It’s impossible to please Him. It means to put total confidence in to put total trust in Christ.
God loves you. He’s interested in you.
When Christ died on the cross, he had the capacity to see you and he died for you.
Make a new start. You can do that tonight.
Yeah.
Jesus Christ from the cross says I will save you. I will forgive you.
I’ll make you a new person.
If you come to the cross by repentance and faith come to Christ as you’ve been watching this program, maybe you’ve been asking the question.
Are your sins forgiven? Are you saved. If you died today, would God receive you into his presence?
If you’re not sure you can be sure.
But it’s just simply praying this prayer just say, God, I’m a sinner. I’m sorry, forgive me.
I want to turn from my sins.
I believe that Jesus Christ is your son who died for my sins on the cross.
And I want to put my faith and trust in him and follow him as my Lord from this day forward.
Forever. Amen. If you prayed that prayer, call that number right now, that’s on the screen.
Uh We’ve got some people who want to talk to you, pray with you, but call right now that number that’s on the screen.