Billy Graham is now 91-years-old with Parkinson’s disease.   In January 2000, leaders in Charlotte , North Carolina ,  invited their favorite son, Billy Graham, to a luncheon in his honor.

Billy initially hesitated to accept the invitation because he struggles with Parkinson’s disease. But the Charlotte leaders said, ’We don’t expect a major address. Just come and let us honor you.’ So he agreed.

After wonderful things were said about him, Dr. Graham stepped to the rostrum, looked at the crowd, and said,  ”I’m reminded today of Albert Einstein, the great physicist who this month has been honored by Time magazine as the Man of the Century. Einstein was once traveling from Princeton on a train when the conductor came down the aisle, punching the tickets of every passenger. When he came to Einstein, Einstein reached in his vest pocket. He couldn’t find his ticket, so he reached in his trouser pockets.  It wasn’t there.  He looked in his briefcase but couldn’t find it.  Then he looked in the seat beside him. He still couldn’t find it.

“The conductor said, ‘Dr. Einstein, I know who you are. We all know who you are. I’m sure you bought a ticket. Don’t worry about it.’

“Einstein nodded appreciatively. The conductor continued  down the aisle punching tickets. As he was ready to move to the next car, he turned around and saw the great physicist down on his hands and knees looking under his seat for his ticket.

“The conductor rushed back and said, ‘Dr. Einstein,  Dr. Einstein, don’t worry, I know who you are; no problem.  You don’t need a ticket.  I’m sure you bought one.’

Einstein looked at him and said, ’Young man, I too, know who I am.  What I don’t know is where I’m going.”

Having said that Billy Graham continued,

“See the suit I’m wearing? It’s a brand new suit. My children, and my grandchildren are telling me I’ve gotten a little slovenly in my old age. I used to be a bit more fastidious.  So I went out and bought a new suit for this luncheon and one more occasion.  You know what that occasion is? This is the suit in which I’ll be buried.  But when you hear I’m dead, I don’t want  you to immediately remember the suit I’m wearing.  I want you to remember this:

I not only know who I am.  I also know where I’m going.”

Phil Callaway didn’t know what to say when his children asked if Mommy was going to die. His wife, Ramona, suffered horrible seizures. Hundreds of friends and relatives prayed. Medical specialists tried everything. But Ramona’s weight eventually slipped to ninety pounds. And soon the seizures occurred daily, sometimes hourly.

One evening, when things looked utterly hopeless, Phil fell to his knees. “God!” he cried out. “I can’t take it anymore. Please do something!” As he stood, a doctor’s name came to mind. Phil called the doctor, who saw Ramona the next morning and diagnosed a rare chemical deficiency. Within a week, Ramona’s seizures ended. She was a different person. The miracle was so incredible that Phil says, “God gave me back my wife.”

Immediate answers to prayer. You want them. I want them. But God simply does not always work that way. And to receive His best, we must be patient. The Bible says, “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.”

When praying for our loved ones who do not know Jesus, we must persist. Because sometimes God will answer with, “Yes, but you’ll have to wait.” So, don’t give up. Keep praying that your loved one will come to the Lord.

Sandy was a young woman whom my wife and I met a few years ago. At 36 years old, Sandy had been married three times, and had six children. She had recently ended a relationship, she said, because her boyfriend would choke her and beat up on her.

Sandy said she loved her kids, but they didn’t want anything to do with her. “I need help,” Sandy told me. “I’m so confused, and I just want peace.”

Wow, talk about a woman in need of the Lord’s direction and wisdom! I had a long conversation with Sandy, and eventually ended up leading her to the Lord, which was the best decision she could make!

Many people, like Sandy, are searching for peace of mind and heart. But the only way to have true peace is to have the mind of Jesus Christ, which happens the moment you receive Him into your life.

Romans 8:6 tells us that “the mind controlled by the Spirit [of God] is life and peace.”

Receiving thoughts and direction from God, through the Holy Spirit, is the only way to live! Is there someone in your life looking for this kind of peace? Take a risk! Tell them that the only way to experience true peace is through a relationship with Jesus Christ.

There’s a wonderful promise in the Old Testament that I came to understand when I was a young boy. The promise is found in Genesis 26:6. God says to Abraham, “Through your descendants all the nations on earth will be blessed.”

When I read that as a boy, I remember thinking, This is something I can pray for my own kids someday! So, as my wife and I started our family, we prayed that prayer for each of our four boys. We said, “Lord, through these boys, please bless all the nations of the world.”

Now, there were some rough years. One of our sons, Andrew, took a big spiritual hike for about 13 years. We experienced a lot of sadness. But we kept praying, “Lord, bless the nations of the world through our boys.” And praise God, Andrew did finally surrender his life to Jesus Christ!

Now, he’s an evangelist – sharing the Good News all around the world. In fact, each one of our boys is serving the Lord in different capacities. It’s thrilling to watch how God has answered that prayer of ours!

So, dream great dreams for your family. No matter where your kids are right now with the Lord, don’t despair. Pray for your children by name, asking God to bless the nations of the world through them. The Lord will hear, and answer!