Anne Graham Lotz on Life After Billy Graham, and the Message He Wrote to Her 40 Years Ago that She Just Found - CBN News Julie Blim

Anne Graham Lotz on Life After Billy Graham, and the Message He Wrote to Her 

40 Years Ago that She Just Found

06-21-2018

CBN News Julie Blim

Last February, the world mourned the loss of Reverend Billy Graham, especially the evangelist's 

children. Now the daughter whose preaching style most closely resembles the style of "America's

 Pastor" is speaking about how the family has handled his passing.

CBN's Scott Ross talked with Anne Graham Lotz, the second of the five Graham children, 

about the family and why she's pushing so hard now for the church in America to rise up in prayer.

She spoke about the day her father died, and how peaceful his passing was.

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Anne Graham Lotz: Her Book, America, and Remembering Billy Graham (Extended)

"He was getting ready to have breakfast, took a few breaths, and he was in heaven. You know, 

no struggle, no pre-warning. Just, he was there," she said.

Lotz says the family is staying close since Billy Graham's passing, but it's been tough.

"You know, I think we're doing all right. It's been difficult in many ways. We're all scattered. 

I talked to one of my sisters last night. I talked to Franklin day before …and so we'll stay in 

touch. But without that home base, it's going to be different," she says.

Lotz says she misses so much about her father, from the tender moments they shared to the 

depth of his biblical knowledge.

"Well, of course, Daddy's missing. And to think of what I miss the most is just everything," 

she says. "It's knowing that I can't go home to see him anymore. Even in his last few years 

when he was weak, I just loved to sit there and hold his hand. Or stroke his head, or he was

 affectionate when I would lean down to kiss him, he would just – he was so warm and 

would embrace me."

"But he loved God's Word. And I miss hearing his comments. But, you know, the sweet thing, 

I've written a new book on the Holy Spirit that'll come out next spring. And I was thinking I 

wish I had Daddy to talk to. You know, I wish I could discuss this with Daddy. And I looked 

up in my bookcase and he had a book on the Holy Spirit that I don't know, it's maybe 40 years 

old. And so I pulled it down and in the flyleaf, he'd written the most beautiful thing to me. 

And I read it, it was like talking to Daddy about the things I wanted to talk about."

While Lotz has her family to care for as a mother to three grown children and grandmother 

to three young ladies, she continues to minister to audiences around the globe, spurring them 

to a deeper devotion to Christ.

Lotz has powerfully proclaimed the gospel for 30 years in her own right. And she continues 

that ministry with her newest book: The Daniel Key, all about the power of prayer and how 

Daniel engaged in spiritual warfare.

"I believe that the enemy has unleashed an attack on God's people, on the leaders of God's people, 

on the children of God's people," she says. "And of course it goes back to our choices. We've 

made choices as a nation that have taken us away from God's Word, taken us away from the truth, 

taken us away from faith. And our foundation of faith is crumbling."

But Lotz says the prayer of Daniel in chapter 9 is powerful, proving Christians have the authority 

to change the world through prayer.

"When we go into prayer, there is a spiritual battle that ensues. Where the enemy, who is the devil,

and all of his, you know, demons, if he can't keep us from prayer, then he wants to distract us in 

prayer or he wants to keep our answers from coming," she says.

"And so it's just – it's a battle, but we have the victory in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. 

There's no spirit that we'll ever face that's greater than the authority that we have been given in 

Jesus' name."

"I believe that there is hope if God brings His Spirit, pours out His Spirit, and we have revival 

in the church. If God's people will wake up and they'll start living for Him and loving Him and 

paying the price for taking a stand for Him and sharing the Gospel, then I believe revival, 

the church could greatly impact our nation."

"I believe Jesus is soon to come. In fact, I said it at my father's service. I felt that God had told 

me a long time ago that when my father went to heaven, that that would be a shot across the bow 

and that would be a wake-up call to the whole world. And that the Gospel will be preached to 

the whole world, which it was."

WATCH MORE OF THE CBN INTERVIEW WITH ANNE GRAHAM LOTZ HERE:

Jesus Rocks Hard-Core Buddhist's World - SHANNON WOODLAND, JULIE BLIM/CBN CHARISMA NEWS

Jesus Rocks Hard-Core Buddhist's World

 9/21/2016 SHANNON WOODLAND, JULIE BLIM/CBN  CHARISMA NEWS

Join us on the new C-Pop podcast where Taylor and Jessilyn discuss, debate and sometimes deride pop culture with a strong sense of humor and a focus on Christ. Listen at charismapodcastnetwork.com.

---

"I just remember when I woke up each morning, I would smell incense seeping into my room. And there were statues of Buddhas. ... "

This was a normal day in the life of young Alex Chu. His parents were devout Buddhists and trained their children in the family religion.

"I wanted to honor my parents. However, there was never a personal relationship with any of the Buddhas. It was always at a distance."

Religion wasn't the only obligation that put him under pressure.

"Accomplishments, ambitions and achievements were essentially the non-negotiables, that which we strive for. My dad was very successful academically and professionally having two doctorates, including one from Harvard. Living in his footsteps was quite a bit challenging growing up. My mom always told me that she loved me. And my dad often times would love me by telling me that I could accomplish anything I put my mind to. "

Alex lived up to his parents' expectations and followed the Buddhist customs—but there was a cost.

"The pressure made me feel like I'm only OK if I get straight A's or if I'm at the top of my class. The feedback that I would receive often times from my studies would be, 'Oh, you got a 99 percent on this test. Well, it should've been 100.' That was just the way in which they would motivate to do better. And that was pretty customary for a lot of Asian-Americans growing up."

As he got older, he started to question his faith.

"And it wasn't probably till high school until I started to think on my own, and not only question my own faith, but am I going to take what the media says, what we hear on TV and watch as truth? Or am I going to be able to think on my own?"

Alex would eventually find the truth in college—but not in a religion or philosophy class. He witnessed it through the Christians in his dorm.

"They seemed very tightknit, very friendly. But even more so, there was a lot of joy on their faces. They didn't seem to have a lot pressure on them."

And he discovered something even more compelling.

"The unconditional love that is preached in the Christian faith. The relationship with God that you can have is something that was a surprise to me in many ways."

In his second year, he asked one of the guys if he could go with him to an InterVarsity Christian Fellowship meeting.

"For the first time, I heard about the grace of God."

But feelings alone weren't enough to convince Alex to abandon his parents' faith. He needed rational answers to his many questions.

"The problem of evil, or why does evil still exist in the world? I wondered about the historical reliability of Scripture and the inspiration of Scripture as well."

His decision hinged on the most important question of all.

"Who is Jesus, and is He who He says He is?"

So Alex joined a Bible study to find out.

"Well, what impressed me about Jesus in the Gospels was the authority with which He spoke, but also just the love that He had and compassion for all people. And so I had to discern that based off of how Jesus interacted in Scripture and His claims, and as I reflected upon it, I came to that conclusion that he was indeed the Son of God. And at that moment, I also prayed a personal prayer to God. And I was completely convinced that Jesus is the Son of God, that He died for my sins that I may have life eternally with Him. "

Now, Alex had to tell his parents he had become a Christian. It took years, but eventually they accepted his decision. After college, Alex worked as an engineer before he answered God's call to go to seminary. He also married Michelle, a Christian, and today he and Michelle are busy raising three children.  

"As an Asian-American that was always trying to seek approval and achieve things, it's meant everything to me to recognize that He loves me unconditionally and offers an eternal life with Him." 

Reprinted with permission from CBN.com. Copyright The Christian Broadcasting Network, Inc., All rights reserved.

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