Billy Graham recalls the day he met the Lord 75 years ago

Charlotte: October 24, 2009, (PCTV Newsdesk)

November 1st this year marks Billy Graham's 75th spiritual birthday.

In a letter from Graham to ministry supporters, the aging evangelist says that he was not quite 16 when a visiting evangelist named Mordecai Ham began daily revival meetings across town from his parents' dairy farm in Charlotte, N.C.

"For awhile I wasn't interested, but my mother was praying for me as she had been for years, " Graham writes.

One day an older friend, who also had been praying for Graham, offered to let him drive his truck if Graham would go to the meetings with him.

"It was an enticement that an almost-16-year-old boy could not resist," Graham recalls.

"Once I heard Dr. Ham preach, I became intrigued and attended again and again. I felt a longing to experience God's love in a more personal way. When the Holy Spirit brought me under conviction of sin, I felt the preacher was speaking only to me. A buddy and I even joined the choir so we could sit behind the preacher instead of directly under his gaze," Graham writes.

Graham adds: "Finally on the first day of November, a Thursday, during the last verse of the last song of the evening, I simply got up and walked to the front. Once there, I wasn't sure what to say or do, but a tailor who knew my family approached me, explained the Gospel in a very simple way, then guided me in a prayer. I acknowledged my sinfulness to God, asked for forgiveness because of what Jesus Christ did on the cross, and by faith invited Him to become Lord of my life.

"My father came down the aisle and put his arm around me. When I got home, my mother rejoiced that I had finally surrendered my life to the Lord Jesus."

My Heart is Filled

Graham continues: "I'll be 91 years old in a few weeks, but those memories are as vivid to me as ever. I've experienced God's gracious love in a personal way all these years, and today my heart is filled with gratitude for all He has done for me."

Graham says he hopes ministry supporters "are praying for lost loved ones and friends, just as my mother and my older friend did.

"It is so important to pray for people you know who need Jesus, and to keep praying. Don't give up. The Bible says that the intense prayer of a righteous person has great power (see James 5:16)."

Graham expresses his "love and gratitude for friends like you who continue to support the urgent work of BGEA.

"Although my health now keeps me mostly at home, Franklin and our BGEA team continue proclaiming God's love and the Gospel of Jesus Christ to lost people in many places around the world. God is drawing people to Himself through Crusades, the My Hope project, the Rapid Response Team chaplains who share the love of Christ at disasters, through TV specials, and in many other ways."

Graham says: "As I write, Franklin is in North Korea and then China, where he will preach several times. His mother, Ruth, the daughter of a missionary doctor, grew up in China and went to school for several years in what is today the capital of North Korea. She prayed most of her life for the people of those nations.

"With the Thanksgiving season approaching, I cannot find adequate words to thank our Lord Jesus Christ for coming to 'seek and save those who are lost' (Luke 19:10, NLT), including me. The Bible tells us to 'be thankful in all circumstances' (1 Thessalonians 5:18), and I hope you will do that today, no matter what your circumstances may be."