It Is No Secret

Billy Graham's ministry was launched in the Rose Bowl in 1949 with a marvelous response.  He returned with another crusade in November 2004 on the 55th anniversary of that historic event.

     Before the event in 1949, Billy was a guest on a radio show hosted by songwriter/performer Stuart Hamblen.  The radio host urged his listeners to attend the meetings at the Rose Bowl.  Before leaving the studio, Billy asked Hamblen to go to the service too.  Stuart was not a Christian (his wife was), but he consented anyway.

     On the night he attended, Hamblen did not go forward with others to claim Christ as Lord and Savior.  His spirit was restless, so later that night he went to Graham's hotel.  Hamblen told the evangelist of his churning spirit and with Billy's witness and prayers, he gave his heart to the Lord.

     Shortly afterward, the actor John Wayne saw Stuart and said, "Stuart, what's this about you hitting the sawdust trail?"

     Stuart responded, "That's no secret, John, what God has done for me.  He can do it for you or anyone else."

     John Wayne said, "That sounds like a song, Stuart.  Why don't you write one?"

     And that's how Stuart came to write "It Is No Secret (What God Can Do)."

     Hamblen went on to write other Gospel songs and once said, "I try to write music with a spiritual uplift instead of a moral downbeat."