‘Normal Bloke’ Building Massive Monument to Honor God

Richard Gamble went on national radio in the UK to announce his plans for a massive, million-brick monument to answered prayers—a tribute to God’s faithfulness. But the response he received was deeply disappointing. 

Frustrated, Richard cried out to God. What happened next is part of an amazing story that’s unfolding right now in the heart of England.  

Visit the Eternal Wall of Prayer website: eternalwall.org.uk 

Connect with us through email at gps@billygraham.org or on Facebook at Billy Graham Radio. 

If you’d like to know more about beginning a relationship with Jesus Christ, or deepening the faith you already have, visit FindPeacewithGod.net. 

If you’d like to pray with someone, call our Billy Graham 24/7 Prayer Line at 855-255-7729. 

Transcript

Richard Gamble: 
[00:00:00] This sort of flash came through my head, this vision, if you like, of building a wall by a motorway that is made up of a million bricks, where every brick represents testimony to get people to think about Jesus. 

Jim Kirkland: 
[00:00:14] Richard Gamble went on a national campaign in the UK to raise support for a massive brick monument to answered prayer. He thought his fellow Christians would jump at the chance to join him. Well, not so much. Richard was disappointed and frustrated. 

Richard Gamble:
[00:00:32] And then, I did something that I’d never done before in my life. I decided to pray through the night. And I – I went up a hill. And I prayed. And I was like, Jesus, what is going on? 

Jim Kirkland: 
[00:00:44] We’ll find out what happened next as Richard shares his story on this episode of GPS: God. People. Stories. It’s an outreach of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. I’m Jim Kirkland. Over the decades, Billy Graham preached across the world. He had one specific method of preparation for every Crusade. It was, in his words, pray, pray, pray. He felt this way because the importance of prayer is echoed all throughout the Bible. 

Billy Graham: 
[00:01:15] Jesus said that man ought always to pray. From one end of the Bible to the other, there are stories of those whose prayers have been answered. Men who turned the tide of history by prayer. Men who fervently prayed, and God answered. 

Jim Kirkland: 
[00:01:29] We’ll hear more from Billy Graham a little later. If you need prayer right now, we have people standing by at the Billy Graham 24/7 Prayer Line. The number to reach them (855) 255 – 7729. That’s (855) 255 – PRAY. If you need prayer, don’t hesitate to pause the episode and call right now. And you can always find the number in our show notes. 

Audio tag:
[00:01:58]

Richard Gamble:
[00:02:06] I am the founder of the Eternal Wall of Answered Prayer. I’m married with three children. And I’m not an architect or an engineer. Just a normal bloke that God spoke to 22 years ago. 


Jim Kirkland: 
[00:02:20] Richard Gamble is building a monument to answered prayer in the heart of England. And it is going to be big. One million bricks. Each representing real prayers from people around the world. The project has been in the works for two decades, but the story of faith behind it begins even earlier. 

Richard Gamble: 
[00:02:41] I became aware of God when I was 11 years old. So, I wasn’t raised in a Christian family. My parents were divorced when I was six years old. But I overheard my mum having a conversation saying that she may have cancer. And I didn’t really know how to pray or who God was, but I knelt by my bed, and I put my hands together because that’s what I had seen on TV. And I just prayed. I said, God, will you look after my mom?  

Jim Kirkland: 
[00:03:12] That led to a moment Richard will never forget. 

Richard Gamble:  
[00:03:15] Kind of really difficult to describe in words, but in that moment, I knew that God was with me. And I knew that it was going to be okay, which it was. So, that was a moment in my life where I experienced God. I think that’s the simplest way to say it. But it really took another nine years until somebody shared the gospel with me and explained who God was. 

Jim Kirkland:   
[00:03:43] Richard was a new university graduate when he got into a conversation with a group of other young grads about the existence of God. 

Richard Gamble: 
[00:03:51] And I was like, yeah, God definitely exists. And another one of the graduates was there. And she was arguing that God exists. So, there were two of us and 18 against. And, uh, she said where do you go to church? I was like I don’t go to a church. She said why don’t you come with us. 

Jim Kirkland: 
[00:04:11] Richard had visited churches occasionally during his young life, but it always seemed like the people were just going through the motions of religion. When he visited with his new friend, something was different. 

Richard Gamble:
[00:04:23] I was watching people worship. And I was like, huh, this is – this is real for them. And then, in that moment, I experienced the same feeling that I felt when I was an 11 year old boy. And at the end of the meeting, somebody rushed up to me and just went, hey, did you feel the presence of God? I was like, yeah. I think I did. And then, he, uh, took me out to a pub, sat me down, and explained the gospel to me. I didn’t need persuading. I just needed telling. 

Jim Kirkland: 
[00:04:56] Let that sink in for a minute. He didn’t need persuading. He just needed someone to tell him the good news of Jesus Christ. 

Richard Gamble:
[00:05:05] It makes me think how many people are – that God has already got ready, if you like, that are just waiting for somebody to share the gospel with them. 

Jim Kirkland: 
[00:05:16] That day in the pub, Richard confessed he was a sinner in need of a Savior. He prayed to accept Jesus Christ’s forgiveness and asked Jesus to be the Lord of his life. 

Richard Gamble:
[00:05:28] It was October 1990; I gave my life to Jesus. And that was a lot of change for me. I was drinking heavily. Living with a young girl. And I was like, all of this has just got to stop. And that’s what I did immediately. And so, that took a while for all my friends to understand what was going on, but without doubt, the best decision I’ve ever made in my life. 

Jim Kirkland:    
[00:05:52] The next few years brought a good deal of change in Richard’s life. All great stuff. His new life in Christ freed him from a gambling addiction. He attended and graduated from Bible college. Got married and began working at a local church. His mind was constantly working on innovative ways to share the gospel. And he was eager to follow God’s will for his life. 

Richard Gamble: 
[00:06:15] And so, I’m praying. And I’m saying, Lord, what do you want me to do next? And then, this sort of flash came through my head, this vision, if you like, of building a wall by a motorway that is made up of a million bricks, where every brick represents testimony to get people to think about Jesus. 

Jim Kirkland: 
[00:06:35] That was in 2004. Richard thought, talked, and prayed about the idea for the next 10 years. Not a thing happened. Well, nothing happened with the monument, but Richard wasn’t sitting around. He and his wife were planting churches and raising children. He also had a software business, among many other projects.  

Richard Gamble:  
[00:06:56] And one day, I was like, really stressed. And my wife was like what are you doing? And I listed the 13 projects I was running at that time. And we were struggling. Sarah said to me, well, what do you think you should be doing? And I said I think I need to be on this wall project. And I said, but it’s not going to pay us any money. She said, well, none of this is paying us any money, so what’s the difference? So – and I just sort of prayed and just had that confirmation from God that it was a green light, and it was time to start. 

Jim Kirkland:  
[00:07:28] One of Richard’s contacts introduced him to an architect who was a Christian, who in turn suggested tapping into the Royal Institute of British Architects. That idea led Richard to start a crowdfunding campaign for the monument. 

Richard Gamble:  
[00:07:44] I managed to get on BC radio two to launch this. Like an audience of 7.9 million to tell the world, hey, I’m building a national landmark about Jesus. And I thought all the Christians would be really excited and go on there. And that is not what happened. And basically, we needed to raise 45,000 in 40 days. And if we would raise one pound less than that, no money was raised. And the whole thing was over before it began. So, I was during that period incredibly stressed. With four days to go, we still needed 25,000 pounds. And then, I did something that I’d never done before in my life.  

Jim Kirkland: 
[00:08:26] Richard decided to pray through the night. He went up on a hill and cried out to God. 

Richard Gamble: 
[00:08:33] And I was like, Jesus, what is going on? You know. I’ve been on national radio. I’m going to embarrass you because nobody’s helping. Please, God, help me. And about 3:00 a.m., there was a moment where the whole sky lit up. And it just went into like a really bright light. And God just almost did like a super download to me in that moment. And one of the things He said to me was your job is to lead in peace. And I definitely wasn’t at peace at that time. And so, I went away and spent two days in prayer. And I sort of felt Him say stop phoning people. Stop asking them for money. Just pray. 

Jim Kirkland: 
[00:09:18] And that’s what he did. 

Richard Gamble: 
[00:09:20] And at the end of it, I realized what He was saying to me was this is His project, not my project. And I’ve got to trust in Him for the time and trust in Him for the results. And the moment that panic dropped, all the money came in in one day. It was amazing. Money came in from all over the world. Some people I’ve never heard from since. And we hit our target. 

Jim Kirkland: 
[00:09:43] The story that often inspires Richard to keep trusting God is the story of Joseph from the Old Testament. Even when Joseph was in prison, he refused to believe that God had forgotten him. He still declared that dreams come from the Lord. When Richard has struggled, not just with the monument, but also with personal issues, like health, Joseph’s story has helped him to remember God’s faithfulness. 

Richard Gamble: 
[00:10:10] I’d had an incurable disease in my spine from my teenage years. And, oh, my word! I cannot tell you how many times I got prayed for, but it was like a lot. And nothing happened. But I took inspiration from Joseph. And that really inspired me to just hold on and keep believing that one day God would heal me. 

Jim Kirkland: 
[00:10:36] But at one of Richard’s check-ups, things weren’t looking good. 

Richard Gamble: 
[00:10:40] The doctor said your back is like a car traffic jam.  Now, we can give you medicine to slow the car down, but one day that car is going to get to the end of the road. And then, you’re stuffed, which is not really what you want to hear a doctor say. And I left the room feeling really angry. And I was angry. And I thought I’m not going to allow the word of a doctor to overrule God’s word on my life. 

Jim Kirkland: 
[00:11:05] If the disease in his spine was like a slow-moving car, he started praying for God to stop the car. A few weeks later, he went to a Christian event. 

Richard Gamble: 
[00:11:16] And somebody from the front said there’s somebody here who’s got a disease in their spine. Usually, people talk about bad backs, don’t they, at these sorts of things. It’s a go-to. But he said, you know, somebody’s got a disease in their spine. I sprinted to the front. He poured oil down my back. I felt this heat go through my body. And then, a few weeks later, I went for an MRI scan. And then, the doctor sat me down and went, Mr. Gamble, you’re a very lucky man. This disease has stopped. And I’m like, no, God’s healed me. 

Jim Kirkland: 
[00:11:47] His doctor said that it was just a temporary remission, but it’s now been 14 years. And Richard says that’s evidence God healed him. 

Richard Gamble: 
[00:11:57] But what I found really interesting was, why don’t we share those stories? And I don’t think that there’s many opportunities for a normal person to share the stories of what comes from their life. And interestingly, my experience of churches, they often experience incredible miracles, but in some traditions, they hardly share that, you know, with their congregation, even. So, I think that was probably an interlink that I was keen that the world would know that Jesus is still alive. And that He’s still listening. And that He still answered prayer. 

Jim Kirkland: 
[00:12:36] Richard says God had answered many prayers throughout the two-decade-long process of planning the monument. That includes prayers for the right piece of land, which was donated by a man who gave the best he had. 

Richard Gamble: 
[00:12:50] He gave me a 10-acre plot of land worth one and a half million pounds. It is the busiest place for traffic in the country. So, over 800 thousand journeys go past it every week. It’s on the edge of Birmingham, which is the second biggest city in the country. The airport is right next to it. They’re just finishing a high-speed train right next to it. It’s incredible placement that God put us there. And just meetings that we’ll be talking about, millions of people seeing this monument every year. 

Jim Kirkland: 
[00:13:26] If you’re wondering what exactly does this monument look like, Richard can help paint the picture. 

Richard Gamble: 
[00:13:32] So, it is a giant white infinity loop that arches 50 meters into the skyline. So, to give you an idea of size, it’s the size of an American football field. And height-wise, if you took the Statue of Liberty of her length, she would fit underneath it. So, it’s big. It’s very, very big. It will be seen from six miles away. It’s made of white concrete. And on that concrete will be a million bricks. And people will be able to come and point their phone at any one of the bricks. And their phone will light up. And it will tell them the story of answered prayer. 

Jim Kirkland: 
[00:14:15] And Richard says this amazing process is all tied to a biblical theme you’ll find from Genesis to Revelation. 

Richard Gamble:
[00:14:22] There is a whole theme that runs through the Bible about the importance of remembering what God has done. And the reason for that is it says in Revelation they overcame by the blood of the Lamb and the power of the testimony. In other words, when we’re in situations, one of the ways that we can overcome is by calling on the name of Jesus and remembering what He’s already done. And the way I look at it is the enemy is done on the blood of the Lamb. That’s a done deal. Nothing you can do about it. But what he will do is try and shut the church up. He’ll stop them from sharing their testimony. 

Jim Kirkland: 
[00:14:56] Richard’s prayer is that the massive monument will allow people’s testimonies to be spread far and wide. And because of the digital component, the answered prayers will be easily searchable. 

Richard Gamble:
[00:15:11] They may type in loneliness. They may type in counsel. Whatever it is, and you know, not all the stories will be of a yes. You know, if you look through the Word of God, we’ve – we’ve done a three-year study highlighting every story of answered prayer in the Bible. You know, a lot of times God says, no. A lot of times, God says differently. I think a lot of people think they can come to a monument that is sort of purporting a supermarket God who gives us just what we need. Actually, this piece of art that we’re creating is promoting one thing, which is that you need a relationship with Jesus. That’s what will run through all the testimonies and stories. A need for a relationship with Jesus, whether the answer is good or bad. So, that’s where we’re at. 

Jim Kirkland: 
[00:16:03] The team behind the project has raised more than 40 million pounds so far. That’s about 54 million U.S. dollars. Construction is underway with plans to complete the monument in late 2028 or early ’29. And while it would be easy to call this Richard’s project, he’s quick to say that it belongs entirely to God. 

Richard Gamble: 
[00:16:26] God can do anything. I mean, I am not an architect. I’m not an engineer. I’ve set fire to my own bathroom. I’ve nearly chopped a 60 ft. tree into my house. I’m not in any way like an uber capable guy, but He has amassed together this sort of ragtag bunch of people who’ve believed Him at His word. And I think it’s easier to believe in Jesus, this historical Jesus. I think it’s much harder to believe Him at His word and believe that what He said is true. But I tell you, if you do, it’s the most exciting adventure you could go on. Why would you want to do anything else? And if you’ve got dreams and things that God has said to you, if you give your life to them, they will come to pass. He will be faithful to His word. It won’t return to Him empty. 

Music tag:
[00:17:19]

Jim Kirkland: 
[00:17:32] We’ve been talking with Richard Gamble, who is, in his own words, a normal bloke who is following Jesus one step at a time. If Richard’s faith has inspired you, and you want to follow the same Lord and Savior he knows, Jesus Christ, then pay a visit to our website, FindPeacewithGod.net. When you’re there, click on begin a relationship with Jesus. That’s FindPeacewithGod.net. You can also find this link in our show notes. Richard told us his walk with God hasn’t always been a breeze. You might be able to relate to that. In a minute, he has some wisdom to share about how to pray when everything seems to be going wrong. 

Audio tag:
[00:18:17] 

Billy Graham: 
[00:18:26] Jesus said that men ought always to pray. 

Announcer:
[00:18:30] Billy Graham … 

Billy Graham: 
[00:18:31] From one end of the Bible to the other, there are stories of those whose prayers have been answered. Men who turned the tide of history by prayer. Men who fervently prayed, and God answered. In this modern age in which we live, we’ve learned to harness the power of the atom, but very few of us have learned how to fully develop the power of prayer. We have not yet learned that a man is more powerful on his knees than behind the most powerful weapons we have ever developed. We have not discovered that the answer to our problems can be through contact with God. When the disciples came to Jesus and asked, Lord, teach us to pray. The Savior answered their request by giving them His model petition, the Lord’s Prayer. The Lord’s Prayer, however, was only the beginning of His sacred instruction. In scores of passages, Christ offered further guidance. And because He practiced what He preached, His whole life was a series of lessons on prevailing prayer. There are many of you today that pray in times of danger, but you have never come to know Jesus Christ. And the Scripture says that one mediator between God and man is Jesus Christ. You must know Him, and you just pray in His name. Your prayers must be directed according to the will of God. Many of you do not know how to pray. Why don’t you start today by saying, God, have mercy upon me, a sinner. Let Him forgive the past sins, transform your life, and make you a new person. He can do it today in answer to the simplest prayer. 

Jim Kirkland: 
[00:20:02] If you’ve never trusted Jesus Christ with your life, and you’d like to know more about who He is, a good starting point is FindPeacewithGod.net. There, you can learn what it means to have a relationship with Jesus. That’s at FindPeacewithGod.net. Our guest on this episode of GPS is Richard Gamble, the founder of Eternal Wall of Answered Prayer, a monument that’s under construction right now in England. Richard knows a thing or two about answered prayer, but he also knows what it’s like to be discouraged. 

Richard Gamble:  
[00:20:36] I cannot tell you this last 22 years that I’ve been skipping through the fields and everything’s been wonderful. And God’s just been turning up at the right time. He has, but there’s huge swathes of time where I’m like what is going on? My advice would be when you’re praying, be really honest. I’ve been really honest with God at times. And He’s been very gracious and merciful even when my prayers may have been arrogant or misplaced or angered or whatever it is. But He wants a real relationship with us. And I’ve learned in those real depths of despair. I’ve learned an intimacy with Him that I would never want to replace. 

Jim Kirkland: 
[00:21:20] Be honest with God. That’s great advice from Richard Gamble. By the way, if you’d like to see what the monument to answered prayer will look like or submit your own story for one of the bricks, you can visit eternalwall.org.uk or head over to our show notes. We’ll have a link to the website there. We would like to thank Richard for sharing his story with us. And we also want to offer a very special bit of thanks to a listener who gave us feedback on our recent episode with Fernando Arroyo. We love it when we get to hear that an episode has resonated with your heart. So, please, let us know if you’ve connected with an episode of GPS. Leave us a comment or review. Lastly, make sure you’re subscribed to GPS on your favorite podcast app or on YouTube so you can hear more inspiring stories as we post them. In the middle of life, GPS is here in the middle of the week, every other Wednesday. I’m Jim Kirkland. This is GPS: God. People. Stories. It’s an outreach of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. Always good news. 

Music tag:
[00:22:29] 

End of transcript