God Interrupted My Murder Plan: George Palmer’s story

On Sunday, March 15, 1959, 143,000 people gathered at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in East Melbourne, Australia. The sun shone brightly over the record-breaking crowd assembled to hear one of the world’s most well-known evangelists—Billy Graham.

This climactic meeting marked the culmination of Billy Graham’s 15-week crusade across Australia and New Zealand, a campaign that would ultimately reach nearly three million people. People from every walk of life packed the stands: men, women, rich, poor—each with their own reason for being there. But among them were ten young men with a far darker motive. They weren’t there to admire Billy Graham or reflect on the Gospel message. They were there to kill him.

Ten years earlier, in 1949, a seven-year-old boy named George Palmer watched his father collapse from a fatal heart attack after planting 100 cherry trees in Western Australia. Despite doctors' efforts, his father could not be saved.

“I’ll never forget when I was told that my dad had died. I just couldn’t handle it,” George later recalled. “I remember going up to the top paddock and screaming at God. ‘I hate you. I hate you with all my heart. I will never love.’” That day, George made a vow of hatred toward God—and then wept alone.

As the years passed, George filled the void in his heart with rage and violence. Tormented by grief and repeatedly told he would never amount to anything, he leaned into the darkness. By seventeen, George had become the leader of a brutal gang that thrived on hurting others. In one instance, after a vicious gang fight, George pinned down a rival and held his hand to the pavement while a friend drove over it—again and again—until every bone was broken.

When George and his gang learned that Billy Graham was coming to Melbourne, they saw it as an opportunity to strike a blow against Christianity itself. Billy Graham stood for everything George despised. So on the morning of March 15, 1959, George and nine of his gang members met outside the stadium, each concealing a homemade zip gun beneath their clothing.

As Billy Graham took the stage, the gang moved in, spreading out but keeping each other within sight. Their plan was simple: wait until the appeal—when people would flood toward the stage—and strike. Amid the chaos, security would be weakest.

But as George sat among the crowd, taking in the magnitude of the gathering, a question stopped him cold. He heard a voice—audible and clear—ask, “What are you doing here, George?”

Startled, he turned around to see who had spoken, but saw no one. And yet, he knew: it was God.

The boy who had once screamed hatred toward the heavens was now face-to-face with the presence of the One he had rejected. As Billy Graham preached, George’s hardened heart began to soften. For the first time since his father’s death, tears streamed down his face. Billy then gave the altar call.

Moved and overwhelmed, George reached into his jumper, pulled out his weapon, placed it on the ground, and ran to the front of the stage. There, with eight of the men he came with and thousands of others, he confessed his sins and gave his life to Jesus.

His life was never the same.

Eight years later, George Palmer was commissioned as an officer in the Salvation Army, where he faithfully served throughout Australia for over 30 years.

“God took a person who hated Him with every part of his being, and He loved him,” George said. “It’s amazing how God can take a situation like we were in, and change your life completely. And I thank Him every day for that—I really do.”

Let George’s story remind you: no one is too far gone. The Gospel is powerful enough to transform even the most violent and vengeful heart. If God could do that for George, He can do it for you—or for the one you’ve been praying for.

So, what do you think?

Micah Coate, President and Host of Salvation and Stuff