-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Billy Graham is being treated for pneumonia and `` is responding well to antibiotic treatment , '' said a pulmonologist at the North Carolina hospital where the evangelist was admitted Wednesday . Dr. Mark Hellreich , who is treating Graham at Mission Hospital in Asheville , said Thursday that the 93-year-old is in stable condition , and a spokesman for Graham said he is in `` good spirits '' and resting comfortably . Graham spent time reading the Bible and praying with his daughter , Gigi , Wednesday night , spokesman A. Larry Ross said on Twitter . When Graham was admitted Wednesday for evaluation of his lungs , `` he was alert , smiling and waving at hospital staff , '' the hospital said . `` While no date has been set for discharge , Mr. Graham is looking forward to returning home to spend the upcoming Christmas holidays with his family . '' Ross said Graham was visited Thursday by his pastor , the Rev. Don Wilton , who shared a passage from the book of Ephesians : `` For this reason , ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all God 's people , I have not stopped giving thanks for you , remembering you in my prayers . '' `` Given the outpouring of love and well-wishes Mr. Graham has received from people around the world , the verse seemed to have special meaning to him , '' Ross said . Ross said that as Graham and his daughter were channel-surfing to find a news broadcast , they came upon a broadcast of Graham 's 1973 crusade in St. Louis . `` It was a blessing to Mr. Graham to realize his preaching still reaches around the world , '' said Ross , `` and even into hospital rooms like his . '' Graham was hospitalized in May for treatment of pneumonia . He resumed his ongoing program of physical therapy and normal activity shortly after release , the hospital said . Graham , a resident of nearby Montreat , has provided counsel to generations of U.S. presidents beginning with Harry S. Truman and is the founder of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association . The Charlotte native has preached to untold millions over six decades , beginning his missionary work in 1944 when he started speaking at rallies for the Youth for Christ Campus Life ministry . Five years later , Graham was holding crusades in tents in downtown Los Angeles . Originally scheduled for three weeks , the crusades drew so many followers they were extended to seven . His most recent book , `` Nearing Home , '' was published in October . Graham 's `` last crusade '' in June 2005 drew a total of 230,000 people . He described it as his last American crusade , but hedged his farewells during a poignant appearance in Corona Park in Queens , New York . `` We hope to come back again someday , '' Graham announced . `` I was asked in an interview if this was our last crusade and I said it probably is -- in New York . But I also said , ' I never say never . ' ''