George Müller
Prayer Warrior
Founder of the Bristol Ashley Down Orphanage
George Müller (1805-1898), a Christian evangelist and Director of the Ashley Down orphanage in Bristol, England, cared for 10,024 orphans in his life. He was well-known for providing an education to the children under his care, to the point where he was accused of raising the poor above their natural station in life. He also established 117 schools which offered Christian education to over 120,000 children, many of them being orphans. He did all of this by seeking means from God through prayer.
A Brief Biography by Samuel Prime
Top Quotes
* “I went accordingly to my room, and locked my door, and putting the Bible on a chair, I went down on my knees at the chair. There I remained for several hours in prayer and meditation over the word of God; and I can tell you that I learned more in those three hours which I spent in this way, than I had learned for many months previously.”“Lastly, if God does bless us in reading His word, He expects that we should be obedient children, and that we should accept the Word as His will, and carry it into practice. If this be neglected, you will find that the reading of the Word, even if accompanied by prayer, meditation, and faith, will do you little good. God does expect us to be obedient children, and will have us practice what He has taught us. The Lord Jesus Christ says, ‘If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them.’” And in the measure in which we carry out what our Lord Jesus taught, so in measure are we happy children. And in such measure only can we honestly look for help from the Father, even as we seek to carry out His will.”
“To wait before Him, weighing candidly in the scales every consideration for or against a proposed course, and in readiness to see which way the preponderance lies, is a frame of mind and heart in which one is fitted to be guided; and god touches the scales and makes the balance to sway as He will. But our hands must be off the scales otherwise we need expect no interposition of His in our favour."
"I had a secret satisfaction in the greatness of the difficulties which were in the way. So far from being cast down on account of them, they delighted my soul."
“In reading about all these answers to prayer, the believing reader may be led to think that I am spiritually minded above most of the children of God, and that therefore the Lord favors (me) thus. The true reason is this. Just in as many points as (I am) acting according to the mind of God, in so many (am I) blessed and made a blessing."
“For more than ten years at a time-as from August 1838, to April 1849, day by day, and for months together from meal to meal-it was necessary to look to God, almost without cessation, for daily supplies.” “The income has been for some time past only about a third part of the expenses. Consequently all we have for the support of the orphans is near gone; and for the first four objects of the Institution we have nothing at all in hand. The natural appearance now is that the work cannot be carried on. But I believe that the Lord will help, both with means for the orphans and also for other objects of the Institution, and we shall not be confounded."Trials Are the
Food of Faith—“God delights to increase the Faith of His children. Our Faith which is feeble at first, is developed and strengthened more and more by us. We ought, instead of wanting no trials before victory, no exercise for patience, to be willing to take them from God’s hand as a means. I say - and say it deliberately - trials, obstacles, difficulties, and sometimes defeats, are the very food of Faith. I get letters from so many of God’s dear children who say: “Dear Brother Mueller, I’m writing this because I am so weak in faith.” Just so surely as we ask to have our Faith strengthened, we must feel a willingness to take from God’s hand the means for strengthening it. We must allow Him to educate us through trials and bereavements and troubles. It is through trials that Faith is exercised and developed more and more. God affectionately permits difficulties, that He may develop unceasingly that which He is willing to do for us, and to this end we should not shrink, but if He gives us sorrow and hindrances and losses and afflictions, we should take them out of His hands as evidences of His love and care for us in developing more and more that Faith which He is seeking to strengthen in us.
"Müller's Secret of Victory—“'There was a day when I died’; and, as he spoke, he bent lower, until he almost touched the floor. Continuing, he added, ‘Died to George Müller, his opinions, preferences, tastes, and will; died to the world, its approval or censure; died to the approval or blame even of my brethren or friends; and since then I have studied only to show myself approved unto God.
”The Purpose of His Work—“The primary object I had in view in carrying on this work…that it might be seen that now, in the nineteenth century, God is still the Living God, and that now as well as thousands of years ago, He listens to the prayers of His children and helps those who trust Him.”“I have joyfully dedicated my whole life to the object of exemplifying how much may be accomplished by prayer and faith.
”On the Necessity of Using Available Resources To Gain the Full Blessings of God—“There is sufficient in all the houses for dinner. He has said, ‘I will never leave thee nor forsake thee,’ so that we may boldly say, the Lord is MY helper.” In the afternoon of the same day he writes: “I have delayed writing as long as I could. The Lord has not sent any thing, but the sisters can do without taking in bread, and they had money enough to pay for the milk, except sister —, who has, however, received a few shillings for some articles of her own, that she sold. Thus we are supplied with the absolute necessities for today.” In reference to the last lines I make a few remarks. At first sight it might appear as if it were a failure of the principles on which we act, that now and then individuals who are connected with the work have been obliged to sell articles of their own to procure things which were needed. But let it be remembered, that under no circumstances prayer for temporal supplies can be expected to prevail with the Lord, except we are willing to part with money or any needless articles which we may have of our own. Indeed an Institution like the one under my care should not be carried on by any rich believer, on the principles on which we, by grace, are enabled to act, except it be that he were made willing himself to give of his own property, as long as he has any thing, whenever the Institution is in real need.”—Taken from his Narratives
Müller's Conditions for Obtaining Answers to Prayer—"Let us adore the Lord’s kindness! See how seasonably the Lord sends the help. As our need is, so He remembers us. It is not now and then that He is mindful of us, but continually. As surely as we stand in need of any thing, He sends it; be it money, provisions, clothes, or any thing else. We may be allowed to be poor, yea, very poor; we may have to pray again and again to our Father before the answer comes; we may be reduced so as to have from mal to meal to wait upon Him; yea, according to all outward appearance, the Lord may seem to have forgotten us :—but, amidst it all, as surely as we really need any thing, in His own time and way does He send help. Perhaps you may say; “But how would you do, in case there were a mealtime to come and you had no provisions for the children, or they really wanted clothes, and you had no money to procure them?” Our answer is, such a thing is impossible as long as the Lord shall give us grace to trust in Him, (for “whosoever believeth on Him shall not be ashamed,”) and as long as He shall enable us to carry on the work in uprightness of heart. But should we be ever so left to ourselves as to forsake the Lord and trust in an arm of flesh, or should we regard iniquity in our heart i. e. wilfully and habitually do any thing, either in connexion with the work or otherwise, which is against the will of God, then we may pray and utter many words before Him, but He will not hear us, as it is written: “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me.” Psalm lxvi. 18. I, therefore, beseech all who love our Lord Jesus and who may read this, to entreat Him on behalf of all of us who are engaged in this work, that He would be pleased to continue to give us faith, and that He would keep us from living in sin."—Narratives
