Don’t we all want to have more answered prayer? The life of George Müller((The featured image is taken from https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e5/George_Muller.jpg; See page for author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.))1805-1898, is surely one of the most powerful testimonies of the power of believing prayer that there has ever been.((The content of this article is based on the biography by Roger Steer, George Müller: Delighted in God. Christian Focus Publications. Kindle Edition.))By the time he died, he had funded and maintained through prayer alone five orphanages in Bristol and had become responsible for 10,000 children and a staff of several hundred. Thousands attended his funeral and the national newspapers carried glowing obituaries. Even more significantly, the local Bristol Times confirmed that all that people said about him was true—local people had witnessed first-hand the compassionate and consistent care given at the orphanages. Through his writings, his answered prayer had become famous and his name had become “a byword for faith throughout the world”.((Ibid., p210.))
Aim of this article
This article will focus on Müller’s teaching on prayer. What was the secret to his answered prayer? How did he become so bold in asking and so confident in obtaining answers? Was he a one-off, exceptionally gifted and dedicated? Or are there principles in his teaching and example that every believer can learn from? If Müller can help us to grow in obtaining answered prayer, then surely, he is worth listening to! Read on!
A brief overview of his life
(For more detailed information about his life, see the list of links and books at the end of the article.)
Müller was born in Prussia in 1805. As a child and as a young man he lacked any moral compass. He stole from his father, and he even stole from his friends to finance a selfish and self-indulgent lifestyle; he spent time in prison because of his debts. Wonderfully converted at the age of 20, he came to England as a missionary. He felt called to preach the gospel widely and soon found the missionary society he was with too constraining. He then became a minister at Teignmouth in Devon, where the church allowed him more autonomy.
Faith foundations
While at Teignmouth he met and married Mary Groves. There also, with Mary’s full support, he laid important foundations for his life’s service by giving up his minister’s salary and determining to ask God alone for financial support: “There would be no more ‘going to man, instead of going to the Lord’”.((Ibid., p32.)) The couple also at this time decided to sell all their possessions and give away the proceeds, according to Luke 12:33.
Bristol
In 1832 Müller and his colleague Henry Craik moved to Bristol and worked together to preach at two chapels. They saw steady growth. In 1834 they founded the “Scriptural Knowledge Institution for Home and Abroad”. Its aims were to assist and establish schools which taught Scripture, to distribute Bibles and to support missionary work. “SKI” still exists today.
Caring for orphans through answered prayer
Müller became aware of the plight of the countless orphans that were uncared for in Victorian England. After much prayer, he decided that God was leading him in this, and he established the first orphan house in 1836 in Wilson Street in Bristol. Importantly, his desire to help those in need was not the primary motivation behind this new venture: he wanted to show to the world that God still answered prayer. He noted,
…the first and primary object of the work was that God might be magnified by the fact that the orphans under my care are provided with all they need, only by prayer and faith, without anyone being asked by me or my fellow-labourers, whereby it may be seen that God is faithful still and hears prayer still.((Ibid., p53, quoting Müller.))
1836-1846 Trials of Faith
In the beginning, the funds flowed in without problem and there was always enough and to spare to maintain the orphan house, but from 1838 to 1846 there were many great trials of faith. The orphans never lacked anything; however the necessary funds often came at the very last minute. These were challenging times for Müller, but, typically, he came to see God’s hand of blessing in it. He said of one particularly trying incident,
…because he delights in the prayers of His children, he had allowed us to pray so long; also to try our faith, and to make the answer so much the sweeter.((Ibid., pp. 74-75.))
Expansion
Müller maintained his principle of only asking God for help throughout his life. After this period of trial was over, he never again seems to have been so continually on the edge. No longer desperate to find the means to provide for the next meal, he turned his attention towards expansion, always seeking God before every move. He moved the orphanage from their rented accommodation in Wilson Street to a brand new, purpose-built orphan house on Ashley Down. Over the years he gradually expanded to five houses, each one built and maintained on the foundation of answered prayer.
The death of Mary
Mary had been a constant support to him through all of this. She was both at one with him in his principles and willing to work devotedly and sacrificially to help run the orphanages. When in 1870, at the age of 73, she died, Müller was devasted. They had been married for 40 years. He was able to thank God for doing always what is best for his children, nevertheless, the weight of the loss was intense.
Re-marriage
After nearly two years, he married Susannah. They were a good match, even though she was twenty years younger, as Müller was remarkably fit and energetic for his age (now 66).
Worldwide ministry
With the orphan houses very ably run by the recently appointed James Wright, Müller felt free to consider other work. After giving the matter much prayer, he devoted his remaining years to a worldwide ministry of teaching and prayer. He reasoned that people needed to hear about the blessings of living a life based on the Bible. Steer says,
He was convinced that there were many people who were perfectly genuine in their desire to be right with God, but who lacked peace because they relied upon their feelings. After more than half a century of daily, systematic and consecutive study of the Bible, Müller would now aim to share with a wider audience the truths that he had discovered and to encourage Christians to become lovers of the Bible themselves; and to test everything by the word of God.((Ibid., p161.))
In 1875, at the age of 70, he began a series of foreign preaching tours that were to last 17 years. He and Susannah travelled about 200,000 miles and visited 42 countries. He was by now famous throughout the world through his writings, and wherever they went, huge crowds flocked to hear him.
Widowed again
Susannah died in 1894. She was 73 years old, and they had been married 23 years. Despite being once more struck with terrible loneliness, Müller was still able to admire the kindness of his Saviour, trusting that “in all things God works for the good of those who love him” (Rom 8:28).((Ibid., p204.))
Last years
Müller was to live four more years. He moved to a suite of rooms on the orphanage site and continued to work and pray and to preach, if less frequently. He died at the age of 92, having preached on the Sunday before. The whole nation mourned, and there were glowing tributes in both the local and the national newspapers. He had set out to prove, through the orphanages, it was still possible to trust God’s Word, and that God still answered prayer. And God had honoured his boldness. His name had indeed become a “byword for faith throughout the world.”((Ibid., p210.))
The secret of Müller’s answered prayer
Let’s turn now to Müller’s beliefs and practices with regard to prayer.
Without doubt, God used George Müller in mighty ways. He achieved amazing things himself, and he also influenced other great works of God, as, for example Hudson Taylor in China or James McQuilkin and the 1859 revival in Northern Ireland. What can we learn from him? I’m going to look at his teaching and his example in three brief sections:
- The foundation of answered prayer
- Living for answered prayer
- Praying for answers
1. The foundation of answered prayer
I believe that the foundation to Müller’s effectiveness in prayer was his belief in the Bible as the authoritative word of God and his ultimate guide in all things. The authority of Scripture as God’s word to humanity was the bedrock for everything that he did.
Müller was undoubtedly extremely capable. He spoke seven languages and he was a gifted speaker. He must have also possessed a remarkable gift in administration. And yet he always kept things simple. He avoided intellectual controversy and his approach to the Bible was invariably to believe it and to apply it.
2. Living for answered prayer
The way that Müller lived also contributed a great deal to obtaining answered prayer.
(i) He took seriously God’s promise to provide
Early on in his ministry (see Faith foundations above), Müller renounced his salary and gave away all his possessions. He never went back on his determination to take God at his word and trust him to supply all his needs, making them known only to God. When someone tried to set up a fund to meet the personal needs of himself and his family, he saw it as a temptation to stop trusting God alone and he refused to accept it.((Steer, op. cit., p116.)) Towards the end of his life, someone asked if he had ever considered having a reserve fund. His response, as recounted by Steer, is worth quoting in full:
‘That would be the greatest folly,’ Müller answered with great emphasis. ‘How could I pray if I had reserves? God would say, “Bring them out; bring out those reserves, George Müller.” Oh no, I have never thought of such a thing! Our reserve fund is in Heaven. God, the living God is our sufficiency. I have trusted Him for one sovereign; I have trusted him for thousands, and I have never trusted in vain. “Blessed is the man who trusts in Him”.’((Ibid., p207.))
He took out his purse, which contained only a few coins, and said,
All I am possessed of is in that purse – every penny! Save for myself! Never! When money is sent to me for my own use I pass it on to God.((Ibid., p208.))
(ii) Complete submission to God
Someone once asked Müller ‘What is the secret of your service for God?’. He replied,
There was a day when I died, utterly died … died to George Müller, his opinions, preferences, tastes and will – died to the world, its approval or censure – died to the approval or blame of even my brethren and friends – and since then I have studied to show myself approved only unto God.((Ibid., p211.))
Müller was not motivated by desire for his own comfort or pleasure or security or fulfilment; rather his desire was to please and to give glory to God.
(iii) No anxiety
This level of consecration was far from being a life of dreary self-denial, as some may imagine. Steer quotes,
I cannot tell you how happy this service in which I am engaged makes me. Instead of my being the anxious, careworn man so many persons think me to be, I have no anxieties and no cares at all. Faith in God leads me to roll my burdens, all my burdens, upon God.((Ibid., p223))
(iv) Calm and confident
Müller’s lack of anxiety certainly did not flow out of carelessness. In fact he was extremely careful and meticulous for example in his keeping of accounts.((Ibid., p217)) His unshakeable trust that God would provide enabled him to remain calm despite the great pressures of managing what became a huge enterprise. Steer quotes the Western Daily Press:
it was his calmness and confidence, associated with the most careful watchfulness over expenditure and most business-like habits, that presented a combination of qualities altogether unique and wholly surprising.((Ibid., p225))
3. Praying for answers
(i) Simple faith available to all
We may react to Müller’s life of faith by wishing that we possessed the same gift of faith to obtain so much answered prayer. Müller himself would respond that in doing so we miss the point. He wanted to show that this faith was available to everyone who would trust God.
‘My faith…is the same faith which is found in every believer. Try it for yourself and you will see the help of God, if you trust in Him.’((Ibid., p226))
His motivation in creating the orphanages was always primarily to show that God was real and that he kept his promises (see above Caring for orphans through answered prayer).
(ii) How to strengthen faith
When asked how a person could strengthen their faith, Müller recommended four things:((Ibid. pp225-226))
- Read the Bible carefully to learn about God’s character;
- Keep your conscience clear;
- Don’t avoid situations where your faith will be tested. Although these times may be uncomfortable, they will strengthen our faith;
- Be patient. God will never test you beyond what you can bear and at the right moment he will deliver you.
(iii) His method in devotions
Müller began each day in prayer. In the early days he often struggled with distracting thoughts that spoiled his devotional time. The solution to this, he found, was to read the Bible first,
…to meditate on the Word of God, searching, as it were, into every verse to get blessing out of it; not for the sake of preaching on what I had meditated upon; but for the sake of obtaining food for my soul.((Ibid., p84.))
After that, his mind would go naturally into confession, thanksgiving, intercession or supplication, and distracting thoughts no longer hindered his prayers. His habit was to do this outside while taking a walk before breakfast.((Famously, Hudson Taylor read about Müller’s practice of reading and meditation before prayer and made it his own daily practice.))
Müller’s prayer was by no means confined to his early morning devotions.
I live in the spirit of prayer. I pray as I walk about, when I lie down and when I rise up.((Ibid., p208.))
(iv) The difference between a gift of faith and the grace of faith
Of course, God does not always answer our prayers in the way that we would like. Pete Greig has written about this in his book, “God on Mute” (see my review). Although his emphasis is different, I don’t think Müller’s teaching contradicts what Greig has to say. Müller taught that God had promised to answer certain types of prayer but not others. The “grace of faith” could be applied in the former, but a “gift of faith” may or may not be given in other situations.
The “grace of faith”
In Matthew 6:25-34, Jesus taught his disciples not to worry about their earthly needs. He assured them that their Heavenly Father knew their need of food and clothing and would supply all that they needed. Müller took this as a cast iron guarantee that God would provide for his children. Any prayer for daily necessities needed only the “grace of faith” to believe that God would be faithful to his promises.
The ”gift of faith”
However, there are many circumstances of life in which God has not promised to intervene. God has not promised to heal every sick person. Therefore we cannot pray for healing with the same certainty as for daily necessities unless God makes it clear to us that he intends to heal in this case. Müller called this a “gift of faith”. Although he saw many healed as a result of his prayers, when his wife Mary was dying, he received no assurance from God that she would recover. The emphasis of his praying was more on submitting to God’s will, than on praying for healing.((Follow this link to read an excellent article by John Piper that explores this issue in more detail.))
(v) His teaching on how to pray
Asking aright
In 1878, in Salem, Virginia, Müller preached a sermon on “Asking amiss and asking aright”. Asking amiss was asking out of selfish motives. Under asking aright there were three points:
- Desiring God’s glory.
- Confessing our unworthiness and pleading the merits of Jesus.
- Believing that we do receive the things for which we ask.((Ibid., p170.))
Expecting answers
The third point was an essential element for him. Towards the end of the life, when asked about his life of faith, he said (echoing William Carey((“Expect great things from God, attempt great things for God.” “The Missionary Herald”. The Baptist Magazine, Volume 35, January 1843—from AZ Quotes))),
Expect great things from God, and great things you will have.((Steer, Op. cit., p207.))
Persevering
Finally, Müller insisted that sometimes you had to just keep on asking. His comments in the conversation just mentioned are worth quoting in full,
The great point is…never to give up until the answer comes. I have been praying for fifty-two years, every day, for two men, sons of a friend of my youth. They are not converted yet, but they will be! How can it be otherwise? There is the unchanging promise of Jehovah, and on that I rest. The great fault of the children of God is, they do not continue in prayer; they do not go on praying; they do not persevere. If they desire anything for God’s glory, they should pray until they get it.((Ibid., p208.))
Conclusion
I do hope that this short article will inspire you to read more about the amazing George Müller. More importantly, I hope that it will inspire you to seek to follow his example and live a life founded on simple obedience to God’s Word, dedicated to God’s glory and saturated with believing prayer that never gives up until God answers. Müller’s teaching is not complicated. He kept it amazingly simple. That does not mean it is easy! His life was one of extraordinary consecration, and few will be able to come close to that. God does not call all of us to sell all our possessions or to never ask for funds for ministry. We would need very clear leading from God before embarking on such a course. However, I do believe that we can all learn from his simple approach and from his rock-solid determination to believe God and to live out what he saw in the Bible. God will help us as we look to him.
As I close, I challenge us all to take something from Müller’s teaching and example and, with God’s help, put it into practice.
Links and books
- https://canonjjohn.com/2020/08/22/heroes-of-the-faith-george-muller/
- Message by John Piper which I highly recommend: https://www.desiringgod.org/messages/george-muellers-strategy-for-showing-god
- The Autobiography of George Müller—available on Kindle for 99p! Also available as an audio book on Audible.
- For younger readers: https://www.christianity.com/church/church-history/church-history-for-kids/george-mueller-orphanages-built-by-prayer-11634869.html