What Saith the Scripture?
http://www.WhatSaithTheScripture.com/
presents
EXCERPTS
FROM
"GEORGE MUELLER OF BRISTOL"
AND HIS WITNESS TO A PRAYER-HEARING GOD
"The authorized memoir for British as well as American
readers."
(1899)
by
A. T. Pierson
-- http://WhatSaithTheScripture.com/Fellowship/A.T.Pierson.html --
(1837-1911)
including
George Mueller with GOD Alone
Or, A Man of Prayer and Like Passions
"O magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt His Name together"
(Psalm 34:3).
by Katie Stewart
Excerpts compiled by Katie Stewart.
WStS Note: All italics within Mr. Pierson's quotes, are by Dr. Pierson, himself.
We have chosen to spell Mr. Mueller's name without the umlaut.
It is hoped that these excerpts will encourage the reading of
the
complete biography
-- http://WhatSaithTheScripture.com/Voice/George.Mueller.of.Bristol/George.Mueller.of.Bristol.html
--,
desiring to "taste and see that the LORD is Good"
and finding that "blessed is the man that trusteth in Him"
(Psalm 34:8).
------------------------------------------------------------------------
George Mueller with GOD ALONE
Or, A Man of Prayer and Like Passions
"He alone shall be our Patron,
and if He helps us we shall prosper, and if He is not on our side, we shall not succeed."
--George Mueller
by Katie Stewart
Most of the quotes in this article are from
"George
Mueller of Bristol"
-- http://WhatSaithTheScripture.com/Voice/George.Mueller.of.Bristol/George.Mueller.of.Bristol.html
--
A.
T. Pierson
-- http://WhatSaithTheScripture.com/Fellowship/A.T.Pierson.html --
GEORGE MUELLER was a man, who, during his 92 years of life, even though himself a poor man in material substance, knew how to have power with God to get answers to his prayers. And with that ability he set forth a praying example for all time, and for all the world to hear of, and testify to, the very fact that GOD TRULY ANSWERS PRAYER!
"O magnify the LORD with me, and let
us exalt His Name together...
O Thou that HEAREST prayer, unto Thee shall all flesh come"
(Psalm 34:3, 65:2).
With this holy demonstration, he built 5 large orphan houses, housed over 10,000 orphans, a third of whom came to love the LORD, received almost 7 1/2 million dollars, over 50,000 specific answers to prayer spread over several branches of his ministry, including the support of hundreds of missionaries, Christian publishing and distribution, and supporting educational and religious schools for all ages. Also, when most men slow down in their "twilight" years, Mr. Mueller-- between the ages of seventy to eighty-seven-- began 17 years of missionary tours travelling over 200,000 miles, in 42 countries, spreading the Gospel to 3 million people. In his life he preached well over 10 thousand sermons and read the Bible over 200 times-- on his knees. And this very humble man accomplished this all-- by placing his TRUST IN GOD ALONE.
"Were we to lean upon man, we should surely be confounded; but, in leaning upon the living God alone, we are BEYOND disappointment, and BEYOND being forsaken because of death, or want of means, or want of love, or because of the claims of other work. How precious to have learned in any measure to stand with God alone in the world, and yet to be happy, and to know that surely no good thing shall be withheld from us whilst we walk uprightly!" --from Appendix N: "The Wise Sayings of George Mueller" -- http://WhatSaithTheScripture.com/Voice/George.Mueller.of.Bristol/George.Mueller.Bristol.N.html#were we to lean --
He trusted God alone. "The LORD alone did lead him, and there was no strange god with him" (Deuteronomy 32:12).
"Only let it be trust in God, not in man, not in circumstances, not in any of your own exertions, but real trust in God, and you will be helped in your various necessities... Not in circumstances, not in natural prospects, not in former donors, but solely in God. This is just that which brings the blessing. If we say we trust in Him, but in reality do not, then God, taking us at our word, lets us see that we do not really confide in Him; and hence failure arises. On the other hand, if our trust in the Lord is real, help will surely come.
'According unto thy faith be it unto thee.'
It is a source of deep sorrow to me, that, notwithstanding my having so many times before referred to this point, thereby to encourage believers in the Lord Jesus, to roll all their cares upon God, and to trust in Him at all times, it is yet, by so many, put down to mere natural causes, that I am helped; as if the Living God were no more the Living God, and as if in former ages answers to prayer might have been expected, but that in the nineteenth century they must not be looked for." --from Appendix N: "The Wise Sayings of George Mueller" -- http://WhatSaithTheScripture.com/Voice/George.Mueller.of.Bristol/George.Mueller.Bristol.N.html#Only let it be --
As Jonathan Edwards (1703-1758) stated it:
"That the creature should have so absolute and universal a dependence on God, provision is made that God should have our whole souls, and should be the object of our undivided respect. If we had our dependence partly on God, and partly on something else, man's respect would be divided to those different things on which he had dependence. Thus it would be if we depended on God only for a part of our good, and on ourselves, or some other being, for another part: or if we had our good only from God, and through another that was not God, and in something else distinct from both, our hearts would be divided between the good itself, and him from whom, and him through whom, we received it. But now there is no occasion for this, God being not only he from or of whom we have all good, but also through whom, and is that good itself, that we have from him and through him. So that whatsoever there is to attract our respect, the tendency is still directly towards God; all unites in him as the centre." --from "GOD Glorified in Man's Dependence" -- http://WhatSaithTheScripture.com/Fellowship/Edwards.God.Glorified.html -- by Jonathan Edwards -- http://WhatSaithTheScripture.com/Fellowship/Jonathan.Edwards.html --
George Mueller was born in Kroppenstaedt, Prussia (Germany), on September 27, 1805. He died March 10, 1898, while residing in Orphan House No.3, in Bristol, England. He lived a total of 92 years, 5 months and 11 days before leaving to be with his Beloved LORD. "And even to your old age I Am He; and even to hoar hairs will I carry you: I have made, and I will bear; even I will carry, and will deliver you" (Isaiah 46:4). Mr. Mueller was a humble man, quiet and carefully spoken, but he was a mighty prince among men when praying to the Omnipotent One.
"To sustain such burdens would have been quite impossible but for faith in such a God. In reply to oft-repeated remarks of visitors and observers who could not understand the secret of his peace, or how any man who had so many children to clothe and feed could carry such prostrating loads of care, he had one uniform reply:
'By the grace of God, this is no cause of anxiety to me. These children I have years ago cast upon the Lord. The whole work is His, and it becomes me to be without carefulness. In whatever points I am lacking, in this point I am able by the grace of God to roll the burden upon my heavenly Father.'
In tens of thousands of cases this peculiar title of God, ['A FATHER OF THE FATHERLESS' [[Psalm Ixviii.5.]]] chosen by Himself and by Himself declared, became to Mr. Mueller a peculiar revelation of God, suited to his special need. The natural inferences drawn from such a title became powerful arguments in prayer, and rebukes to all unbelief. Thus, at the outset of his work for the orphans, the word of God put beneath his feet a rock basis of confidence that he could trust the almighty Father to support the work. And, as the solicitudes of the work came more and more heavily upon him, he cast the loads he could not carry upon Him who, before George Mueller was born, was the Father of the fatherless." --from chapter 10: "The Word of God and Prayer" -- http://WhatSaithTheScripture.com/Voice/George.Mueller.of.Bristol/George.Mueller.Bristol.10.html#To sustain such burdens --
"Was it not goodness and mercy that kept George Mueller ever grateful as well as faithful! He did not more constantly feel his need of faith and prayer than his duty and privilege of abounding joy and praise. Some might think that, after such experiences of answered prayer, one would be less and less moved by them, as the novelty was lost in the uniformity of such interpositions. But no. When, in June, 1853, at a time of sore need, the Lord sent, in one sum, three hundred pounds, he could scarcely contain his triumphant joy in God. He walked up and down his room for a long time, his heart overflowing and his eyes too, his mouth filled with laughter and his voice with song, while he gave himself afresh to the faithful Master he served. God's blessings were to him always new and fresh. Answered prayers never lost the charm of novelty; like flowers plucked fresh every hour from the gardens of God, they never got stale, losing none of their beauty or celestial fragrance." --from chapter 15: "The Manifold Grace of God" -- http://WhatSaithTheScripture.com/Voice/George.Mueller.of.Bristol/George.Mueller.Bristol.15.html#Was it not goodness --
The strength and power that streamed down upon this kneeling man came from God alone.
"Mr. Mueller gratefully records...'For above fifty years I have now walked, by His grace, in a path of complete reliance upon Him who is the faithful one, for everything I have needed; and yet I am increasingly convinced that it is by His help alone I am enabled to continue in this course; for, if left to myself, even after the precious enjoyment so long experienced of walking thus in fellowship with God, I should yet be tempted to abandon this path of entire dependence upon Him. To His praise, however, I am able to state that for more than half a century I have never had the least desire to do so.'" --from chapter 18: "Faith and Patience in Serving" -- http://WhatSaithTheScripture.com/Voice/George.Mueller.of.Bristol/George.Mueller.Bristol.18.html#Mueller gratefully records --
And it was to God alone that Mueller gave himself. "We ought to obey God rather than men" (Acts 5:29).
"I could not conscientiously submit to being ordained by unconverted men, professing to have power to set me apart for the ministry, or to communicate something to me for this work which they do not possess themselves. Besides this, I had other objections to being connected with any state church or national religious establishment, which arose from the increased light which I had obtained through the reception of this truth, that the word of God is our only standard, and the Holy Spirit our only teacher. For as I now began to compare what I knew of the establishment in England and those on the Continent with this only true standard, the word of God, I found that all establishments, even because they are establishments, i.e., the world and the church mixed up together, not only contain in them the principles which necessarily must lead to departure from the word of God; but also, as long as they remain establishments, entirely preclude the acting throughout according to the Holy Scriptures." --from Appendix C: "Separation From the London Society for Promoting Christianity Among the Jews" -- http://WhatSaithTheScripture.com/Voice/George.Mueller.of.Bristol/George.Mueller.Bristol.C.html#I could not --
"As regards borrowing money, I have considered that there is no ground to go away from the door of the Lord to that of a believer, so long as He is willing to supply our need." --from Appendix N: "The Wise Sayings of George Mueller" -- http://WhatSaithTheScripture.com/Voice/George.Mueller.of.Bristol/George.Mueller.Bristol.N.html#As regards borrowing --
To assure that the LORD alone receives the Glory, and not men, God omnisciently calls His servants to their work with the Wisdom of His Own Word. "26 For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called: 27 but God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; 28 and base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are: 29 that NO FLESH SHOULD GLORY in His Presence. 30 But of Him are ye in Christ Jesus, Who of God is made unto us Wisdom, and Righteousness, and Sanctification, and Redemption: 31 that, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him GLORY IN THE LORD" (1Corinthians 1:26-31).
"As early as May, 1846, a letter from a brother contained the following paragraph:
'With regard to property, I do not see my way clearly. I trust it is all indeed at the disposal of the Lord; and if you would let me know of any need of it in His service, any sum under two hundred pounds shall be at your disposal at about a week's notice.'
The need at that time was great. How easy and natural to write back that the orphan work was then in want of help, and that, as Mr. Mueller was just going away from Bristol for rest, it would be a special comfort if his correspondent would send on, say a hundred and ninety pounds or so! But to deal with the Lord alone in the whole matter seemed so indispensable, both for the strengthening of his own faith and for the effectiveness of his testimony to the church and the world, that at once this temptation was seen to be a snare, and he replied that only to the Lord could the need of any part of the work be confided." --from chapter 22: "A Glance at the Gifts and the Givers" -- http://WhatSaithTheScripture.com/Voice/George.Mueller.of.Bristol/George.Mueller.Bristol.22.html#With regard to property --
"In every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God" (Philippians 4:6).
Mr. Mueller's character and life, in the estimation of a self-seeking world, was certainly "foolish" in caring for the unwanted poor and helpless children that they had cast off. And the world certainly considered him "weak" in that he didn't align himself with the power players that the flesh could offer. And that the world would think George Mueller to be "base" and "despised" is absolutely sure, because this man didn't want to bring honour and praise to himself. He wanted only the Person of the LORD recognized by all that drew near. "O magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt His Name together" (Psalm 34:3). And when you purpose to honour God, the LORD says, "them that honour Me I will honour" (1Samuel 2:30). And with God's honour comes the world's disrespect, because Jesus said, "ye shall be hated of all men for My Name's sake" (Matthew 10:22), "for every one that doeth evil hateth the Light, neither cometh to the Light, lest his deeds should be reproved" (John 3:20). As Mr. Mueller said himself, of the LORD, that
"He led me, in a measure, to see what is my true glory in this world, even to be despised, and to be poor and mean with Christ. I saw then, in a measure, though I have seen it more fully since, that it ill becomes the servant to seek to be rich, and great, and honoured in that world where his Lord was poor, and mean, and despised." --from Appendix B: "Apprehension of Truth" -- http://WhatSaithTheScripture.com/Voice/George.Mueller.of.Bristol/George.Mueller.Bristol.B.html#He led me --
But wishing ONLY to "Glory in the LORD", Mr. Mueller was the perfect choice of God as a humble servant.
"To be well known, Mr. Mueller needed to be known in his daily, simple, home life. It was my privilege to meet him often, and in his own apartment at Orphan House No. 3. His room was of medium size, neatly but plainly furnished, with table and chairs, lounge and writing-desk, etc. His Bible almost always lay open, as a book to which he continually resorted.
His form was tall and slim, always neatly attired, and very erect, and his step firm and strong. His countenance in repose, might have been thought stern, but for the smile which so habitually lit up his eyes and played over his features that it left its impress on the lines of his face. His manner was one of simple courtesy and unstudied dignity: no one would in his presence, have felt like vain trifling, and there was about him a certain indescribable air of authority and majesty that reminded one of a born prince; and yet there was mingled with all this a simplicity so childlike that even children felt themselves at home with him. In his speech, he never quite lost that peculiar foreign quality, known as accent, and he always spoke with slow and measured articulation, as though a double watch were set at the door of his lips. With him that unruly member, the tongue, was tamed by the Holy Spirit, and he had that mark of what James calls a'perfect man, able also to bridle the whole body.'" --from chapter 24: "Last Looks, Backward and Forward" -- http://WhatSaithTheScripture.com/Voice/George.Mueller.of.Bristol/George.Mueller.Bristol.24.html#To be well known --
George Mueller married Mary Groves, October 7, 1830, at St. David's Church in Exeter, God thus providing him with "an help meet for him" (Genesis 2:18) in his labours. The Mueller's were to raise only one child of their own.
"On September 17, 1832, his first child, Lydia, was born.... On March 19, 1834, a son, Elijah, was born but he died the next year, June 25, 1835, from pneumonia, leaving the Mueller's with only one child, Lydia." --from the "Christian Hall of Fame Series" (No.23) by Ed Reese
They grieved submissively when the LORD also allowed them to suffer a stillborn child. But the "Father of the Fatherless" (Psalm 68:5) had a different calling for this husband and wife, than to raise a large family of their own. Their strength and resources would be needed by other children, as they had been Providentially chosen to parent thousands of youngsters that no one else wanted. "In the daytime also He led them with a cloud, and all the night with a light of fire" (Psalm 78:14).
"Friends who asked that they might know whether the gifts had come at a particularly opportune time were referred to the next Report for answer. To acknowledge that the help came very seasonably would be an indirect revelation of need, and might be construed into an indirect appeal for more aid-- as help that was peculiarly timed would soon be exhausted. And so this man of God consistently avoided any such disclosure of an exigency, lest his chief object should be hindered, namely,
'to show how blessed it is to deal with God alone, and to trust Him in the darkest moments.'
And though the need was continual, and one demand was no sooner met than another arose, he did not find this a trying life nor did he ever tire of it." --from chapter 22: "A Glance at the Gifts and the Givers" -- http://WhatSaithTheScripture.com/Voice/George.Mueller.of.Bristol/George.Mueller.Bristol.22.html#Friends who asked --
"11 THINE, O LORD,
is the Greatness, and the Power, and the Glory, and the Victory, and the Majesty:
for ALL that is in the Heaven and in the Earth is Thine; Thine is the Kingdom, O
LORD, and Thou art exalted as HEAD ABOVE ALL. 12 Both riches and honour come of Thee, and Thou reignest over ALL;
and in THINE HAND is Power and Might; and in THINE HAND it is to make great, and
to give strength unto ALL. 13
Now therefore, our God, we thank Thee, and praise Thy Glorious Name.
14 But who am
I, and what is my people, that we should be able to offer so willingly after this
sort?
for ALL THINGS COME OF THEE, and of THINE OWN have we given Thee"
(1Chronicles 29:11-14).
Only An Instrument
"6 He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully [as, for our example, Mr. George Mueller] shall reap also bountifully.
7 Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God LOVETH a cheerful giver [such as anyone who lives as did George Mueller].
8 And GOD is able to make ALL GRACE abound toward you [as He did towards George Mueller]; that ye, [like he] ALWAYS having ALL sufficiency in ALL things, may abound to EVERY GOOD WORK:
9 as it is written, HE [to Whom George Mueller continually ascribed ALL recognition] hath dispersed abroad; HE hath given to the poor: HIS Righteousness remaineth for ever" (2Corinthians 9:6-9).
George Mueller purposed himself, as Wisdom from God's Word had taught him, to be only an instrument in God's Hand. "Behold, I have created the smith that bloweth the coals in the fire, and that bringeth forth an instrument for his work" (Isaiah 54:16).
"In an American city, a half-idiotic boy who was bearing a heavy burden asked a drayman, who was driving an empty cart, for a ride. Being permitted, he mounted the cart with his basket, but thinking he might so relieve the horse a little, while still himself riding, lifted his load and carried it. We laugh at the simplicity of the idiotic lad, and yet how often we are guilty of similar folly! We profess to cast ourselves and our cares upon the Lord, and then persist in bearing our own burdens, as if we felt that He would be unequal to the task of sustaining us and our loads. It is a most wholesome lesson for Christian workers to learn that all true work is primarily the Lord's, and only secondarily ours, and that therefore all 'carefulness' on our part is distrust of Him, implying a sinful self-conceit which overlooks the fact that He is the one Worker and all others are only His instruments." --from chapter 18: "Faith and Patience in Serving" -- http://WhatSaithTheScripture.com/Voice/George.Mueller.of.Bristol/George.Mueller.Bristol.18.html#In an American city --
Of the great work that was nurtured in his heart, he wanted his onlookers (those of us who are witnesses-- either then in person, or now from long distances of space and time) to know that his visible fruit wasn't created with the hands that are seen, but with the Unseen Hands of God. "For the invisible things of Him from the creation... are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made so that they are without excuse" (Romans 1:20). George Mueller had "by faith... endured, as seeing Him Who is Invisible" (Hebrews 11:27), for he saw Jesus Christ revealed in the Scriptures that he loved, and he wanted all of us to know the LORD as he knew Him, i.e., "My God shall supply ALL your need according to His riches in Glory by Christ Jesus" (Philippians 4:19). "Bands of love" (Hosea 11:4) for his Priceless Provider, together "with lovingkindness" (Jeremiah 31:3) for his fellow man provoked this tender servant "unto love and to good works" (Hebrews 10:24) in accomplishing one supreme goal.
"That they may see, and know, and consider,
and understand together,
that the Hand of the LORD hath done this"
(Isaiah 41:20).
Mr. Mueller repeatedly insisted to all that cast a glance in his direction, that he was only and ever simply an instrument in the Hand of the "Divine Master Workman" of Heaven, a wise appellation designated to our LORD by Mr. Pierson.
"Who, amid all changes of human administration, ever remains the divine Master Workman, never at a loss for His own chosen instruments." --from chapter 20: "The Summary of the Life-Work" -- http://WhatSaithTheScripture.com/Voice/George.Mueller.of.Bristol/George.Mueller.Bristol.20.html#amid all changes --
With fervent resolve, Mueller would be an "instrument" to be used, used completely, hoping to cause men to beautify in praise the perfect harmony of God's composing in the hearts and lives of men. "Praise the LORD with harp: sing unto Him with the psaltery and an instrument of ten strings... I will sing a new song unto Thee, O God: upon a psaltery and an instrument of ten strings will I sing praises unto Thee" (Psalm 33:2, 144:9). Mr. Pierson points out,
"The humility Mr. Mueller enjoined he practised. He was ever only the servant of the Lord. Mr. Spurgeon, in one of his sermons, describes the startling effect on London Bridge when he saw one lamp after another lit up with flame, though in the darkness he could not see the lamplighter; and George Mueller set many a light burning when he was himself content to be unseen, unnoticed, and unknown. He honestly sought not his own glory, but had the meek and quiet spirit so becoming a minister of Jesus Christ." --from chapter 21: "The Church Life and Growth" -- http://WhatSaithTheScripture.com/Voice/George.Mueller.of.Bristol/George.Mueller.Bristol.21.html#The humility Mr --
George Mueller stayed in the background as the humble servant of the LORD Jesus Christ, who wanted nothing more in his life than to magnify his God. "I will praise the Name of God with a song, and will magnify Him with thanksgiving" (Psalm 69:30). His own life (i.e., his goals, his dreams, his passions) had value only in what glory he could direct towards Heaven and in what good he could bestow on Earth. "Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in Heaven: and come and follow Me" (Matthew 19:21).
"His own personal income varied around $12,000 a year, of which he kept for himself $1,800 giving the rest away." --from the "Christian Hall of Fame Series" (No.23) by Ed Reese
In 1876, a book of Mr. Mueller's sermons was published which also contained his picture and signature. His deep desire to keep the LORD Jehovah Jireh (literally, the LORD will Provide [Genesis 22:14]) in the forefront of everyone's minds and hearts prompted him to respond with the following:
"During the last thirty years I have been asked both verbally and in writing for my likeness, but my reply has invariably been
'As I do not wish to direct attention to myself but to my Lord and Master, I must decline to comply with your request.'
Twenty years ago I was offered 500 pounds sterling if I would allow it to be published, but the offer was declined for the reason already given." --George Mueller
Mr. Pierson reveals the opinion of Mr. James Wright (Mr. Mueller's son-in-law, and successor in the orphan work) with similar fashion concerning Mueller's desire to remain in the background-- giving God the foreground-- Mr. Pierson writes:
"Mr. Mueller's own gifts to the service of the Lord find in this posthumous report their first full record and recognition. Readers of the Annual Reports must have noticed an entry, recurring with strange frequency during all these thirty or forty years, and therefore suggesting a giver that must have reached a very ripe age:
'from a servant of the Lord Jesus, who, constrained by the love of Christ, seeks to lay up treasure in heaven.'
If that entry be carefully followed throughout and there be added the personal gifts made by Mr. Mueller to various benevolent objects, it will be found that the aggregate sum from this 'servant' reaches, up to March 1, 1898, a total of eighty-one thousand four hundred and ninety pounds eighteen shillings and eightpence. Mr. Wright, now that this 'servant of the Lord Jesus' is with his Master, who promised,
'Where I am there shall also My servant be,'
feels free to make known that this donor was no other than George Mueller himself who thus gave out of his own money-- money given to him for his own use or left to him by legacies-- the total sum of about sixty-four thousand five hundred pounds to the Scriptural Knowledge Institution, and, in other directions, seventeen thousand more. This is a record of personal gifts to which we know no parallel." --from chapter 20: "The Summary of the Life-Work" -- http://WhatSaithTheScripture.com/Voice/George.Mueller.of.Bristol/George.Mueller.Bristol.20.html#own gifts to the service --
There was but one thing foremost in the mind of George Mueller, and that he continually tried to keep foremost in the minds of others, "Let the BEAUTY OF THE LORD OUR GOD be UPON US: and establish Thou the work of our hands upon us; yea, the work of our hands establish Thou it" (Psalm 90:17). "One thing have I desired of the LORD, that will I seek after... to behold the Beauty of THE LORD, and to inquire in HIS Temple" (Psalm 27:4).
"Two things are here plainly put before us:
first, that Elijah was but a man, of like nature with other men and subject to all human frailties and infirmities;
and secondly, that this man was such a power because he was a man of prayer: he prayed earnestly; literally 'he prayed with prayer'; prayed habitually and importunately." --from chapter 24: "Last Looks, Backward and Forward" -- http://WhatSaithTheScripture.com/Voice/George.Mueller.of.Bristol/George.Mueller.Bristol.24.html#Two things are here --
His Faith Justified by God
"George Mueller cultivated faith. He used to say to his helpers in prayer and service,
'Never let enter your minds a shadow of doubt as to the love of the Father's heart or the power of the Father's arm.'" --from chapter 19: "At Evening-Time-- Light" -- http://WhatSaithTheScripture.com/Voice/George.Mueller.of.Bristol/George.Mueller.Bristol.19.html#George Mueller cultivated faith --
Mr. Mueller's witness of God was "O Thou that HEAREST prayer, unto Thee shall all flesh come" (Psalm 65:2). God's witness of Mr. Mueller was one of justification. He was justified in believing that God answers prayer. The LORD continually upheld His servant, and before all the world, honoured Mr. Mueller with His favour and attention by answering him when he prayed. "Wisdom is justified of all her children" (Luke 7:35). And Jehovah Jireh had so magnificently exhibited Himself in these answered prayers that Mr. Mueller confidently
"felt his compensation to be both constant and abundant, and his journal, from time to time, glows with his fervent thanksgivings." --from chapter 23: "God's Witness to the Work" -- http://WhatSaithTheScripture.com/Voice/George.Mueller.of.Bristol/George.Mueller.Bristol.23.html#felt his compensation --
"'I believe God, that it shall be even as it was told me.'
That is faith in its simplest exercise and it was George Mueller's faith. He found the word of the Lord in His blessed Book, a new word of promise for each new crisis of trial or need; he put his finger upon the very text and then looked up to God and said:
'Thou hast spoken. I believe.'
Persuaded of God's unfailing truth, he rested in His word with unwavering faith, and consequently he was at peace." --from chapter 24: "Last Looks, Backward and Forward" -- http://WhatSaithTheScripture.com/Voice/George.Mueller.of.Bristol/George.Mueller.Bristol.24.html#I believe God --
A. T. Pierson chronicled George Mueller's life of faith. He writes:
"By faith 'the elders obtained a good report,' that is, they had witness borne to them by God in return for witness borne to Him. All the marked examples of faith here recorded show this twofold testimony. Abel testified to his faith in God's Atoning Lamb, and God testified to his gifts. Enoch witnessed to the unseen God by his holy walk with Him, and He testified to Enoch, by his translation, and even before it, that he pleased God. Noah's faith bore witness to God's word, by building the ark and preaching righteousness, and God bore witness to him by bringing a flood upon a world of the ungodly and saving him and his family in the ark.
George Mueller's life was one long witness to the prayer-hearing God; and, throughout, God bore him witness that his prayers were heard and his work accepted. The pages of his journal are full of striking examples of this witness-- the earnest or foretaste of the fuller recompense of reward reserved for the Lord's coming." --from chapter 23: "God's Witness to the Work" -- http://WhatSaithTheScripture.com/Voice/George.Mueller.of.Bristol/George.Mueller.Bristol.23.html#the elders obtained --
His work for God was "accepted." "As a prince" had he "power with God" and "prevailed" (Genesis 32:28).
"It is the very time for faith to work, when sight ceases. The greater the difficulties, the easier for faith. As long as there remain certain natural prospects, faith does not get on even as easily (if I may say so), as when all natural prospects fail... The Lord gives faith, for the very purpose of trying it for the glory of His own name, and for the good of him who has it; and, by the very trial of our faith, we not only obtain blessing to our own souls, by becoming the better acquainted with God, if we hold fast our confidence in Him, but our faith is also, by the exercise, strengthened: and so it comes, that, if we walk with God in any measure of uprightness of heart, the trials of faith will be greater and greater. It is for the church's benefit that we are put in these straits; and if, therefore, in the hour of need, we were to take goods on credit, the first and primary object of the work would be completely frustrated, and no heart would be further strengthened to trust in God, nor would there be any longer that manifestation of the special and particular providence of God, which has hitherto been so abundantly shown through this work, even in the eyes of unbelievers, whereby they have been led to see that there is, after all, reality in the things of God, and many, through these printed accounts, have been truly converted... we purpose, as God shall give grace, to look to Him only, though morning after morning we should have nothing in hand for the work-- yea, though from meal to meal we should have to look to Him; being fully assured that He who is now (1845) in the tenth year feeding these many orphans, and who has never suffered them to want, and that He who is now (1845) in the twelfth year carrying on the other parts of the work, without any branch of it having had to be stopped for want of means, will do so for the future also.
And here I do desire in the deep consciousness of my natural helplessness and dependence upon the Lord to confess that through the grace of God my soul has been in peace, though day after day we have had to wait for our daily provisions upon the Lord; yea, though even from meal to meal we have been required to do this." --from Appendix N: "The Wise Sayings of George Mueller" -- http://WhatSaithTheScripture.com/Voice/George.Mueller.of.Bristol/George.Mueller.Bristol.N.html#It is the very time --
"Every day brought new demands for continuance in prayer. In fact, as Mr. Mueller testifies, the only difference between latter and former days was that the difficulties were greater in proportion as the work was larger. But he adds that this was to be expected, for the Lord gives faith for the very purpose of trying it for the glory of His own name and the good of him who has the faith, and it is by these very trials that trust learns the secret of its triumphs." --from chapter 15: "The Manifold Grace of God" -- http://WhatSaithTheScripture.com/Voice/George.Mueller.of.Bristol/George.Mueller.Bristol.15.html#Every day brought --
There were plenty of opportunities for the LORD to try the faith of His servant, and "the greater the difficulties, the easier for faith" to be tried, "for with God nothing shall be impossible" (Luke 1:37).
"One morning the plates and cups and bowls on the table were empty. There was no food in the larder, and no money to buy food. The children were standing waiting for their morning meal, when Mueller said,
'Children, you know we must be in time for school.'
Lifting his hand he said,
'Dear Father, we thank Thee for what Thou art going to give us to eat.'
There was a knock on the door. The baker stood there, and said,
'Mr. Mueller, I couldn't sleep last night. Somehow I felt you didn't have bread for breakfast and the Lord wanted me to send you some. So I got up at 2 a.m. and baked some fresh bread, and have brought it.'
Mueller thanked the man. No sooner had this transpired when there was a second knock at the door. It was the milkman. He announced that his milk cart had broken down right in front of the Orphanage, and he would like to give the children his cans of fresh milk so he could empty his wagon and repair it. No wonder, years later, when Mueller was to travel the world as an evangelist, he would be heralded as
'the man who gets things from God!'" --from the "Christian Hall of Fame Series" (No.23) by Ed Reese
Being a faithful servant, George Mueller did fulfill the deepest wish of his heart and bear witness to an unbelieving world and a disbelieving church, that God is Faithful. "For the LORD God is a Sun and Shield: the LORD will give Grace and Glory: no good thing will He withhold from them that walk uprightly" (Psalm 84:11). He, by offering himself "a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God" (Romans 12:1), could then in turn, provide the LORD with a grand opportunity to magnify Himself to His people.
"A testimony to the faithfulness of God.
This great object Mr. Mueller always kept foremost, hoping and praying that, by such records and revelations of God's fidelity to His promises, and of the manner in which He met each new need, his servant might awaken, quicken, and stimulate faith in Him as the Living God. One has only to read these reports to see the conspicuous absence of any appeal for human aid, or of any attempt to excite pity, sympathy and compassion toward the orphans. The burden of every report is to induce the reader to venture wholly upon God, to taste and see that the Lord is good, and find for himself how blessed are all they that put their trust in Him. Only in the light of this supreme purpose can these records of a life of faith be read intelligently and intelligibly." --from chapter 11: "Trials of Faith, and Helpers to Faith" -- http://WhatSaithTheScripture.com/Voice/George.Mueller.of.Bristol/George.Mueller.Bristol.11.html#A testimony to the --
As "it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure" (Philippians 2:13), in the same way, He worked in George Mueller. His servant loved Him "with all [his] heart, and with all [his] soul, and with all [his] mind" (Matthew 22:37), and with a true servant's heart, Mr. Mueller desired earnestly to "love [his] neighbour as [himself]" (22:39). He did "bear... one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ" (Galatians 6:2).
"I HAD constantly cases brought before me which proved that one of the especial things which the children of God needed in our day was to have their faith strengthened. For instance: I might visit a brother who worked fourteen or even sixteen hours a day at his trade, the necessary result of which was that not only his body suffered, but his soul was lean, and he had no enjoyment in the things of God. Under such circumstances I might point out to him that he ought to work less, in order that his bodily health might not suffer, and that he might gather strength for his inner man by reading the word of God, or by meditation over it, and by prayer. The reply, however, I generally found to be something like this:
'But if I work less, I do not earn enough for the support of my family. Even now, whilst I work so much, I have scarcely enough. The wages are so low, that I must work hard in order to obtain what I need.'
There was no trust in God. No real belief in the truth of that word:
'Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness:
and all these things shall be added unto you.'I might reply something like this:
'My dear brother, it is not your work which supports your family, but the Lord; and He who has fed you and your family when you could not work at all, on account of illness, would surely provide for you and yours if, for the sake of obtaining food for your inner man, you were to work only for so many hours a day as would allow you proper time for retirement. And is it not the case now, that you begin the work of the day after having had only a few hurried moments for prayer and when you leave off your work in the evening, and mean then to read a little of the word of God, are you not too much worn out in body and mind to enjoy it, and do you not often fall asleep whilst reading the Scriptures or whilst on your knees in prayer?'
The brother would allow it was so; he would allow that my advice was good but still I read in his countenance, even if he should not have actually said so,
'How should I get on if I were to carry out your advice?'
I longed, therefore, to have something to point the brother to, as a visible proof that our God and Father is the same faithful God as ever He was; as willing as ever to PROVE Himself to be the LIVING GOD, in our day as formerly, to all who put their trust in Him." --from Appendix E: "Reasons Which Led Mr. Mueller to Establish An Orphan House" -- http://WhatSaithTheScripture.com/Voice/George.Mueller.of.Bristol/George.Mueller.Bristol.E.html#I HAD constantly --
"O fear the LORD, ye His saints:
for there is no want to them that fear Him...
they that seek the LORD shall not want any good thing"
(Psalm 34:9-10).
On the streets of Bristol, for 2-3 years before the orphanages were even "substance" by faith (Hebrews 11:1), Mr. Mueller had seen the destitute waifs throughout the city. He desired to do something substantial for them, but couldn't see his way clear as to how to go about it. But when the vision came, and when the LORD's plan began to form in His servant's heart and mind, many lost and unwanted children were soon to be saved. "Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the Law, happy is he" (Proverbs 29:18). God's Law of Love for these children was at work in George Mueller, for as the vision formed he decided that
"the chief and the special end of the Institution will be to seek, with God's blessing, to bring them to the knowledge of Jesus Christ by instructing them in the Scriptures." --from Appendix E: "Reasons Which Led Mr. Mueller to Establish An Orphan House" -- http://WhatSaithTheScripture.com/Voice/George.Mueller.of.Bristol/George.Mueller.Bristol.E.html#the chief and the --
"Produce your cause, saith the LORD;
bring forth your strong reasons, saith the King of Jacob"
(Isaiah 41:21).
Mueller's strong reasons were emboldened with a strong faith that came by exercising it with "reason of use" (Hebrews 5:14). His faith was constantly being tried in the kiln of his Faithful Master Potter. "That the TRIAL of your faith, BEING MUCH MORE PRECIOUS than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto Praise and Honour and Glory at the Appearing of Jesus Christ" (1Peter 1:7).
"I met at a brother's house with several believers, when a sister said that she had often thought about the care and burden I must have on my mind, as it regards obtaining the necessary supplies for so many persons. As this may not be a solitary instance, I would state that, by the grace of God, this is no cause of anxiety to me. The children I have years ago cast upon the Lord. The whole work is His, and it becomes me to be without carefulness. In whatever points I am lacking, in this point I am able by the grace of God, to roll the burden upon my heavenly Father. Though now (July 1845) for about seven years our funds have been so exhausted, that it has been comparatively a rare case that there have been means in hand to meet the necessities of the orphans for three days together; yet have I been only once tried in spirit, and that was on Sept. 18, 1838, when for the first time the Lord seemed not to regard our prayer. But when He did send help at that time, and I saw that it was only for the trial of our faith, and not because He had forsaken the work that we were brought so low, my soul was so strengthened and encouraged, that I have not only not been allowed to distrust the Lord since that time, but I have not even been cast down when in the deepest poverty. Nevertheless, in this respect also am I now, as much as ever, dependent on the Lord; and I earnestly beseech for myself and my fellow-labourers the prayers of all those, to whom the glory of God is dear. How great would be the dishonour to the name of God, if we, who have so publicly made our boast in Him, should so fall as to act in these very points as the world does! Help us, then, brethren, with your prayers, that we may trust in God to the end. We can expect nothing but that our faith will yet be tried, and it may be more than ever; and we shall fall, if the Lord does not uphold us." --from Appendix N: "The Wise Sayings of George Mueller" -- http://WhatSaithTheScripture.com/Voice/George.Mueller.of.Bristol/George.Mueller.Bristol.N.html#I met at a brother --
Strong faith in God bears fruit that is "known and read of all men" (2Corinthians 3:2).
"His influence touched the lives of thousands, perhaps the most notable, that of J. Hudson Taylor. His most moving reunion with an orphan was on October 19, 1878 when a 71 year old widow met him, she had been his first orphan over 57 years previously. 10,023 other orphans were to follow her there and have 'Daddy' Mueller rear them. Mueller read the Bible through over 200 times, half of these times, on his knees. He said he knew of some 50,000 specific answers to prayer requests to God alone! Over 3,000 of his orphans were won to Christ through his ministry by the Holy Spirit." --from the "Christian Hall of Fame Series" (No.23) by Ed Reese
God justified the trust that His servant deposited with Him. "I have declared, and have saved, and I have showed... therefore ye are My witnesses, saith the LORD, that I Am God" (Isaiah 43:12).
"From 1848 to 1874, money came in to improve and expand the work which went from 130 orphans to 2,050 during this time and up to 13 acres. Mueller describes these days, writing in 1874:
'But God, our infinitely rich Treasurer, remains with us. It is this which gives me peace. Moreover if it pleases Him, with a work requiring about $264,000 a year would I gladly pass through all these trials of faith with regard to means, if He only might be gloried, and His Church and the world benefited. I have placed myself in the position of having no means at all left; and 2,100 persons, not only daily at the table, but with everything else to be provided for, and all the funds gone; 189 missionaries to be assisted, and nothing whatever left; about one hundred schools with 9,000 scholars in them, to be entirely supported, and no means for them in hand; about four million tracts and tens of thousands of copies of the Holy Scriptures yearly now to be sent out, and all the money expended. I commit the whole work to Him, and He will provide me with what I need, in future also, though I know not whence the means are to come.'" --from the "Christian Hall of Fame Series" (No.23) by Ed Reese
"Whom He called, them He also justified:
and whom He justified, them He also glorified"
(Romans 8:30).
His Secret
"To summarize Mr. Mueller's service we must understand his great secret. Such a life and such a work are the result of one habit more than all else,-- daily and frequent communion with God. Unwearied in supplications and intercessions, we have seen how, in every new need and crisis, prayer was the one resort, the prayer of faith.
He first satisfied himself that he was in the way of duty;
then he fixed his mind upon the unchanging word of promise;
then, in the boldness of a suppliant who comes to a throne of grace in the name of Jesus Christ and pleads the assurance of the immutable Promiser, he presented every petition." --from chapter 20: "The Summary of the Life-Work" -- http://WhatSaithTheScripture.com/Voice/George.Mueller.of.Bristol/George.Mueller.Bristol.20.html#To summarize Mr --
"For who hath known the Mind of the LORD, that he may instruct Him? [No one teaches God.] But we have the Mind of Christ [But God teaches us.]" (1Corinthians 2:16). George Mueller's secrets with God were no secrets at all to anyone who spends much time with God in His Word. "Thy Words were found, and I did eat them; and Thy Word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart: for I am called by Thy Name, O LORD God of Hosts" (Jeremiah 15:16). For the mind of the LORD is shared with any child of His who comes seeking to know Him. "The Secret of the LORD is with them that fear Him; and He will show them His Covenant" (Psalm 25:14). "That I may know Him, and the Power of His Resurrection, and the Fellowship of His Sufferings, being made conformable unto His Death" (Philippians 3:10).
"To one who asked him the secret of his service he said:
'There was a day when I died, utterly died;'
and, as he spoke, he bent lower and lower until he almost touched the floor--
'died to George Mueller, his opinions, preferences, tastes and will-- died to the world, its approval or censure-- died to the approval or blame even of my brethren and friends-- and since then I have studied only to show myself 'approved unto God.'" --from chapter 24: "Last Looks, Backward and Forward" -- http://WhatSaithTheScripture.com/Voice/George.Mueller.of.Bristol/George.Mueller.Bristol.24.html#To one who asked --
You cannot live to self and be "approved unto God" (2Timothy 2:15) at the same time. "No man can serve two masters" (Matthew 6:24).
"This way of living has often been the means of reviving the work of grace in my heart, when I have been getting cold; and it also has been the means of bringing me back again to the Lord, after I have been backsliding. For it will not do,-- it is not possible, to live in sin, and at the same time, by communion with God, to draw down from heaven everything one needs for the life that now is... Answer to prayer, obtained in this way, has been the means of quickening my soul, and filling me with much joy." --from Appendix N: "The Wise Sayings of George Mueller" -- http://WhatSaithTheScripture.com/Voice/George.Mueller.of.Bristol/George.Mueller.Bristol.N.html#This way of living --
As a Christian, life's giant maze becomes the LORD's Grand Occasion, "wherein He hath abounded toward us in all Wisdom and Prudence; having made known unto us the Mystery of His Will, according to His Good Pleasure which He hath purposed in Himself" (Ephesians 1:8-9). Mr. Mueller shares with us the LORD's "secrets" on prayer. "It is the glory of God to conceal a thing: but the honour of kings is to search out a matter" (Proverbs 25:2) for, "His Secret is with the righteous" (Proverbs 3:32).
CONDITIONS OF PRAYER.
"Go for yourself, with all your temporal and spiritual wants, to the Lord. Bring also the necessities of your friends and relatives to the Lord. Only make the trial, and you will perceive how able and willing He is to help you. Should you, however, not at once obtain answers to your prayers, be not discouraged; but continue patiently, believingly, perseveringly to wait upon God: and as assuredly as that which you ask would be for your real good, and therefore for the honour of the Lord; and as assuredly as you ask it solely on the ground of the worthiness of our Lord Jesus, so assuredly you will at last obtain the blessing. I myself have had to wait upon God concerning certain matters for years, before I obtained answers to my prayers; but at last they came. At this very time, I have still to renew my requests daily before God, respecting a certain blessing for which I have besought Him for eleven years and a half, and which I have as yet obtained only in part, but concerning which I have no doubt that the full blessing will be granted in the end...The great point is, that we ask only for that which it would be for the glory of God to give to us; for that, and that alone, can be for our real good. But it is not enough that the thing for which we ask God be for His honour and glory, but we must
secondly ask it in the name of the Lord Jesus, viz., expect it only on the ground of His merits and worthiness.
Thirdly, we should believe that God is able and willing to give us what we ask Him for.
Fourthly, we should continue in prayer till the blessing is granted; without fixing to God a time when, or the circumstances under which, He should give the answer. Patience should be in exercise, in connection with our prayer.
Fifthly, we should, at the same time, look out for and expect an answer till it comes. If we pray in this way, we shall not only have answers, thousands of answers to our prayers; but our own souls will be greatly refreshed and invigorated in connection with these answers....Suppose we are believers in the Lord Jesus, and make our requests unto God, depending alone on the Lord Jesus as the ground of having them granted; suppose, also, that, so far as we are able honestly and uprightly to judge, the obtaining of our requests would be for our real spiritual good and for the honour of God; we yet need, lastly, to continue in prayer, until the blessing is granted unto us." --from Appendix N: "The Wise Sayings of George Mueller" -- http://WhatSaithTheScripture.com/Voice/George.Mueller.of.Bristol/George.Mueller.Bristol.N.html#CONDITIONS OF PRAYER --
"It is given unto you to know the Mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven" (Matthew 13:11).The dominion enjoyed in Heaven is the remedy for problems here below. "Thy Will be done in Earth, as it is in Heaven" (Matthew 6:10).
FAITH, PRAYER, AND THE WORD OF GOD.
"Prayer and faith, the universal remedies against every want and every difficulty; and the nourishment of prayer and faith, God's holy word, helped me over all the difficulties.--
I never remember, in all my Christian course, a period now (in March 1895) of sixty-nine years and four months, that I ever SINCERELY and PATIENTLY sought to know the will of God by the teaching of the Holy Ghost, through the instrumentality of the word of God, but I have been ALWAYS directed rightly. But if honesty of heart and uprightness before God were lacking, or if I did not patiently wait upon God for instruction, or if I preferred the counsel of my fellow men to the declarations of the word of the living God, I made great mistakes." --from Appendix N: "The Wise Sayings of George Mueller" -- http://WhatSaithTheScripture.com/Voice/George.Mueller.of.Bristol/George.Mueller.Bristol.N.html#FAITH PRAYER WORD --
Mr. Mueller was a special man, only in the respect, that he actually did pray the way that all Christians should pray. "Jesus answered and said... If ye have faith, and doubt not... ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done" (Matthew 21:21). Not praying the form prayers of Laodiceans, in "vain repetitions" (Matthew 6:7), or in "regard[ing] iniquity" (Psalm 66:18), but as upright Christians in honest obedience. "If any man will do His Will, he shall know of the doctrine" (John 7:17).
"Everything that is a mere form, a mere habit and custom in divine things, is to be dreaded exceedingly: life, power, reality, this is what we have to aim after. Things should not result from without, but from within. The sort of clothes I wear, the kind of house I live in, the quality of the furniture I use, all such like things should not result from other persons doing so and so, or because it is customary among those brethren with whom I associate to live in such and such a simple, inexpensive self-denying way; but whatever be done in these things, in the way of giving up, or self-denial, or deadness to the world, should result from the joy we have in God, from the knowledge of our being the children of God, from the entering into the preciousness of our future inheritance, etc. Far better that for the time being we stand still, and do not take the steps which we see others take, than that it is merely the force of example that leads us to do a thing, and afterwards it be regretted. Not that I mean in the least this to imply we should continue to live in luxury, self-indulgence, and the like, whilst others are in great need; but we should begin the thing in a right way, i.e., aim after the right state of heart; begin inwardly instead of outwardly. If otherwise, it will not last. We shall look back, or even get into a worse state than we were before. But oh, how different if joy in God leads us to any little act of self-denial. How gladly do we do it then! How great an honour then do we esteem it to be! How much does the heart then long to be able to do more for Him who has done so much for us!" --from Appendix N: "The Wise Sayings of George Mueller" -- http://WhatSaithTheScripture.com/Voice/George.Mueller.of.Bristol/George.Mueller.Bristol.N.html#Everything that is --
Mr. Pierson points us to the spiritual strengths of this humble prayer warrior, the attributes which exemplify Jesus Christ and are wrought in us by the Holy Spirit. "The LORD is my Strength and my Shield; my heart trusted in Him, and I am helped" (Psalm 28:7). All Christians can pray like prayer warriors because all Christians should exemplify Jesus Christ and have "the Exceeding Greatness of His Power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of His Mighty Power" (Ephesians 1:19).
"Three qualities or characteristics stand out very conspicuous in him truth, faith, and love. Our Lord frequently taught His disciples that the childlike spirit is the soul of discipleship, and in the ideal child these three traits are central.
Truth is one centre, about which revolve childlike frankness and sincerity, genuineness and simplicity.
Faith is another, about which revolve confidence and trust, docility and humility.
Love is another centre, around which gather unselfishness and generosity, gentleness and restfulness of spirit.In the typical or perfect child, therefore, all these beautiful qualities would coexist, and, in proportion as they are found in a disciple, is he worthy to be called a child of God." --from chapter 24: "Last Looks, Backward and Forward" -- http://WhatSaithTheScripture.com/Voice/George.Mueller.of.Bristol/George.Mueller.Bristol.24.html#Three qualities --
This child of God was very active in the LORD's service, even in his old age-- "his eye was not dim, nor his natural force abated" (Deuteronomy 34:7).
"The marvellous preservation of such a man at such an age reminds one of Caleb, who at eighty-five could boast in God that he was as strong even for war as in the day that he was sent into the land as one of the spies; and Mr. Mueller himself attributed this preservation to three causes:
first, the exercising of himself to have always a conscience void of offence both toward God and toward men ;
secondly to the love he felt for the Scriptures, and the constant recuperative power they exercised upon his whole being;
and third, to that happiness he felt in God and His work, which relieved him of all anxiety and needless wear and tear in his labours." --from chapter 19: "At Evening-Time-- Light" -- http://WhatSaithTheScripture.com/Voice/George.Mueller.of.Bristol/George.Mueller.Bristol.19.html#The marvellous preservation --
"He hath put a New Song in my mouth, even Praise unto our God: many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the LORD" (Psalm 40:3).
George Mueller's "secret" was in his "work of faith, and labour of love, and patience of hope in our LORD Jesus Christ, in the sight of God and our Father" (1Thessalonians 1:3). Expecting the return of the LORD Jesus at any time, Mr. Mueller increased "in labours more abundant" (2Corinthians 11:23).
"I found in the Word, that the return of Jesus, and not death, was the hope of the apostolic Christians; and that it became me, therefore, to look for His appearing... Having seen this truth, the Lord also graciously enabled me to apply it, in some measure at least, to my own heart, and to put the solemn question to myself--
'What may I do for the Lord,
before He returns,
as He may soon come?'"
--from Appendix B: "Apprehension of Truth" -- http://WhatSaithTheScripture.com/Voice/George.Mueller.of.Bristol/George.Mueller.Bristol.B.html#I found in the Word --"Here is the great secret of success. Work with all your might; but trust not in the least in your work. Pray with all your might for the blessing of God; but work, at the same time, with all diligence, with all patience, with all perseverance. Pray then, and work. Work and pray. And still again pray, and then work. And so on all the days of your life. The result will surely be, abundant blessing. Whether you see much fruit or little fruit, such kind of service will be blessed... Speak also for the Lord, as if everything depended on your exertions; yet trust not the least in your exertions, but in the Lord, who alone can cause your efforts to be made effectual, to the benefit of your fellow men or fellow believers. Remember, also, that God delights to bestow blessing, but, generally, as the result of earnest, believing prayer." --from Appendix N: "The Wise Sayings of George Mueller" -- http://WhatSaithTheScripture.com/Voice/George.Mueller.of.Bristol/George.Mueller.Bristol.N.html#Here is the great secret --
"That our God would count you worthy
of this calling,
and fulfil all the Good Pleasure of His Goodness,
and the work of Faith with Power"
(2Thessalonians 1:11).
His Experiment
"If George Mueller could still speak to us, he would again repeat the warning so frequently found in his journal and reports, that his fellow disciples must not regard him as a miracle-worker, as though his experience were to be accounted so exceptional as to have little application in our ordinary spheres of life and service. With patient repetition he affirms that in all essentials such an experience is the privilege of all believers. God calls disciples to various forms of work, but all alike to the same faith. To say, therefore,
'I am not called to build orphan houses, etc., and have no right to expect answers to my prayers as Mr. Mueller did,'
is wrong and unbelieving. Every child of God, he maintained, is first to get into the sphere appointed of God, and therein to exercise full trust, and live by faith upon God's sure word of promise.
Throughout all these thousands of pages written by his pen, he teaches that every experience of God's faithfulness is both the reward of past faith and prayer, and the preparation of the servant of God for larger work and more efficient service and more convincing witness to his Lord." --from chapter 20: "The Summary of the Life-Work" -- http://WhatSaithTheScripture.com/Voice/George.Mueller.of.Bristol/George.Mueller.Bristol.20.html#could still speak to us --
"The second volume of Mr. Mueller's Narrative closes with a paragraph in which he formally disclaims as impudent presumption and pretension all high rank as a miracle-worker, and records his regret that any work, based on scriptural promises and built on the simple lines of faith and prayer, should be accounted either phenomenal or fanatical." --from chapter 15: "The Manifold Grace of God" -- http://WhatSaithTheScripture.com/Voice/George.Mueller.of.Bristol/George.Mueller.Bristol.15.html#The second volume --
As a life goal, the "one great experiment" that Mr. Pierson mentions below, reveals that Mueller "had set himself to prove that the prayer which resorts to God only will bring help in every crisis." "Prove Me now herewith, saith the LORD of Hosts, if I will not open you the windows of Heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it" (Malachi 3:10). Every trial of man when given to God alone is met and remedied by Jehovah Jireh, Himself; this was Mr. Mueller's life goal-- his "one great experiment"-- to prove God's constant watchcare and faithfulness to men who trust Him alone. "He is a Rewarder of them that diligently seek Him" (Hebrews 11:6).
"A few days after returning to Bristol from his few weeks in Germany, and at a time of great financial distress in the work, a letter reached him from a brother who had often before given money, as follows:
'Have you any present need for the Institution under your care? I know you do not ask, except indeed of Him whose work you are doing; but to answer when asked seems another thing, and a right thing. I have a reason for desiring to know the present state of your means towards the objects you are labouring to serve: viz.., should you not have need, other departments of the Lord's work, or other people of the Lord, may have need. Kindly then inform me, and to what amount, i.e. what amount you at this present time need or can profitably lay out.'
To most men, even those who carry on a work of faith and prayer, such a letter would have been at least a temptation. But Mr. Mueller did not waver. To announce even to an inquirer the exact needs of the work would, in his opinion, involve two serious risks:
1. It would turn his own eyes away from God to man;
2. It would turn the minds of saints away from dependence solely upon Him.This man of God had staked everything upon one great experiment-- he had set himself to prove that the prayer which resorts to God only will bring help in every crisis, even when the crisis is unknown to His people whom He uses as the means of relief and help.
At this time there remained in hand but twenty-seven pence ha'penny, in all, to meet the needs of hundreds of orphans. Nevertheless this was the reply to the letter:'Whilst I thank you for your love, and whilst I agree with you that, in general, there is a difference between asking for money and answering when asked, nevertheless, in our case, I feel not at liberty to speak about the state of our funds, as the primary object of the work in my hands is to lead those who are weak in faith to see that there is reality in dealing with God alone.'
Consistently with his position, however, no sooner was the answer posted than the appeal went up to the Living God:
'Lord, thou knowest that, for Thy sake, I did not tell this brother about our need. Now, Lord, show afresh that there is reality in speaking to Thee only, about our need, and speak therefore to this brother so that he may help us.'
In answer, God moved this inquiring brother to donate one hundred pounds, which came when not one penny was in hand." --from chapter 11: "Trials of Faith, and Helpers to Faith" -- http://WhatSaithTheScripture.com/Voice/George.Mueller.of.Bristol/George.Mueller.Bristol.11.html#A few days after returning --
"George Mueller counted all as loss that men count gain, but it was for the excellency of the knowledge of Jesus, his Lord. He suffered the loss of all things and counted then as dung, but it was that he might win Christ and be found in Him; that he might know Him, and not only the fellowship of His sufferings and conformity to His death, but the power of His resurrection, conformity to His life, and fellowship in His glory. He left all behind that the world values, but he reached forth and pressed forward toward the goal, for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
'Let us, therefore, as many as be perfect, be thus minded.'
When the Lord Jesus was upon earth, there was one disciple whom He loved, who also leaned on His breast, having the favoured place which only one could occupy. But now that He is in heaven, every disciple may be the loved one, and fill the favoured place, and lean on His bosom. There is no exclusive monopoly of privilege and blessing. He that follows closely and abides in Him knows the peculiar closeness of contact, the honour of intimacy, that are reserved for such as are called and chosen and faithful, and follow the Lamb whithersoever He goeth." --from chapter 24: "Last Looks, Backward and Forward" -- http://WhatSaithTheScripture.com/Voice/George.Mueller.of.Bristol/George.Mueller.Bristol.24.html#George Mueller counted --
May George Mueller's secret and experiment be our secret and experiment, may his
example in life be the example of our life, because as a man of "like passions",
we CAN, by God's Grace, follow George Mueller as he followed Christ. "The secret
things belong unto the LORD our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto
us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the Words of this Law" (Deuteronomy 29:29).
"My business is, with all my might to serve my own generation; in doing so I shall best serve the next generation, should the Lord Jesus tarry... The longer I live, the more I am enabled to realize that I have but one life to live on earth, and that this one life is but a brief life, for sowing, in comparison with eternity, for reaping." --from Appendix N: "The Wise Sayings of George Mueller" -- http://WhatSaithTheScripture.com/Voice/George.Mueller.of.Bristol/George.Mueller.Bristol.N.html#My business is --
"10 Now HE [to Whom George Mueller continually ascribed ALL recognition] that ministereth Seed to the sower [Mr. Mueller] both minister Bread for your food, and multiply your Seed sown, and increase the fruits of your righteousness; 11 being enriched in every thing to all bountifulness, which causeth through us THANKSGIVING TO GOD. 12 For the administration of this service [from God through Mr. Mueller] not only supplieth the want of the saints, but is abundant also by MANY THANKSGIVINGS UNTO GOD; 13 whiles by the experiment of this ministration [of God's through Mr. Mueller] they glorify God for your professed subjection unto the Gospel of Christ, and for your liberal distribution... unto all men; 14 and by their prayer for you, which long after you for the exceeding grace of God in you. 15 Thanks be unto God for His Unspeakable Gift" (2Corinthians 9:10-15).
"And in the wilderness,
where thou hast seen how that the LORD thy God bare thee,
as a Man doth bear his son,
in all the way that ye went,
until ye came into this Place"
(Deuteronomy 1:31).
--Katie Stewart
It is hoped that these excerpts will encourage the reading of
the complete biography
-- http://WhatSaithTheScripture.com/Voice/George.Mueller.of.Bristol/George.Mueller.of.Bristol.html
--,
desiring to "taste and see that the LORD is Good"
and finding that "blessed is the man that trusteth in Him"
(Psalm 34:8).
See also "APPENDIX A. SCRIPTURE TEXTS THAT MOULDED GEORGE MUELLER"
-- http://WhatSaithTheScripture.com/Voice/George.Mueller.of.Bristol/George.Mueller.Bristol.A.html --.
"A kind of Scriptural biography."
The simplicity of receiving. "Believe that ye receive...
and ye shall have" (Mark 11:24).
"George Mueller believed, and because he believed, prayed; and praying, expected; and expecting, received. Blessed is he that believes, for there shall be a performance of those things which are spoken of the Lord." --from chapter 6: "The Narrative of the Lord's Dealings" -- http://WhatSaithTheScripture.com/Voice/George.Mueller.of.Bristol/George.Mueller.Bristol.6.html#George Mueller believed --
Be a "Mary", not a "Martha"-- "One thing is needful"
(Luke 10:42).
"On April 20th Mr. Mueller left for Bristol. On the journey he was dumb, having no liberty in speaking for Christ or even in giving away tracts, and this led him to reflect. He saw that the so-called 'work of the Lord' had tempted him to substitute action for meditation and communion. He had neglected that 'still hour' with God which supplies to spiritual life alike its breath and its bread. No lesson is more important for us to learn, yet how slow are we to learn it: that for the lack of habitual seasons set apart for devout meditation upon the word of God and for prayer, nothing else will compensate." --from chapter 7: "Led of God into a New Sphere" -- http://WhatSaithTheScripture.com/Voice/George.Mueller.of.Bristol/George.Mueller.Bristol.7.html#On April 20th --
The birth of the idea. "A little child shall lead [him]" (Isaiah 11:6).
"An orphan boy who had been in the school had been taken to the poorhouse, no longer able to attend on account of extreme poverty; and this little incident set Mr. Mueller thinking and praying about orphans. Could not something be done to meet the temporal and spiritual wants of this class of very poor children? Unconsciously to himself God had set a need in his soul, and was watching and watering it. The idea of a definite orphan work had taken root within him, and, like any other living germ, it was springing up and growing, he knew not how. As yet it was only in the blade, but in time there would come the ear and the full-grown corn in the ear, the new seed of a larger harvest." --from chapter 8: "A Tree of God's Own Planting" -- http://WhatSaithTheScripture.com/Voice/George.Mueller.of.Bristol/George.Mueller.Bristol.8.html#An orphan boy --
Knowing and waiting equals glory. "If we know that He hear us... we know that
we have the petitions" (1John 5:15).
"'I believe He has heard me. I believe He will make it manifest in His own good time that He has heard me; and I have recorded these my petitions this fourteenth day of January, 1838, that when God has answered them He may get, through this, glory to His name.'" --from chapter 10: "The Word of God and Prayer" -- http://WhatSaithTheScripture.com/Voice/George.Mueller.of.Bristol/George.Mueller.Bristol.10.html#I believe He has heard --
Fellowship on High. "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that
proceedeth out of the mouth of God" (Matthew
4:4).
"Converse with the Father was an indispensable source of refreshment and blessing at all times. As J. Hudson Taylor says, 'Satan, the Hinderer, may build a barrier about us, but he can never roof us in, so that we cannot look up.'" --from chapter 10: "The Word of God and Prayer" -- http://WhatSaithTheScripture.com/Voice/George.Mueller.of.Bristol/George.Mueller.Bristol.10.html#Converse with the Father --
Testing extreme and exact. "Walk by faith, not by sight" (2Corinthians 5:7).
"Money came in only in small sums, and barely enough with rigid economy to meet each day's wants. The outlook was often most dark and the prospect most threatening; but no real need ever failed to be supplied: and so praise was continually mingled with prayer, the incense of thanksgiving making fragrant the flame of supplication. God's interposing power and love could not be doubted, and in fact made the more impression as unquestionable facts, because help came so frequently at the hour of extremity, and in the exact form or amount needed. Before the provision was entirely exhausted, there came new supplies or the money wherewith to buy, so that these many mouths were always fed and these many bodies always clad." --from chapter 11: "Trials of Faith, and Helpers to Faith" -- http://WhatSaithTheScripture.com/Voice/George.Mueller.of.Bristol/George.Mueller.Bristol.11.html#Money came in only --
Providence benefitting body and spirit. "Neither will I offer burnt offerings
unto the LORD my God of that which doth cost me nothing" (2Sam. 24:24).
"A 'chance remark'-- there is no chance in a believer's life!-- made by the brother at whose house he was abiding at Plymouth, much impressed him. Referring to the sacrifices in Leviticus, he said that, as the refuse of the animals was never offered up on the altar, but only the best parts and the fat, so the choicest of our time and strength, the best parts of our day, should be especially given to the Lord in worship and communion. George Mueller meditated much on this; and determined, even at the risk of damage to bodily health, that he would no longer spend his hours in bed. Henceforth he allowed himself but seven hours' sleep and gave up his after-dinner rest. This resumption of early rising secured long seasons of uninterrupted interviews with God, in prayer and meditation on the Scriptures, before breakfast and the various inevitable interruptions that followed. He found himself not worse but better, physically, and became convinced that to have lain longer in bed as before would have kept his nerves weak; and, as to spiritual life, such new vitality and vigour accrued from thus waiting upon God while others slept, that it continued to be the habit of his after-life." --from chapter 11: "Trials of Faith, and Helpers to Faith" -- http://WhatSaithTheScripture.com/Voice/George.Mueller.of.Bristol/George.Mueller.Bristol.11.html#there is no chance --
Never a "what if" game. "With God all things are possible" (Matthew 19:26).
"From time to time he met those to whom his courageous, childlike trust in God was a mystery; and, occasionally unbelief's secret misgivings found a voice in the question, what he would do if God did not send help! what, if a meal-time actually came with no food, and no money to procure it; or if clothing were worn out, and nothing to replace it? To all such questions there was always ready this one answer: that such a failure on God's part is inconceivable, and must therefore be put among the impossibilities." --from chapter 12: "New Lessons in God's School of Prayer" -- http://WhatSaithTheScripture.com/Voice/George.Mueller.of.Bristol/George.Mueller.Bristol.12.html#From time to time --
Conditions and principles for prevailing with God. "As a prince hast thou power
with God... and hast prevailed" (Genesis
32:28).
"Five grand conditions of prevailing prayer were ever before his mind:
1. Entire dependence upon the merits and mediation of the Lord Jesus Christ, as the only ground of any claim for blessing. (See John xiv.13,14; xv.16, etc.)
2. Separation from all known sin. If we regard iniquity in our hearts, the Lord will not hear us, for it would be sanctioning sin. (Psalm Ixvi.18.)
3. Faith in God's word of promise as confirmed by His oath. Not to believe Him is to make Him both a liar and a perjurer. (Hebrews xi.6; vi.13-20.)
4. Asking in accordance with His will. Our motives must be godly: we must not seek any gift of God to consume it upon our own lusts. (1 John v.13; James iv.3.)
5. Importunity in supplication. There must be waiting on God and waiting for God, as the husbandman has long patience to wait for the harvest. (James v.7; Luke xviii.1-10.)The importance of firmly fixing in mind principles such as these cannot be overstated.
The first lays the basis of all prayer, in our oneness with the great High Priest.
The second states a condition of prayer, found in abandonment of sin.
The third reminds us of the need honouring God by faith that He is, and is the Rewarder of the diligent seeker.
The fourth reveals the sympathy with God that helps us to ask what is for our good and His glory.
The last teaches us that, having laid hold of God in prayer, we are to keep hold until His arm is outstretched in blessing.Where these conditions do not exist, for God to answer prayer would be both a dishonour to Himself and a damage to the suppliant. To encourage those who come to Him in their own name, or in a self-righteous, self-seeking, and disobedient spirit, would be to set a premium upon continuance in sin. To answer the requests of the unbelieving would be to disregard the double insult put upon a word of promise and His oath of confirmation, by consistent doubt of His truthfulness and distrust of His thoughtfulness. Indeed not one condition of prevailing prayer exists which is not such in the very nature of things. These are not arbitrary limitations affixed to prayer by a despotic will; they are necessary alike to God's character and man's good. All the lessons learned in God's school of prayer made Mueller's feelings and convictions about this matter more profound and subduing. He saw the vital relation of prayer to holiness, and perpetually sought to impress it upon both his hearers and readers." --from chapter 12: "New Lessons in God's School of Prayer" -- http://WhatSaithTheScripture.com/Voice/George.Mueller.of.Bristol/George.Mueller.Bristol.12.html#Five grand conditions --
Full weight of responsibility and circumstance. "Unto whomsoever much is given,
of him shall be much required" (Luke 12:48).
"How complex are the movements of God's providence? Some events are themselves eventful. Like the wheels in Ezekiel's vision-- a wheel in the middle of a wheel,-- they involve other issues within their mysterious mechanism, and constitute epochs of history. Such an epochal event was the building of the first of the New Orphan Houses on Ashley Down... For a man, personally penniless, to attempt to erect such a house, on such a scale, without appeal to man and in sole dependence on God was no small venture of faith. The full risk involved in such an undertaking, and the full force of the testimony which it has since afforded to a prayer-hearing God, can be felt only as the full weight of the responsibility is appreciated and all the circumstances are duly considered." --from chapter 14: "God's Building: The New Orphan Houses" -- http://WhatSaithTheScripture.com/Voice/George.Mueller.of.Bristol/George.Mueller.Bristol.14.html#How complex are the --
"Beyond his measure?" "There hath no temptation taken you but such
as is common to man: but God is Faithful, Who will not suffer you to be tempted
above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that
ye may be able to bear it" (1Corinthians
10:13).
"On June 18, 1849, more than twelve years after the beginning of the work, the orphans began to be transferred from the four rented houses on Wilson Street to the new orphan house on Ashley Down... By May 26, 1850, however, there were in the house two hundred and seventy-five children, and the whole number of inmates was three hundred and eight... Scarcely were the orphans thus housed on Ashley Down, before Mr. Mueller's heart felt enlarged desire that one thousand, instead of three hundred, might enjoy such privileges of temporal provision and spiritual instruction; and, before the new year, 1851, had dawned, this yearning had matured into a purpose... Would he be going "beyond his measure," spiritually, or naturally ? Was not the work, with its vast correspondence and responsibility, already sufficiently great? Would not a new orphan house for three hundred orphans cost another fifteen thousand pounds, or, if built for seven hundred, with the necessary ground, thirty-five thousand? And, even when built and fitted and filled, would there not be the providing for daily wants, which is a perpetual care, and cannot be paid for at once like a site and a building? It would demand eight thousand pounds annual outlay to provide for another seven hundred little ones. To all objections the one all-sufficient answer was the all-sufficient God; and, because Mr. Mueller's eye was on His power, wisdom, and riches, his own weakness, folly, and poverty were forgotten. Another objection was suggested: What if he should succeed in thus housing and feeding a thousand poor waifs, what would become of the institution after his death? The reply is memorable: 'My business is, with all my might, to serve my own generation by the will of God: in so doing I shall best serve the next generation, should the Lord Jesus tarry.'" --from chapter 14: "God's Building: The New Orphan Houses" -- http://WhatSaithTheScripture.com/Voice/George.Mueller.of.Bristol/George.Mueller.Bristol.14.html#On June 18 --
Reasons for expansion. "Produce your cause, saith the LORD; bring forth your
strong reasons, saith the King of Jacob" (Isaiah
41:21).
"Several reasons are recorded by Mr. Mueller as specially influencing still further advance:
the many applications that could not, for want of room, be accepted;
the low moral state of the poorhouses to which these children of poverty were liable to be sent;
the large number of distressing cases of orphanhood, known to be deserving of help;
the previous experiences of the Lord's gracious leading and of the work itself;
his calmness in view of the proposed expansion;
and the spiritual blessing possible to a larger number of homeless children.
But one reason overtopped all others: an enlarged service to man, attempted and achieved solely in dependence upon God, would afford a correspondingly weightier witness to the Hearer of prayer.These reasons, here recorded, will need no repetition in connection with subsequent expansions of the work, for, at every new stage of advance, they were what influenced this servant of God." --from chapter 14: "God's Building: The New Orphan Houses" -- http://WhatSaithTheScripture.com/Voice/George.Mueller.of.Bristol/George.Mueller.Bristol.14.html#Several reasons are recorded --
Greater "apparent risk" demanded "more implicit trust." "Who
delivered us from so great a Death, and doth deliver: in Whom we trust that He will
yet deliver us" (2Corinthians 1:10).
"Early in 1870, the orphan work had reached its complete outfit, in five large buildings on Ashley Down with accommodations for two thousand orphans and for all needed teachers and assistants... Between the first decision to build, in 1845, and the opening of the third house, in 1862, nearly seventeen years had elapsed, and before No. 5 was opened, in 1870, twenty-five years... [Mr. Mueller's] one supreme aim was the glory of God; his one sole resort, believing prayer; his one trusted oracle, the inspired Word; and his one divine Teacher, the Holy Spirit. One step taken in faith and prayer had prepared for another; one act of trust had made him bolder to venture upon another, implying a greater apparent risk and therefore demanding more implicit trust. But answered prayer was rewarded faith, and every new risk only showed that there was no risk in confidently leaning upon the truth and faithfulness of God." --from chapter 14: "God's Building: The New Orphan Houses" -- http://WhatSaithTheScripture.com/Voice/George.Mueller.of.Bristol/George.Mueller.Bristol.14.html#Early in 1870 --
No change in premise or practice. "Stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in
the work of the LORD" (1Corinthians 15:58).
"We have hea