Written by Dr. Marcus J. Serven
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.” Phil. 4:6
George Mueller (1805-1898), in my opinion, is one of the most remarkable men of faith in the 19th Century. Following his conversion in a prayer meeting at age twenty, he began to develop a great passion for the evangelization of the Jews. He subsequently left his native Germany and traveled to England to be trained as a missionary. In 1829 he associated with The London Society for Promoting Christianity Amongst the Jews. After relating to the society for less than a year, he received formal notice that they felt he was unfit to be a missionary because of his unwillingness to submit to the leadership of the society. This was an extremely humbling blow to his dreams and aspirations, but it can now be seen in hindsight that this was God’s way of breaking him of his pride and fierce independence. In George Mueller’s Bible the following verse is underlined, “The steps of a man are ordered by the Lord” (Ps. 37:23) and then in his own handwriting, “as well as his stops.” God’s providential hand had firmly closed the door on George Mueller becoming a missionary to the Jews—but what door would the Lord now open for him?
Shortly after his dismissal George Mueller started preaching in a small Plymouth Brethren congregation. There in 1830 he met and married his life’s partner, Mary Groves, and also made a life-time commitment to receive no salary from his ministry, simply living “by faith.” Little did he know that God was already preparing him for a ministry that would focus on meeting the needs of one of the most disadvantaged groups of society; the homeless “street children” of Victorian England. After witnessing first hand the deplorable state that many young children were in, Mueller determined—with God’s help—to be a “Father of the fatherless” (Ps. 68:5). What began as a small effort in 1832, when the Mueller’s opened their home for children to sleep on the floor at night and to receive a warm breakfast the next morning, eventually grew into five large homes on Ashley Down in Bristol, England. These purpose built dormitories cared for as many as 2,000 orphaned and abandoned children all at one time. Besides providing food for the orphans, Mueller’s ministry was also committed to providing clothing, Christian education, and vocational training. All this was accomplished “by faith” without any public solicitation for funds.
Consider these typical examples of God’s provision from Mueller’s detailed diary,
August 18, 1838. I have not one penny in hand for the Orphans. In a day or two again many pounds will be needed. My eyes are up to the Lord. Evening. Before this day is over, I have received from a sister λ5. She had some time since put away her trinkets, to be sold for the benefit of the Orphans. This morning, whilst in prayer, it came to her mind, “I have this λ5, and owe no man anything, therefore it would be better to give the money at once, as it may be some time, before I can dispose of the trinkets.” She therefore brought it, little knowing that there was not a penny at hand, and that I had been able to advance only λ4 15s 5d for housekeeping in the Boy’s Orphan House, instead of the usual λ10; knowing also, that within a few days many pounds more will be needed.
August 20, 1838. The λ5 which I had received on the 18th, had been given for housekeeping, so that today I was again penniless. But my eyes were up to the Lord. I gave myself to prayer this morning, knowing that I should want again this week at least λ13, if not above λ20. Today I received λ12 in answer to prayer, from a lady who was staying at Clifton, whom I had never seen before.
August 23, 1838. Today I was again without one single penny, when λ3 was sent from Clapham, with a box of new clothes for the Orphans.
— Roger Steer, George Mueller: Delighted in God!, 89
Mueller was convinced that God had “a bank which cannot break.” After the first five years of operating the orphan home “by faith” Mueller explained,
The chief end for which the Institution was established is that the Church of Christ at large might be benefited by seeing manifestly the hand of God stretched out on our behalf in the hour of need, in answer to prayer. Our desire, therefore, is not that we may be without trials of faith, but that the Lord graciously would be pleased to support us in the trial, that we may not dishonor Him by distrust. This way of living brings the Lord remarkably near. He is, as it were, morning by morning inspecting our stores, that accordingly He may send help. Great and more manifest nearness of the Lord’s presence I have never had, than when after breakfast there were no means for dinner, and then the Lord provided the dinner for more than one hundred persons; or when after dinner, there were no means for tea, and yet the Lord provided the tea; all this without one single human being having been informed about our need…
— Roger Steer, George Mueller: Delighted in God!, 107
During the course of sixty-six years of ministry there was never a day that the orphans went hungry or were ill-dressed. A debt never went unpaid. Through his ministry, the Scriptural Knowledge Institution, he tabulated that 1,453,153 pounds was raised for the work of the gospel. Asked his secret, Mueller replied, “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.” Here was a humble man of faith who served a faithful and generous Lord. He carried out his life and ministry by trusting God for the results, and therefore he became a powerful example of Christian piety to the entire world. His motto was simple: “The beginning of anxiety is the end of faith. The beginning of true faith is the end of anxiety.” The Lord blessed him in all that he endeavored. When anxious, he simply got on his knees and prayed that God would meet the need. And it can be demonstrated that the Lord never let him down.
Sources of Information:
Davey, C. “George Mueller: Brethren Philanthropist” in Great Leaders of the Christian Church. Edited by John D. Woodbridge. Chicago, IL: Moody Press, 1988.
Douglas, J. D., ed. The New International Dictionary of the Christian Church. Revised edition. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1978.
- “George Mueller” by J. G. G. Norman
- “Plymouth Brethren” by G. C. D. Howley
Douglas, J. D. and Philip W. Comfort, eds. Who’s Who in Christian History. Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 1992.
- “George Muller” by Norman Hillyer
Steer, Roger. George Muller: Delighted in God! Wheaton, IL: Harold Shaw Publishers, 1975.
Dr. Marcus J. Serven, ThM and DMin
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