George Muller

GEORGE MULLER

(1805-1898)

 

George Müller was born in Kroppenstedt in Prussia (old East Germany, now Germany) in 1805. His father was a tax collector, a man of the world. Before he was ten he stole Government money from his father. At eleven his father sent him to Halberstadt to prepare for university as he wanted George to be a clergyman so that he might live a comfortable life.

Muller’s mother died suddenly when he was fourteen, but her death made no lasting impression on him. He was conscious of the bad life he led, but any determination to change his ways soon disappeared. His father found him a school near Magdeburg, which he was pleased about as it took him away from his friends who were leading him into sin. However, that did not work and when sixteen he took money and went to stay in a luxury hotel. After the money ran out he stayed in three hotels, but did not pay, so he was arrested and put in prison. After a month his father brought money to pay for all his debts and he was released. He then went to a school in Nordhausen the following autumn.

He was admired at the school, but Muller knew it was only skin deep. He tried to change his way of life from time to time, but it only lasted a couple of days. . For years Muller lied, stole and deceived, but at the same time he studied hard and was clearly very intelligent.

At twenty, Muller entered Halle Seminary with a view to become a pastor; he even preached in the Lutheran Church, but he felt as far from God as ever. However, he knew he had to change, otherwise no parish would ask him to be their pastor and without a good knowledge of theology he would not make a good living. But, as soon as he entered the seminary at Halle, all his plans to reform went out of the window. Muller did not enjoy his life and desperately wanted to change.

While in a pub with some of his wild friends he saw an old schoolmate, Beta, from Halberstadt. Four years earlier he had had despised the boy, but now he felt it would benefit him having a friend who was quiet and serious as it might help him improve his character.

In August he set off travelling for a few days with friends, and Muller suggested they go to Switzerland. Through forged letters from their parents they obtained passports and went to Switzerland for 43 days. He was head of their finances and through manipulation made sure that he paid less than the others. He then lied to his father, satisfying him as to the expenses of the trip.

Despite often planning to change his ways, Muller was never able to for more than a few days. He never read the Bible, seldom went to church and only took Communion twice a year out of habit. However, things were about to change.

In November, his friend Beta told him that he was now going to someone’s home each Saturday evening for Bible reading, prayer, worship etc. This sounded like something Muller was looking for, so he went with Beta to the meeting. After an opening hymn the leader knelt down to pray. This and the manner in which the house owner prayed, made a deep impression on the young Muller. On their way home he said to Beta that the meeting surpassed anything he had experienced before. That evening was the turning point in his life. Holy Spirit was working in him.

For the next several days he read the Scriptures which really excited him. He did not give up every sin immediately, but he did give up his friends, going to pubs and habitual lying. He read the Bible, prayed often, went to church and professed Christ to his fellow students who laughed at him.

He read missionary newsletters and after praying for several weeks he decided to be a missionary. However, Muller then met a young godly woman and was drawn away from God and the joy of the Lord left him. He then met a devoted man of God who had given up everything to be a missionary to the Jews in Poland. This inspired him to give up his friendship with the young woman. As soon as he did this he was able, for the first time in his life, to give himself to the Lord fully and without reservation. The peace of God filled his life and he wrote to his father and brother encouraging them to seek God, but all he got from them was an angry letter.

Wanting to be a missionary, Muller had to get permission from his father to enter a German missionary institution. His father was not happy as he planned to spend his last days in his son’s comfortable parsonage. He disowned his son and begged him to reconsider. As a result of this Muller decided not to take any money from his father even though he still had two years of seminary left.

He was able to pay for his tuition through teaching some Americans who came to Halle to do research. While there he had a passion to win souls, so he distributed missionary papers, handed out tracts and wrote to former friends about Christ.

Later, a friend asked him to preach locally. In the morning he preached a dry sermon he had memorised, but in the afternoon he felt the anointing of Holy Spirit and the people were impacted. Over the months he grew in the Lord, but seldom read the Bible; preferring to read sermons, biographies, tracts etc. He often still fell back into sin.

Muller found out from Dr Tholuck that an English society wanted to send someone to Bucharest to help an old missionary, so, after prayer he offered his services and his father agreed. He then heard that the missionary to the Polish Jews would soon have to retire and Muller felt strongly that he wanted to replace him. So, he studied Hebrew for many weeks.

One day Tholuck asked him if he ever considered being a missionary to the Jews. He said he had, but he could not do anything about it because he had offered his services to Bucharest.

Ten days later Tholuck found out that, because of the war between Turkey and Russia the society was not going to send anyone to Bucharest. He asked Muller if he still wanted to minister to the Polish Jews and, after consulting some mature people, he assented and he applied to London for the post. The committee decided to take him on for six months as a missionary student, provided he went to London.

As a Prussian, Muller had to serve in the army for three years or, only one year if completing a university degree. The only other way of getting a passport was to be exempted from service by the king. Normally missionaries received the king’s exemption, but not this time. It looked like he would have to go into the army, but a Christian major suggested he start the process and, as he was still quite weak from a recent illness, he would not be passed fit. Muller did indeed fail his fitness and he got a lifetime exemption from the army.

On arriving in London, Muller became very ill, and believing he was going to die spent time thinking about past sins and how he had been made clean by the blood of Jesus. He put his life in the Lord’s hands and after two weeks he began to get better. 

After his illness Muller went to Teignmouth to recuperate a little. Whilst there he had what he called a second baptism, he wrote, “I came to an entire and full surrender of heart. I gave myself fully to the Lord. Honour, pleasure, money, my physical powers, my mental powers, all was laid down at the feet of Jesus…”

He spent a great deal of time studying the Bible while he recuperated. He discovered that the Word alone is the standard of judgement in spiritual things. The Word can only be explained by Holy Spirit, who is the teacher of His people. 

Back in London, Muller put aside nearly all his books and just read the Bible while listening to Holy Spirit. After evening prayer, his communion with God was so sweet that he continued in prayer until after midnight. Then he would go to a brother’s room and pray for another hour or two. Sometimes he was so full of joy that he could not sleep. He would then gather his fellow students to pray from six until eight.

Eager to start doing something he started handing out tracts to the Jews, preaching to them and reading the Scriptures to a group of Jewish boys. This was not popular and he received some persecution.

Towards the end of 1829 Muller wrote to the London Society, pointing out that it was unscriptural to be under anyone’s control other than God’s, so they released him from any obligation. This now meant he could preach anywhere. He began to learn how to be sensitive to Holy Spirit and preaching opportunities opened up for him.

He went to Exmouth in Devonshire and preached for three weeks there. After that Muller went to Teignmouth. After preaching a few times in Ebenezer Chapel, he was asked to be their pastor. Some people did not like his preaching and left the chapel, but new people came. People started to search the Scriptures to see if what he said was true and a few came to the Lord.

There were only eighteen members of the church. He was led by the Spirit as to what to preach; he would pray and pray until he felt the Lord’s prompting. The Lord always came through, even if only a few minutes before he was to preach! He depended on prayer and meditation and then put himself in the Lord’s hands. He always wanted to preach under the anointing.

Although he was pastor at Ebenezer, he also went preaching around the area.

Muller married Mary Groves in October 1830. At this time he began questioning the system of paying a minister by renting out pews. He did not want to be beholden to anyone and he believed in voluntary giving, so he told his congregation that paying for pews had ended, but he would be glad to receive gifts from anyone who wanted to give. He put a box in the church so that gifts could be given anonymously and so he would not know how much each person gave.

Muller and his wife took to heart Luke 12:33 – “Sell all that you have and give alms.” They gave away everything and learned to trust God alone. When they were down to their last few shillings, they would tell the Lord what their needs were and He would provide. In November they asked for funds and four hours later a woman asked him if he needed money. The woman had asked God what she could do for Him and He told her to give Muller money. She gave enough to last them all week.

The Lord kept the Mullers solvent throughout 1830. When he prayed, the Lord delivered. Many of their prayers were answered, not just prayers for money. At the start of 1831 he was again short of finances and for three days he repeatedly prayed. The lack of an immediate response led him to lose faith that the Lord would provide, despite the many blessed results of his prayers over the previous months. However, his lack of faith was only momentary and ten minutes later, £2 4s was brought to him.

At the end of January they were short again, but Muller had seen an elder take the money from the box in the chapel to give to them, but he did not appear with it. Four days later they were running short of coal, so he prayed that the man would deliver the money; shortly afterwards he did.

Muller, under the Lord’s direction, never told anyone directly or indirectly of their needs. Living this way kept him close to God and away from sin, as to do otherwise would mean it would be impossible to commune with the Lord. He never was in debt, believing it to be unscriptural.

Muller, by exercising faith brought not only money, but health. One Saturday he was bed ridden with a burst blood vessel in his stomach; he had lost quite a lot of blood. He felt better as soon as he prayed and the following morning he got out of bed, despite his weakness, to go and preach at the service. He preached strongly, but despite his doctor’s insistence that he not preach, he did the two remaining services that day. The following day he went to the relevant meetings and was well again by the end of the day. Throughout his life Muller prayed for his own physical well-being and nearly always the Lord healed him.

Muller felt for a while that his time was up at Teignmouth, then he received a letter from his friend Henry Craik, asking him to come to Bristol, where he was attracting large crowds at Gideon Chapel. He felt inclined to go, but wanted to be sure it was the will of God. He told his church that after over two years the time was coming for him to leave. A month later on May 23rd, after much prayer and indications that he must got to Bristol, Muller left Teignmouth. There were many tears as he said goodbye, which he could not have borne had he not been sure of his decision. In the two years, five months he was there, the church grew from 18 to 51. While there he and Craik had gained valuable pastoral experience and he had learned to depend on God alone for his needs.

He joined Craik at Gideon Chapel, Newfoundland Street (now destroyed). They found an inexpensive, furnished house with five bedrooms so they could all live together. It was agreed that they should also take the empty Bethesda Chapel, Great George Street. It had been recently built, but the congregation dispersed due to theological differences. Someone paid a year’s rent on the understanding that if it went well, others would contribute towards it. They preached alternately, and were very popular, with the large church being crowded to excess, particularly in the evening. They arranged sometimes that people could make appointments between 6pm and 9pm to come and discuss salvation. This proved quite effective as some liked to speak in private. Much prayer went into these meeting so that they might speak with sensitivity to those coming to enquire about salvation. These meetings were the most exhausting part of their ministry, but were also the most rewarding. By the end of 1833, 260 people had met with them to discuss salvation.

In July 1832 cholera broke out in the city. Muller wrote that their neighbour got sick at 3 am and died at 3 pm. They used to ring a bell when someone died, he wrote, “Just now, ten in the evening, the funeral bell is ringing and has been ringing the greater part of this evening. It rings almost all day.” Both men showed great courage, visiting the sick day and night. 

On September 17th, Muller’s daughter, Lydia was born, their only child who survived infancy. By the beginning of October, the peak of the epidemic had passed. Miraculously, only one member of the two chapels had died.

Muller found it essential to maintain his time of communion with God, however busy he was ministering. He always depended on Holy Spirit ministering through him, which would not have happened had he not done this. 

Many more people were convicted of sin through his friend’s preaching compared to his own. Muller believed this was because Craik prayed more concerning salvations, so he increased his prayers and found that they bore fruit. During their first year of ministry 65 people were converted.

The people who they ministered to were largely poor. They had been giving away bread daily for some time, but Muller longed to do more. He wanted to start a school, but the pressure of the ministry made this impossible.

Throughout this period of four years the Lord had been his provider day by day and he had never been short of money when he needed some. Muller never told anyone of his needs.

In March 1834 they began a new institution for the spread of the Gospel – The Scriptural Knowledge Institution for Home and Abroad (they are still supporting over 80 missionaries). They decided, for many reasons, not to join any existing institution, one was that there were many non-Christians working in them, they went into debt, took money from the world and their goals were unscriptural. 

Their goals were to help schools that taught scriptural principles (the teachers must be believers); they would distribute Bibles and they would help godly missionaries. By October there were 120 in the Sunday School; 40 in the adult school; 209 children in four day schools; they had circulated 482 Bibles, 520 New Testaments and aided missionary work. 

After the birth of their son, the Mullers decided to get a home on their own, so they moved to an end of terrace house at 21 Paul Street. They received several gifts to furnish the house.

On October 28th Muller wrote that he wanted to supply the temporal needs of poor children. Charity Orphanages were rare – Barnardo opened his first home in 1866 and Spurgeon in 1867. There were only about a dozen in existence at the time and eight of those were in London.

By the end of the year Muller and Craik had led 103 to the Lord, 47 were at Gideon Chapel and 56 at Bethesda.

By June 1835 the work had extended to 439 in day schools, 795 Bibles given out, together with 753 New Testaments.

Later that month Muller lost his little boy to sickness. Soon afterwards he got sick as well, a sickness that took him out of the ministry for four months. During this time he went to friends in the Isle of Wight for six weeks to recuperate.

On November 21st Muller decided to take action on his idea of an orphanage. He spent the next few days in prayer and became sure that this was God’s will. Something behind his desire was a man he knew who worked sixteen hours a day to just support his family and by the evening he was so tired that he had no energy to read the Bible or spend time with God. He had no faith that God would provide for his needs if he worked less. Similarly, people were afraid of not having enough money when they retired. Muller wanted to instil faith into children so that they could always rely on God to supply all their needs.

He wanted to help the destitute children and lead them into the ways of the Lord, but primarily he wanted to show people that he could run an organisation relying completely on God, so that people could run their businesses in the same way. He wanted to show the unchangeable faithfulness of God. If he could build an orphanage without asking for any money, just relying on God, he hoped that people would be encouraged to do likewise.

He prayed, “Dear God, will you please provide the premises, one thousand pounds and suitable staff to look after the children?”

On December 9th Muller announced his idea at a meeting. That evening he received ten shillings for the work and a woman offered to be part of it. The next day he received a letter from a couple who offered themselves to work for nothing in the orphanage, relying on the Lord to supply their needs and they gave all their furniture to the project. As a result of prayer, over the next several weeks, provisions came in for the orphanage and several more people offered their services for nothing.

The orphanage at 6 Wilson Street, opened April 11th, 1836; it started with seventeen girls under seven. An infant orphanage was opened at 1 Wilson Street, on November 28th, 1836. By May the next year there were sixty-four orphans in the two houses.

Muller needed £1,000 and he prayed almost daily for eighteen months and ten days, before the last five pounds was sent. He never ever doubted that the amount would come in. Often he praised God in the assurance that He would grant his request. Mark 11:24 was the key verse for him, Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.” He believed that the Lord had given him a special gift of faith in His promises. He now planned for opening a boys orphanage for about 40 boys over seven, somewhere where the little boys in the infant orphanage could go when they reached seven years of age.

By July 12th 1837, it had been three years and four months since he and Craik had established the institution. In that time they had distributed 4,030 copies of the Scriptures; four day schools for poor children had been established; 1,119 had been instructed in the six day schools. A Sunday school and adult school were being supplied; missionaries supported and the Word of God had been preached house to house.

Both Muller and Craik were exhausted and their health was poor, yet they felt they needed to do more. They wanted to do pastoral visits to the homes of their 400 people. The visits were needed to build up the congregation. They needed to find people who could help.

On October 21st he found the house for the Orphan boys at 3 Wilson Street.

The end of the year and the start of 1838 were weeks of sickness for Muller. His bodily weakness was a problem for him. He had to go away to various places to recuperate and was unable to preach for six months. It turns out that this was his last serious sickness and in fact he later claimed that he felt fitter in his seventies than he did in his thirties.

He writes about having a ‘spirit of prayer’ on him from time to time. During these times he found it easy to pray and seems to have even greater faith that his prayers will be answered. Real faith, he wrote, is manifested in prayer.

During the last four months of the year the Lord seemed to test them in a different way. Instead of some larger amounts coming in which gave them perhaps enough for a week’s expenses, He now supplied them mostly day to day. This required a lot of daily prayer! There were several different organisations to fund, but the Orphanages were the greatest challenge. There was the rent for the three buildings, the house keeping expenses, the salaries, milk, bread etc. They found during this time that provision only came sometimes an hour in advance. Muller and his staff faithfully prayed and were expectant, but the tension must have been very great.

He very much believed in spending time with the Lord every day and was determined to give Him the first hours of the day. He would start with the Word, not just reading it, but considering it, pondering it and applying it to his heart. Meditation strengthens the inner man. Our Father speaks to us, encourages us, comforts us, instructs us, humbles us and reproves us. Praying comes after the meditation on the Word. Muller felt that meditation strengthened him for the deep trials he had to go through.

He used arguments to plead with God:

“(1) That I set about the work for the glory of God, that there might be a visible proof, by God supplying, in answer to prayer only, the necessities of the Orphans, that He is the Living God, and most willing, even in our day, to answer prayer: and that, therefore, He would be pleased to send supplies.

(2) That God is the ‘‘Father of the fatherless,’ and that He, therefore, as their Father, would be pleased to provide. (Psalm Ixviil. 5.)

(3) That I have received the children in the name of Jesus, and that, therefore, He, in these children, has been received, and is fed, and is clothed; and that, therefore, He would be pleased to consider this. (Mark ix. 36, 37.)

(4) That the faith of many of the children of God has been strengthened by this work hitherto, and that, if God were to withhold the means for the future, those who are weak in faith would be staggered; whilst, by a continuance of means, their faith might still further be strengthened.

(5) That many enemies would laugh, were the Lord to withhold supplies, and say, did we not foretell that this enthusiasm would come to nothing?

(6) That many of the children of God, who are uninstructed, or in a carnal state, would feel themselves justified to continue their alliance with the world in the work of God, and to go on as heretofore, in their unscriptural proceedings respecting similar institutions, so far as the obtaining of means is concerned, if He were not to help me.

(7) That the Lord would remember that I am His child, and that He would graciously pity me, and remember that J cannot provide for these children, and that therefore He would not allow this burden to lie upon me long without sending help.

(8) That He would remember likewise my fellow-labourers in the work, who trust in Him, but who would be tried were He to withhold supplies.

(9) That He would remember that I should have to dismiss the children from under our scriptural instruction to their former companions. 

(10) That He would show, that those were mistaken who said, that, at the first, supplies might be expected, while the thing was new, but not afterwards.

(11) That I should not know were He to withhold means, what construction I should put upon all the many most remarkable answers to prayer, which He had given me heretofore in connection with this work, and which most fully have shown to me that it is of God.”

He prayed a lot for his father’s salvation, but on his death in March 1840, he still had not given his life to Jesus.

During 1840 Muller and Craik gave up Gideon Chapel to concentrate on Bethesda which now had a congregation of well over 500. Over 100 had been added during the year of whom nearly 50 were converted during the preaching. By the 1870s there were over 1,000 members.

A woman moved to Bristol from London and gives us a clear idea of the church and the orphanages. She wrote:

“Henry Craik’s exposition of scripture was quite a new feature of worship to me and it was indeed ‘marrow and fatness’. The meaning of the passage was brought out as I never heard it before and I found myself truly in green pastures. His knowledge of the original language was beyond that of most men of learning and his insight into the meaning of scripture also. It was a great privilege to hear such a man… To me it was like a new conversion. Now I heard a clear gospel that I could understand. The Bible became a new book to me. The brotherly love shown was such as I had never seen before. The godly and simple lives of even wealthy people, who had moved in the highest society, was such as to carry one back to the days of the Apostles and I felt this was indeed Christianity of a higher type…

The day after I was 21, I took up my abode in number six Wilson Street Orphan House. There followed five years of happy service among the orphans, during which time I was behind the scenes and so much of the private life of the Brethren, and can therefore testify to the true spiritual lives they led; their devotion to the service of the Lord and the unworldliness of their daily private surroundings. Here I saw men and women giving up all and following Jesus in one capacity or another.”

During April, 41 people came to talk about their salvation. It appears that there was a revival going on at that time as so many were wanting to talk about salvation.

Day after day, week after week, month after month, they prayed and the Lord provided. Sometimes the provision came quickly and sometimes not. Muller felt that the occasions when the Lord took His time were the days when he felt closest to Him. He laid the care for these things on the heart of the Father, so he did not worry and was able to get on with other things. 

He wrote that every believer could have the same success in prayer, so long as one does not live in sin or habitually do things that one knows is contrary to the will of God. (Psalm 66:18-19) In prayer one should give the Lord no rest until He answers it – never be satisfied when God does not seem to be answering your prayers. Although Muller saw incredible success in praying for provisions, his prayers for the salvation of the children were less successful.

He would pray for the Lord to expand his faith and ask for His help in all situations. Faith increases through every trial when you trust in God and decreases when you don’t. If you trust in God you do not trust in yourself, your friends or your circumstances.

Muller reported that the four months to April 1842 was when his faith was tested the most.

In April 1843 Muller heard that a woman was thinking of moving out of their large house into a smaller one, and she wondered if they could use it as an Orphanage. Pondering on it he thought that this was the Hand of God. There had recently been more applications than the Orphanages could handle. He knew two women who were willing to help with the work. He still had £300 of a £500 gift unspent. So, he went to prayer to get God’s guidance. After 22 days he felt it was the Lord’s will and on that same day someone gave £50 to help confirm his decision to go ahead. The new Orphanage, also in Wilson Street, opened in July. 

Muller wrote that when considering one’s calling, one must ensure that one is not merely doing it to provide for the family, but one should do the work because that is what the Lord wants one to do. If we work in something that is the Lord’s will, then He will provide for us in our old age because we are obeying Him.

Muller described the Christmas of 1844 as, ‘a season of rich abundance.’ He was often given personal gifts, some of which he used for his own frugal expenses, or to go away when sick or tired. However, most of these gifts he gave away; it is known that during his life he gave away £80,000! However, sometimes he was stopped from spending money. His daughter was educated at a private school, and although he repeatedly asked the headmistress for an invoice so that he could pay the fees, she never gave him one.

For nearly ten years Muller had no desire to build an Orphanage, but in late October 1845, he received a letter saying that people were complaining about the Orphanages on Wilson Street.

He considered the problems of having the Orphanages there:

- The noise from the children disrupted the neighbours

- The number of children overwhelmed the drains sometimes.

- Not enough playgrounds.

- City air not good for the children.

- The close proximity of everyone could cause health problems when a child got sick.

- There would be no buildings big enough to purchase in the country.

The main points against moving were the cost and disruption and God had blessed them in Wilson Street, so should they stay?

Muller went to prayer and felt God was in this idea. He put the issue before the church, who agreed and he then went into prayer with his wife for the detail. He then started to ask the Lord for money.

They needed a large piece of land outside Bristol where they could build an Orphanage for 300 children and they needed a small farm. Muller estimated that the land, building and furnishing would cost £12,000.

He prayed for a few weeks, but not a penny came in. A friend was in agreement about building and he added that Muller needed to get the design from the Lord. The lack of money coming did not discourage him, he just became more certain the Lord wanted this.  At this time James 1:2-4 became alive to him, “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” He asked the Lord to increase his faith and sustain his patience.

On the thirty-sixth day of prayer (December 10th, 1845), he received £1,000, his largest ever donation. Then his sister-in-law met a Christian in London who offered to design the Orphanage and supervise the building for no charge. He began to pray more specifically, for six or seven acres of land close to Bristol for instance. He did no advertising, so the hand of God might be clearly seen, although, if the subject came up in conversation, he would mention the idea.

January 31st marked the 89th day of praying for the finances and Muller told his staff that the Lord would soon give them the land. Three days later he heard of suitable and inexpensive land on Ashley Down. On February 4th he went to see the owner of the land but missed him at two places. Rather than pursue him to a third, he felt the timing could not be right. He met the owner the following day, who told him that he woke at 3 am, thinking about his land that the Orphanage wanted. He decided he would offer the seven acres for £120 per acre, as opposed to the £200 he was advertising it at. The deal was done.

By June 4th, there was £2,700 in the building fund. The transferring of title proved to be very difficult and much prayer was required, before the last difficulty was overcome on July 5th. Muller thought this delay was a test of his faith and believed that the small amount of money so far donated was because it was not required yet. On July 6th someone gave £2,050 and he could not contain his joy!

On November 19th he received £280 which brought the fund up to over £6,000. December 9thmarked 400 days of praying, but Muller was not discouraged that the whole amount had not come in; he believed God was saying that, ‘My hour is not yet come.’

On January 25th, 1847, whilst in prayer Muller believed that the season for building was close and that the rest of the money would soon come in. An hour after he prayed £2,000 came in for the building fund, which brought the total to £9,285, after praying for 447 days. He calculated that they would need £2,500 more each year to run the Orphanage, compared with the costs of the last years.

In addition to the building, Muller had increased his prayer for money to help missionaries and over the previous two years he was able to send far more support to these people. 

Although, people were struggling economically over the winter as there had been a catastrophic wheat and potatoes harvest, the Lord provided all that was needed for the children. The economic climate resulted in the cost of bread and rice almost doubling in eighteen months and oatmeal was three times as expensive. There were also no potatoes available for purchase because of the high prices.

Work began on the building on July 7th.

Raising money was not the least of Muller’s concerns. Sickness amongst the children caused problems and trying to get the children into work as domestics or apprentices was difficult. Then there was the great difficulty in finding suitable replacement workers.

Around this time there was a great controversy that caused many problems at Bethesda. Muller, Craik and the people of Bethesda were Brethren and one of the most notable Brethren in the country was John Nelson Darby. Originally, he and Muller got on well, but then Darby started to teach controversially on the End Times. Darby was a very influential figure within the Brethren movement. 

The problems began in the early 1840s when Benjamin Newton, an influential character in the Plymouth church, objected to some new teachings from Darby. Newton’s objections were not enough to stop Darby’s teachings being accepted widely, even beyond the Brethren movement. A bit of a war broke out between them. In 1847 the disagreement moved to another bit of theology. Darby condemned a tract of Newton’s and Muller, who had been in agreement with Newton, opposed him on this occasion. Newton realised his mistake and soon withdrew his tract and apologised. Darby did his best to tell people that Newton had not apologised. In May 1848 two members of the Plymouth church, supporters of Newton, moved to Bethesda and because they were welcomed, Darby said he would never enter Bethesda again. 

Bethesda had to declare where it stood regarding the theological controversies which meant that people had to take sides. Darby ‘excommunicated’ Bethesda and he went around the different assemblies, telling them to take sides. On October 31st, Muller publicly condemned Newton’s tract, even though Newton himself had retracted it. From here on the Brethren assemblies identified either with Muller (Open Brethren) or Darby (Exclusive Brethren). 

It was a time of intense sorrow and upheaval at Bethesda. For a time it was shattered from end to end. Friendships were broken up, families divided and business relations were dissolved. (all this over something that had been cancelled months before. It shows what theology and mis-communication can do) When it was all over, Bethesda stood stronger than ever.               

By April 29th, 1848, Muller had received more than £11,000 for the building. On February 12th, 1849, a man donated £2,000 for the furnishing of the Orphanage. June 18th, the orphans from the four houses in Wilson Street moved into the new building and Muller had £776 still in the fund!

One particular man showed what a blessing it is to act as steward rather than owner of his funds. He gave Muller £50 with a note saying he would be no longer able to give as he had already given everything he had. In future years this man gave other large donations, because the Lord trusted him with more finances as He knew the man was a faithful steward.

At the end of 1850 Muller wrote that his Scriptural Knowledge Institution had grown so much that its expenses were over £6,000 per year and there were 300 children now in the Orphanage. He was already thinking about building another Orphanage, increasing the number to 700 orphans. Despite the much larger capacity of the new Orphanage, there was a waiting list of 78. Most other institutions required a sponsor before admitting a child, Muller just required the child.

He had a number of questions for himself. Could he and his wife physically and mentally cope? Was he going beyond his measure of faith? Was it a delusion of Satan? Was it pride? 

Prayer led him to believe that this was again the Lord. 

At the start of 1851 Muller wrote down the pros and cons and was convinced again that the Lord wanted him to expand the work. On January 4th he received £3,000, the largest single gift so far. 

By June 21st, after 24 days of prayer, Muller had only received £28, but he was not discouraged – his attitude was, the less that came in, the more he would pray. Very little came in until May 1852, when he received almost £1,000. After a year of prayer, there had not been much reward. From time to time doubts crept in, but he conquered them in prayer.

January 4th, 1953 brought in a promise of £8,100 from a group of Christians. Faith and patience may be tried, but those who honour God will not be put to shame. The amount did not surprise him, because he expected great things from God. Muller wrote, that we must pray until the blessing is obtained, and expect a blessing.

Muller said that the greatest test of his faith was when his only child got typhus. She was sick for two weeks before she started to get better.

In May 1855, he decided to get on with the job. He found that he could build a new building either side of the current one, its purpose being to house 400 girls. At this time there were 6,000 orphans growing up in prisons, this was a strong incentive for Muller to expand the number of orphans in his care.

If anyone wants to live a life of faith and God he must:

- Not merely say he trusts in God but must really do so. Telling people about your needs does not show much trust in God.

- He must be prepared to live as a rich or poor man. He must be prepared to die with no possessions.

- He must be prepared to accept small amounts or large.

- He must be willing to live as the Lord’s steward. If he is not prepared to give out of what he has received, the Lord will dry up the sources of the money.

On November 12th, 1857 the new house was opened. Muller had prayed every day for seven years to see this moment. He had expected this day would happen and it did.

On February 2nd, 1858, Muller took the first steps toward building the third home. He was promised £1,100.

During 1857-8 Muller’s organisation financed twenty-four schools, nearly 4,000 Bibles and portions of Scripture were distributed and over £3,500 was given to support 82 missionaries. More than a million tracts and books were also distributed, through which people were converted.

On February 17th, 1858, Muller wrote that he had all the finances for the third building and enough to expand the work to 1,000 orphans. It took seven months of prayer before he was able to acquire eleven and a half acres near the Orphanages. The architect said that the new building could house 450 orphans, which would make the new total 1,150; although, this would cost more. 

On January 4th, 1859, he received a gift of £7,000. 

Muller’s original hope that many would be converted after hearing of what God was doing regarding the Orphanages and orphans, came about.

Over the years many of the children gave their lives to Jesus. The year 1857/8 was especially notable for the power of the Spirit of God. One of the orphans had died and this seemed to trigger something and more than fifty out of 130 girls in Orphanage No 1 fell under conviction of sin. The move of God spread and about sixty gave their lives to Jesus.

In July 1859 more than sixty girls were born again. In January and February 1860 another mighty wave of Holy Spirit power swept over the institution. It began with the six to nine year old girls, then spread to the older girls and the boys. Within ten days over 200 were enquiring, and in many instances found immediate peace with Jesus.

A great work of the Spirit began in January and February 1860 among the six-to-nine year old girls. It extended to the older girls and then the boys. Within ten days nearly 200 of the orphans found peace through faith in Jesus. They held prayer meetings and prayed for their friends. Out of 700 orphans, some 260 were shortly regarded as converted or nearly so.

(These three revivals are not so surprising as this was during the UK’s biggest awakening 1858-1864.) 

Again, in 1873, on the first day of a week of prayer Holy Spirit began to move and hundreds were converted. By August 1st, it was calculated that 729 were disciples of Christ, more than ever before. (This too was a period of revival in the UK.) 

Between 1865 and 1895 2,566 orphans were converted.

Before House number 3 was started, Muller, after a period of prayer, had decided to expand the work by building two more houses, increasing the number of orphans to 2,000! He believed it was going to cost £50,000. He announced his intentions at the end of May 1861. By the end of the year he had only received £1,000. In January he received £6,500. 

The third home was opened on March 2nd, 1862. I am sure this work was an encouragement to many - one man lived nearby and whenever he felt doubts about the living God, he would look through the night at the many lights on in the Orphanages.

In October 1864 the fund had reached over £27,000. Muller had his eyes on a nearby 18 acre site, but although it was for sale, there were a few obstacles to overcome. The amount asked for was more than it was worth, there was a tenant on the land until March 1867 and a reservoir was planned. He spent several times a day praying into this. He then went to see the water company who told him they only needed a small part of the land. The tenant said he would leave if compensated fairly and after Muller told the owner why he thought the land was overpriced, the price was reduced from £7,000 to £5,000. 

In August a 33 year old James Hudson Taylor visited with a group of young members from the newly formed China Inland Mission. Muller was to spend the next twenty years praying for and giving physical help to the Mission.

An American described Muller, “His form was tall and slim, always neatly attired and very erect, his step firm and strong. His countenance, in repose, might have been thought stern, but for the smile that habitually lit up his eyes and played over his features that it left its impress on the lines of his face. There was about him a certain indescribable air of authority and majesty that reminded one of a born prince; and yet there was mingled in all this a simplicity that was so childlike that even children felt 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.”

In 1866 Henry Craik, whom Muller had worked closely with for decades, had heart failure and died. He was much loved and he had walked closely with the Lord all these years.

In May of that year the building work began on the fourth Orphanage, and in January 1867, with another £7,000 in the building fund, work began on the fifth building. The total cost of the two buildings was £41,000. On November 5th, 1868 the fourth House was opened and the fifth on January 6th, 1870, twenty-five years after he announced the building of the first Orphanage.

In the 1850s Muller had written about 3,000 letters a year without a secretary, but now he had ten!

Muller was accused of over educating the orphans, considering the poor jobs they were likely to obtain. The children were taught, reading, writing, arithmetic, dictation, grammar, geography, English and world history, composition, singing and needlework – and for the girls, domestic science. He appointed a school inspector to ensure standards were maintained. He reported that the average mark in exams was 91.1%. The boys were apprenticed at fourteen/fifteen; girls were normally given domestic or nursing positions around seventeen. Muller tried to fit the children to positions that aligned with their talents. Discipline was fair, not harsh.                                                                       

Many letters show that children were quite blessed at Ashley Down. Some of course were unhappy, normally those who came when around eleven, after their parents had died. Muller learned from his mistakes, although there were not many. The children left with a good education and a job; set up for the life ahead.

In January 1870, Muller’s dear wife, Mary, caught a rheumatic fever and died. They had been married for forty years and they were very dear to one another. He grieved for Mary for a long time. They had been inseparable. Her loss was felt by the orphans (past and present) as well, because Mary had been an important part of the Orphanages and was a mother to many.

Shortly after Mary’s death, Muller appointed James Wright, who had been helping him for twelve years, as his successor and shortly after that Wright’s wife died. Eighteen months later Wright asked Muller for his daughter Lydia’s hand in marriage. They were married on November 17th, 1871.

With Lydia soon to move away, Muller felt it was time for him to re-marry. He chose Suzannah Grace Sangar, who was twenty years his junior, but he had known here for twenty-five years. They were married thirteen days after Lydia.

After fifty years in Bristol, Muller decided to spend his final years sharing his experience with people around the world. There were good leaders at Bethesda and Wright was well capable of running the Orphanages, so Muller was free to travel. His aim was to encourage Christians to become lovers of the Bible, to break down denominational barriers and to promote brotherly love amongst true Christians.

Susannah went with her husband as nurse/secretary. She ensured that it was not all work and no play. They set off in the spring of 1875. His first trip was around the UK and although quite short, he still preached seventy times.

As Moody and Sankey arrived back in New York after a long mission in the UK, Muller set out on his second trip around the UK in 1876, aiming to help forward the work of the Americans. Moody had only stayed in each place a short time, so Muller was hoping to build on the work he had done.

The summer of 1876 found them touring Europe where Muller spoke over three hundred times! On arriving home there was a letter waiting for him, four pastors asking him to come to the USA.

They set off in August 1877. The ship was on time until it hit thick fog off Newfoundland. Muller told the captain he had to be in Quebec for a preaching engagement and he had never ever been late for one. The captain said it would be impossible due to the fog. Muller told the captain to come with him to the chart room to pray. He prayed a simple prayer and then stopped the captain from praying as he knew his prayer had been answered. He told the captain that when he opened the door he would find that the fog had cleared. He did and it had!

Muller preached fifty times in the Brooklyn and New York area and then went to Boston where he preached at Moody’s Tabernacle. They were invited to the White House to meet the President.

They returned home in June 1878, having preached over 300 times and travelled over 1,900 miles all over the USA.

Over forty years of Muller’s ministry had impacted the lives of many people, including James McQuilkin. James got a few young men to pray in Connor, Northern Ireland, for revival after reading a Muller book which talked about how many answers to prayer he had received. This prayer group led to the lighting of the 1858-64 revival, the largest in the history of the United Kingdom.

Muller’s Scriptural Knowledge Institution was used powerfully in the big Revival. George Brearley spent his time preaching around Devon and Somerset and he established several Day Schools, these schools were financed by the Scriptural Knowledge Institution.

Henry Moorhouse was a great revivalist who was a significant influence on D L Moody.  In the last years of his life he sold Bibles and tracts during evangelistic campaigns in Lancashire, Yorkshire and Leicestershire. In two years he sold 150,000 Bibles and Testaments and gave away millions of books and tracts. All his literature was supplied by the Scriptural Knowledge Institution.

Moorhouse’s letters to Muller show that Muller gave him the Bibles etc at a much reduced rate. The sales of these products gave Moorhouse a profit which enabled him to finance the campaigns. In one letter he says, “I met a great many in the States who were much blessed by your ministry and many ministers told me how much they loved you.”

Moorhouse died in 1880, he had a weak heart, but he was evangelising to the end!

During Muller’s life the Institution spent £115,000 on the schools, £90,000 on Bibles, tracts etc, and £260,000 was sent to missionaries around the world. In addition, nearly £1 million was spent on the orphans.

Towards the end of his life Muller said, “… at least 30,000 prayers have been answered the self-same hour or the self-same day that they were offered.” 

The next journey was 1878/9 to Europe. They visited Menton, France for a time, where Spurgeon was staying for his health. They met him several times. Spurgeon wrote that, “The simple, childlike, holy trust of Muller was overpowering.” Spurgeon’s son wrote that his father was far more able to trust and not be afraid, after speaking to Muller.

After his trip to the USA, Muller had over a hundred invitations to go back, so in August 1879, he and Susannah set sail. So far, in four years of travelling he had preached 1,400 times and by the time they returned in June 1880 he had preached 300 times more. Then they returned to the USA in September.

In 1881 they went for nine months to Egypt, Palestine, Turkey and Greece. During his travels Wright ran the Orphanages efficiently and unexpectedly, donations did not go down, so Muller had no qualms about setting off in 1882 again to Europe, returning in May 1883. In September they went to India, returning in June after travelling 20,000 miles.

The next three tours were in the UK, which were followed by in 1885 by a trip to Australia, Java, Hong Kong, China (where he met with Hudson Taylor) and Japan. Then from August 1887 to March 1890 they went to Australia, New Zealand and India. While in India Muller received the news that his daughter Lydia had died, aged 57. 

There was one last trip to Europe. During all these trips people flocked to hear him; venues were full to bursting. In seventeen years they had travelled about 200,000 miles and visited 42 countries.

After a lot of prayer Muller finally decided in 1893 that the Orphanages should not be added to, so he sold the land he had bought with the idea of adding two more Homes. By this time the social problems that Muller tried to address were changing. People attitudes had changed and there were various organisations that had also taken up the challenge.

On January 13th, 1894 Muller was suddenly a widower again, with his wife dying, aged 73. Although lonely, he felt that his brain was working as well at 90 as it was when he took his University exams. He said later, “Oh, how very kind and good the Lord has been to me! In my ninety-third year I am still without rheumatism, or an ache or pain and I can still do my ordinary work at the Orphan-Houses with as much comfort to myself as seventy years ago.”

Four days later, on March 10th, 1898, George Muller was dead. He was found by his attendant who knocked on his door to give him a cup of tea. He was lying on the floor beside his bed, with the unfinished notes of a sermon he would never preach on his desk. He worked and was as strong as ever, right up to the moment he died!

Muller’s funeral was just four days later. Businesses closed, thousands lined the route, church flags flew at half-mast. Black shutters were put up along the main streets – the city mourned. Seven thousand were at the cemetery to say goodbye.

Most newspapers carried obituaries, and some pointed out what could not be denied, that everything that Muller had created came about through prayer. This is why he started the Orphanages and now people could not argue that the money was raised by appeals, fund raisers etc; they had to recognise that they were created through God alone, they had to recognise the reality of God.

George Muller had many giftings – administration, decision-making (through hearing God’s voice), his energy, generosity, his capacity to love without limit, his ability to communicate, his ability to drive a project through to its completion, his intellect (he spoke seven languages and wrote extensively) and as a visionary. The man was exceptional; he needed all these gifts, together with an unshakeable trust in God, to fulfil his destiny. 

Many looked at the results of his work as a miracle, but he himself did not like to hear that, he wanted people to believe that they could achieve the same success if they prayed with faith. The principles he lived by were accessible to anyone. He said that there had not been a single day when he had not had an audience with the King. So could we.

Muller focused on his calling and did not deviate. There were so many other social problems at the time that he might have tried to solve, but he had a calling from God and he would not be diverted.

When asked how can we strengthen our faith, Muller made four points.

“- Read the Bible carefully and thoughtfully, then you will learn more and more about God’s character – how kind, loving, merciful, wise and faithful He is. Then when difficulties come, then you will be able to rest on God’s ability and willingness to help you.

- Try to keep your conscience clear. Don’t make a habit of doing things that are displeasing to God. Otherwise, when your faith is tested, you will have no confidence in God because of your guilty conscience.

- Don’t try to avoid situations where your faith may be tested. Naturally we do not like trusting in God alone, but it is when we do this that our faith is strengthened.

- Remember God will not test you more than you are able to bear. Be patient and He will prove to you how willing He is to help and deliver, the moment it is good for you.”

What an amazing man George Muller was. His legacy was not only the Orphanages he left behind, but also the orphans that were converted and their descendants. A couple of the orphans got married and had eight children, all of whom knew the Lord and one became a missionary in Africa. Also, of the first two orphans welcomed into Orphan House no 1, one became a lay preacher and evangelist for the Congregational Church and the other a successful vicar in the Church of England. 

A Mr Wilkinson had been at the Orphanage until he was fourteen and a half. Muller met him in Calvary Church, San Francisco. Wilkinson had served in the Civil War on board a gunboat. He formed a church on board, holding a prayer meeting every day for twenty months. The whole conversation of his shipmates was of the Lord.

There were many stories like these that showed how deep and wide the ministry of George Muller was.

 

 

From: “Autobiography of George Muller,” compiled by G Fred Bergin, 1905.

And: “George Muller of Bristol,” by Arthur T Pierson, 1899.

And: “The Autobiography of George Muller,” published by Whitaker House.

And, “George Muller, Delighted in God,” by Roger Steer, Published by Christian Focus Publications.