I was assessing whether there would be enough resources to write a graduate paper on orphans in Victorian England. While hunkered down with a pile of books, I opened one about George Muller. (His true name is Georg Muller, with an umlaut over the "u," but I don't know how to add the umlaut.) I had never heard of him before. His life, his faith, his prayer walk stunned me. It is true he had a heart for orphans, but what is even more striking is that he had a heart for total dependence upon God. I can remember the first story I read in the book. It told of a day when they had no food and the children were hungry. George prayed. The doorbell rang. Food was donated. Over and over again, his unwavering faith was rewarded with God's provision and miraculous intervention. How I long for the staunch faith and certitude Muller exhibited throughout his life!
In Answers to Prayer from George Muller's Narratives, the reader finds example upon example of Muller's faith and God's faithfulness. Muller put down these narratives of prayers answered in order to bolster and encourage others to believe and claim as he did. He writes, "I longed to set something before the children of God, whereby they might see, that He does not forsake, even in our day, those who rely upon Him." He knew what he asked for, he had no way of obtaining, yet he trusted God's capability and desire to meet those needs that align with His will. So, Muller prayed for every item/person/pound/building he required in his campaign to meet the needs of orphans. He prayed importunate prayers. He never gave in to discouragement if the answers were slow in coming. Sometimes he prayed long and hard.
“It is now 14 months and 3 weeks since day by day have uttered my petitions to God on behalf of this work. I rose from my knees this morning in full confidence, not only that God could, but also would, send the means, and that soon. Never… have I had the least doubt, that I should have all that which is requisite.—And now, dear believing reader, rejoice and praise with me. About an hour, after I had prayed thus, there was given to me the sum of Two Thousand Pounds for the Building Fund…. How great is the blessing which the soul obtains by trusting in God, and by waiting patiently.”
He encourages readers not to give in to despair. Instead of distrusting God or charging Him with unfaithfulness, Muller merely hunkered down, increasing the number of times they prayed together daily over these needs and concerns. When the orphanage boiler failed, he prayed for God to change the north wind to a south wind and to give the workmen a mind to work (as workers had in rebuilding the wall in Nehemiah). Indeed, the wind changed direction and the men insisted on working through the night.
Muller also offers, in an appendix, "Five Conditions of Prevailing Prayer." 1) Entire dependency on God's mediation, 2) "Separation from all known sin," 3) Faith in God's promise (here he writes something of my guilt: "Not to believe Him is to make Him both a liar and a perjurer."), 4) "Asking in accordance with His will," and 5) importunity in requests.
This small ebook, available through Hoopla, is a dense compendium of Muller's faith and God's faithfulness. If you are wanting something more accessible, seek either the video or book called The Robber of the Cruel Streets. My husband and I watched this several years ago. It shares George Muller's testimony in a very engaging and inspiring way.
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