George Müller —A man who argued with God

Every Christian should sit at the feet of George Müller. His discipline and his faith are worthy of study, but most of us need to learn how Müller pleaded with God. The excerpt below gives us a snapshot into his prayer life:

“This method of holy argument—ordering our cause before God, as an advocate would plead before a judge—is not only almost a lost art, but to many it actually seems almost puerile (this means infantile or childish…I didn’t know what it meant). And yet it is abundantly taught and exemplified in Scripture. Abraham in his plea for Sodom is the first great example of it. Moses excelled in this art, in many crises interceding in behalf of the people with consummate skill, marshalling arguments as a general-in-chief marshals battalions. Elijah on Carmel is a striking example of power in this special pleading. What holy zeal and jealousy for God! It is probable that if we had fuller records we should find that all pleaders with God, like Noah, Job, Samuel, David, Daniel, Jeremiah, Paul, and James have used the same method.” (p. 148-149)

When did Müller do this “arguing”? Mostly, pleading for the provision of the orphans. Müller was convinced that God is the ‘Father of the fatherless’ (Psalms 68:5) and therefore, He will fulfill His promise to provide. Furthermore, what made Müller so unique was the abiding principle of his ministry that he never (publicly) made known the needs of the orphans or the financial needs of the Orphanages. No matter how many orphans God entrusted him with, no matter how many staff he employed, no matter how many institutions were built, Müller never revealed their needs but only to his Heavenly Father. This is not to say that Müller was never tested. His biographer writes:

“At a time of great financial distress in the work, a letter reached him from a brother who had often before given money, he wrote:

‘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 laboring to serve. Kindly then inform me, and to what amount (i.e. what amount you need at this present time).” (p. 167)

To most men, even those who carry on a work of faith, such a letter would have at least been a temptation (there was only 27 pennies left to meet the needs of hundreds of orphans at that time), but Mr. Müller did not waver. Here is Müller’s response by letter:   

‘I thank you for your love, and while 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.’” (p. 167)

By the way, that brother sent 100 pounds, which came when not one penny was in hand.

At this point, some readers will cry out or at least think thoughts like, “Müller is foolish! Irresponsible! This is lunacy!” Is it? Is it lunacy to believe God’s word and wait confidently for His answer? Furthermore, it is appropriate to “argue with God”? If so, how?

Here are a few things to consider:

To employ a “holy argument” assumes you are holy.

To be clear, I am not referring to our positional sanctification before God, which is accomplished at the moment of regeneration. Rather, I am referring to the journey of progressive sanctification, specifically, a Christian who is NOT involved in consistent sin and therefore is holy enough to discern God’s will in their life (Romans 12:1-2). In other words, this is a mature Christian whose mind has been renewed to the degree that they know the promises of God and are appropriately “suspicious” of their heart.

In the case of George Müller, he knew what God said about the Fatherless (Psa. 68:5) and believed  his motives were pure in wanting others to see and experience the God who promises to hear and deliver those who are in need (Psa. 69:33). By trusting in God alone, Müller believed this would glorify His name before the unbelieving world (in the most extensive way), which is God’s primary objective, to bring glory to His name.

Isaiah 48:11 "For My own sake, for My own sake, I will act; For how can My name be profaned? And My glory I will not give to another.

Therefore, in the purity of his heart, Müller lived out a lifetime experiment. He purposefully stripped away all human safety nets so he and others could watch the God of the Universe provide for their every need.

Yet the irony is this is why most Christians cannot reconcile the faith of George Müller with their own. To them, a life waiting on God is a life wasted. To them, engaging daily with the God of the Universe is not as satisfying as elevating themselves as “the God of their own Universe”. To them, the visible is always safer than grasping for the Invisible. Sadly, this is why the George Müller’s are rare and the Doubting Thomas’ are “a dime a dozen”.

Müller was not Superman, but he was supernaturally driven.

Some are tempted to put Müller on a pedestal or ascribe to him a gift of faith, a gift that “common” Christians cannot attain. Yet Müller was just a man, like you and me. What made him different? The words below are the key:

“In fact he felt himself rather more often wicked by nature, and utterly helpless even as a believer: was it not this poverty of spirit and mourning over sin, this consciousness of entire unworthiness and dependence, that drove him to the throne of grace and to the all-merciful and all-powerful God?”

Are we driven to the throne of grace daily, hourly….moment by moment? Müller was. He prayed over the big things, but more often he prayed over the little things. The result: A man who walked with God. A man that walked close enough to God to believe his principles were blessed by God. A man who lived without human “safety nets”….really, he lived without even a pole to balance himself.

Müller was raised up for this purpose.

Though I believe George Müller was no different than you and I, this does not mean you and I could imitate what he did for God. Müller was uniquely crafted and molded for this assignment. It is absurd to think that I could ever have an open air preaching ministry like George Whitefield or an evangelistic ministry like D.L. Moody or the theological precision and influence of J.I. Packer. But I can be me. I can be ready to respond to the calling and mission that God has for me in the life. Müller began his Christian journey wanting to be a missionary, then a preacher, but never an earthly ‘father to the fatherless’. Yet this is his legacy. His journal (documenting God’s dealing and answers to prayer) is the stuff of legends.

Is the purpose of this blog post to encourage “holy arguments” with God? Not really, I guess. The purpose is for Christians, whether young or old, immature or mature, to pull away the human “safety nets” of visibility and trust the invisible God.