George Müller—A man who attended a prayer meeting a few hours after his wife of 40 years died

The death of Mrs. Müller was no surprise to Müller or anyone else, but his response did catch a few people off guard. His biographer reveals the details below:  

“The death of this beloved wife afforded an illustration of this. Within a few hours after this withdrawal of her who had shared with him the planning and working of these long years of service, Mr. Müller went to the Monday-evening prayer meeting, then held in Salem Chapel, to mingle his prayers and praises as usual with those of his brethren. With a literally shining countenance, he rose and said: “Beloved brethren and sisters in Christ, I ask you to join with me in hearty praise and thanksgiving to my precious Lord for His loving kindness in having taken my darling, beloved wife out of the pain and suffering which she had endured, into His own presence; and as I rejoice in everything that is for her happiness, so I now rejoice as I realize how far happier she is, in beholding her Lord who she loved so well, than in any joy she has known or could know here. I ask you also to pray that the Lord with so enable me to have fellowship in her joy that my bereaved heart may be occupied with her blessedness instead of my unspeakable loss”.

My anniversary is at the end of November. 10 years with my wonderful wife. I honestly don’t know what life would look like without her. Even more unsettling is thinking about my children dealing with the loss of their mom. She is the sweet one. She is the detailed one. She is one who offsets my intensity. She is the one I am supposed to grow old with. But what if tomorrow I had to say goodbye? What if tomorrow was the last day I saw her smile?

I am not sure I would go to that prayer meeting. I am not sure I would want to go to that prayer meeting. I am not sure I would want to speak, but if I did my words would undoubtedly be different than the saintly Müller.

How did Müller push forward? How does he seem so genuine, so peaceful and so content in the midst of a great loss?

Here are a couple thoughts:

First, Müller desired to be with his brethren.

The genuine response of Müller is because Müller genuinely enjoyed being with the brethren. At no point in the narrative is there a sense Müller showed up because this is what a “pastor is supposed to do”. This “Monday Evening Prayer meeting” was something valuable to him, something essential to his spiritual growth. In reality, Müller needed this prayer meeting, because he needed God’s grace, which is as abundant as God Himself (Heb. 4:16).

Another reason that Müller wanted to be at that prayer meeting is that he understood the importance of the church as a means of grace. Furthermore, the scriptures seem to put a high priority on the spiritual family. I have often wrestled with the statements of Jesus in Matthew 12:46-50.

Matthew 12:46-50 While He was still speaking to the crowds, behold, His mother and brothers were standing outside, seeking to speak to Him. ⁴⁷ Someone said to Him, "Behold, Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside seeking to speak to You." ⁴⁸ But Jesus answered the one who was telling Him and said, "Who is My mother and who are My brothers?" ⁴⁹ And stretching out His hand toward His disciples, He said, "Behold My mother and My brothers! ⁵⁰ "For whoever does the will of My Father who is in heaven, he is My brother and sister and mother."

Is Jesus saying our spiritual family more important than our physical family? Is it unbiblical to hold to the maxim, “Blood is thicker than water”? Should it rather say, “The blood of Jesus is thicker than both blood and water”?

The issue is not the priority of family. The issue is the priority of the gospel. In other words, Jesus’ point is that “obedience to the will of the Father” is more important that the opinions and traditions of your earthly family. Your relatives are your “blood”, but does not mean that they are “cleansed by the blood of the Lamb” (Eph. 2:13). Your spiritual family can encourage you through the lens of the gospel, but that is not always true with your physical family.

Müller needed the encouragement of his spiritual family. He knew they would be faithful to remind him of the joys of his salvation and the glories that await for those who long to see His return (2 Tim. 4:8).  

Second, Müller truly believed God is good and does only good.

For Müller, the implications of this belief made his response to his wife’s death a no-brainer. God is good, therefore, the death of his wife is an act of goodness. Furthermore, if God is good, how could Müller do anything else but praise God (Job 1:21)?

Are you surprised that Müller preached at his wife’s funeral? I’m not. Nor should it surprise the reader the text Müller preached at Mrs. Müller’s funeral.

Psalm 119:68 You are good and do good; Teach me Your statutes.

It is not just the joys of Heaven that help us to “not grieve as those who have no hope” (I Thess. 4:13), but also a hearty dose of the knowledge of the Holy One that leads to understanding (Prov. 9:10).  

Third, Müller (and his wife) desired the greater joys of Heaven

Probably the part of Müller’s speech that impressed me the most is when he said,

“….and as I rejoice in everything that is for her happiness, so I now rejoice as I realize how far happier she is, in beholding her Lord who she loved so well, than in any joy she has known or could know here.”

In other words, “I want to rejoice that my wife is with her first love. I want to rejoice that she is with Jesus.” Many spouses are eager for their loved ones to die because of the suffering and/or deterioration experiences in the final moments. But for Müller, the greatest joy in her death was sending her to her Creator, the One in whom true life and happiness in found.

The perspective of Müller can only be understood by those who long for Heaven, by those who live by the words of Matthew Henry:

“It ought to be the business of every day to prepare for our last day.”

To be clear, these individuals are not isolationists or “ivory tower” theologians. Rather, these are Christians who “set their minds on things above, not on things of this earth” (Col. 3:2). These are Christians who understand the gospel and are genuine followers of Jesus Christ. These are Christians who truly grapple with and obey these commands of Jesus:

Luke 14:27 "Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple.

Luke 12:51,53 "Do you suppose that I came to grant peace on earth? I tell you, no, but rather division; They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law."

Matthew 8:21-22 Another of the disciples said to Him, "Lord, permit me first to go and bury my father." ²² But Jesus said to him, "Follow Me, and allow the dead to bury their own dead."

These are the Christians that long for Heaven, the ones who give up everything because they understood the value of the gift of salvation.

Matthew 13:45-46 "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking fine pearls, ⁴⁶ and upon finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it.

The real issue is, “What is it that you value most?” Your answer will most likely reveal how much you really long for Heaven or how attached you still are to the “fleeting pleasures of this world” (Heb. 11:25).