Listening to the Giants

These are my favorite quotes from George Müller. History does not label him the most profound Christian, but he was practical and holy . I would take that over “profundity” any day of the week. Here are #1--#12: #1—“My own experience has been, almost invariably, that if I have not the needful sleep , my spiritual enjoyment and strength is greatly affected by it.” The reader must digest the implications of “needful”. Different people, different needs. But we all should be suspicious of the flesh. In other words, the Christian must discern between needful sleep and lazy sleep.   #2—“There may occur cases when travelling by night cannot be avoided; but if it can, though we should seem to lose time by it , and though it should cost more money , I would most affectionately and solemnly recommend the refraining from night-travelling; for in addition to our drawing beyond measure upon our bodily strength, we will be losers spiritually.” Here is Müller’s point: L...

“The passion of George Müller’s soul was to know fully the secrets of prevailing with God and with man. George Whitefield’s life drove home the truth that God alone could create in him a holy earnestness to win souls and qualify him for such divine work by imparting a compassion for the lost that should become an absorbing passion for their salvation. And—let this be carefully marked as another secret of this life of service—he now began himself to read the word of God upon his knees , and often found for hours great blessing in such meditation and prayer over a single psalm or chapter .” (p. 138-139) Here is the disclaimer: It is not the posture of prayer that ultimately matters to God. But it is wrong to say that posture doesn’t matter, because our posture often reflects what is happening in our hearts. After reading this you may be thinking, “Good for George Müller. He has his way and I have mine. God only wants my heart.” Fair enough. But before you shut the “door of se...

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 ...

One of my favorite sections of the biography is when A.T. Pierson presents a list of 24 important steps, steps that he believes were essential in the spiritual formation of George Müller. Here are the final steps 19-24: 19. His surrender of all earthly possessions. Both himself and his wife literally sold all they had and gave alms, henceforth to live by the day, hoarding no money even against a time of future need, sickness, old age, or any other possible crisis of want. Again, the reader must look at Müller as a description of a godly Saint, not as a prescription of a godly Saint . In other words, don’t finish reading this blog post and then go sell all of your belongings. That response is probably not in the will of God. Yet we must re-examine our love of money or at least the security that money provides. Our lack of prayerfulness is often connected to our self-sufficient heart and our self-sufficient heart is fueled by having the monetary resources to “fill our mout...

One of my favorite sections of the biography is when A.T. Pierson presents a list of 24 important steps, steps that he believes were essential in the spiritual formation of George Müller. Here are steps 13-18:   13. His companions in service. Two most efficient co-workers were divinely provided: first his brother Craik so like-minded with himself, and secondly, his wife, so peculiarly God’s gift, both of them proving great aids in working and in bearing burdens of responsibility. History doesn’t speak much of Mr. Craik, but to be as like-minded as George Müller says volumes about this man. In a similar way, history speaks little about George Müller’s wife. This amazing woman entered into marriage agreeing to a life of voluntary poverty, desiring to “help” her husband live out God’s plan for him. Here are Müller’s words about her at her funeral: “She was God’s own gift, exquisitely suited to me even in natural temperament. Thousands of times I said to her, ‘My da...

One of my favorite sections of the biography is when Pierson presents a list of 24 important steps, steps that he believes were essential in the spiritual formation of George Müller. Here are steps 7-12:   7. His cutting loose from man. Step by step, all dependence on men or appeals to man for support were abandoned, together with all borrowing, running into debt, stated salary, etc. His eyes were turned to God alone as the Provider. Early on in his Christian journey, Müller committed himself (and his wife) to voluntary poverty and then to the rejection of a fixed salary. Is this approach a prescription for the Christian life? No, it is not. Yet this does not mean we should disregard the reason that drove Müller to this commitment, a desire to trust God and to show others that God is the Great Provider. Furthermore, how often does “the law of sin” convince us that this approach is irrational, irresponsible and foolish….but really we simply want to stay comfortable. We like...

In my opinion, the best biography written on George Müller is George Müller of Bristol , written by A.T. Pierson. One of my favorite sections of the biography is when Pierson presents a list of 24 important steps, steps that he believes were essential in the spiritual formation of George Müller. Here are the first six: 1. First of all, his conversion. In the most unfortunate manner and at the most unexpected time God led him to turn from the error of his way, and brought him to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. 2. Next, his missionary spirit. That consuming flame was kindled within him, which when it is fanned by the Spirit and fed by the fuel of facts, inclines to unselfish service and makes one willing to go wherever, and to do whatever the Lord wills. I would also add that Müller’s missionary spirit was not a global missionary spirit. Many Christians have the wrong idea of missions, which in turn, limits their usefulness in their present context or simply f...