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George Mueller

George Müller (1805–1898). Born on September 27, 1805, in Kroppenstedt, Prussia (now Germany), George Müller was a Christian evangelist and orphanage director known for his faith-driven ministry. A rebellious youth, he was imprisoned for theft at 16 before converting to Christianity in 1825 at a Moravian prayer meeting in Halle. He studied divinity in Halle and moved to England in 1829, pastoring a chapel in Teignmouth and later Ebenezer Chapel in Bristol. Rejecting a fixed salary, he relied on prayer for provision, a principle that defined his life. In 1836, he founded the Ashley Down Orphanage in Bristol, caring for over 10,000 orphans across his lifetime without soliciting funds, trusting God alone. His meticulous records, published in Narratives of the Lord’s Dealings, documented answered prayers, inspiring global faith. Married to Mary Groves in 1830 and later Susannah Sangar after Mary’s death, he had one surviving child, Lydia. Müller preached worldwide into his 80s, dying on March 10, 1898, in Bristol, and said, “The beginning of anxiety is the end of faith, and the beginning of true faith is the end of anxiety.”
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Sermon Summary
George Mueller emphasizes the importance of aligning one's heart with God's will before making decisions, stating that most difficulties are resolved when we are ready to follow God's direction. He outlines a methodical approach to discerning God's will, which includes seeking the Spirit's guidance through Scripture, considering providential circumstances, and engaging in prayer. Mueller testifies that throughout his long Christian journey, he has always been rightly directed when he sincerely sought God's will with an honest heart. He warns against relying solely on feelings or human counsel, which can lead to mistakes. Ultimately, he encourages believers to patiently wait for God's instruction and to trust in His guidance.
Scriptures
Discerning the Will of God
Reprinted from “George Müller - Man of Faith and Miracles,” by Basil Miller, pp. 50-51 MANY asked Mr. Müller how he sought to know the will of God, in that nothing was undertaken, not even the smallest expenditure, without feeling certain he was in God’s will. In the following words he gave his answer. “1. I seek at the beginning to get my heart into such a state that it has not will of its own in regard to a given matter. Nine-tenths of the difficulties are overcome when our hearts are ready to do the Lord’s will, whatever it may be. When one is truly in this state, it is usually but a little way to the knowledge of what His will is. “2. Having done this, I do not leave the result to feeling or simple impressions. If so, I make myself liable to great delusions. “3. I seek the will of the Spirit of God through or in connection with the Word of God. The Spirit and the Word must be combined. If I look to the Spirit alone without the Word, I lay myself open to great delusions also. “4. Next I take into account providential circumstances. These plainly indicate God’s will in connection with His Word and Spirit. “5. I ask God in prayer to reveal His will to me aright. “6. Thus through prayer to God, the study of the Word, and reflection, I come to a deliberate judgment according to the best of my ability and knowledge, and if my mind is thus at peace,20 and continues so after two or three more petitions, I proceed accordingly. In trivial matters and in transactions involving most important issues, I have found this method always effective.” And did this plan work? one asks. Let Mr. Müller’s testimony answer. “I never remember,” he wrote three years before his death, “in all my Christian course, a period now of sixty-nine years and four months, that I ever sincerely and patiently sought to know the will of God by the teaching of the Holy Ghost, through the instrumentality of the Word of God, but I have been always directed rightly. But if honesty of heart and uprightness before God were lacking, or if I did not patiently wait upon God for instruction, or if I preferred the counsel of my fellow men to the declarations of the Word of the living God, I made great mistakes.”
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George Müller (1805–1898). Born on September 27, 1805, in Kroppenstedt, Prussia (now Germany), George Müller was a Christian evangelist and orphanage director known for his faith-driven ministry. A rebellious youth, he was imprisoned for theft at 16 before converting to Christianity in 1825 at a Moravian prayer meeting in Halle. He studied divinity in Halle and moved to England in 1829, pastoring a chapel in Teignmouth and later Ebenezer Chapel in Bristol. Rejecting a fixed salary, he relied on prayer for provision, a principle that defined his life. In 1836, he founded the Ashley Down Orphanage in Bristol, caring for over 10,000 orphans across his lifetime without soliciting funds, trusting God alone. His meticulous records, published in Narratives of the Lord’s Dealings, documented answered prayers, inspiring global faith. Married to Mary Groves in 1830 and later Susannah Sangar after Mary’s death, he had one surviving child, Lydia. Müller preached worldwide into his 80s, dying on March 10, 1898, in Bristol, and said, “The beginning of anxiety is the end of faith, and the beginning of true faith is the end of anxiety.”