 HEN
God wishes anew to teach His
Church a truth that is not being
understood or practised, He
mostly does so by raising some
man to be in word and deed a
living witness to its
blessedness. And so God has
raised up in this nineteenth
century, among others, George
Muller to be His witness that He
is indeed the Hearer of prayer.
I know of no way in which the
principal truths of God’s word
in regard to prayer can be more
effectually illustrated and
established than a short review
of his life and of what he tells
of his prayer-experiences.
He was born in Prussia on 25th
September 1805, and is thus now
eighty years of age. His early
life, even after having entered
the University of Halle as a
theological student, was wicked
in the extreme. Led by a friend
one evening, when just twenty
years of age, to a prayer
meeting, he was deeply
impressed, and soon after
brought to know the Saviour. Not
long after he began reading
missionary papers, and in course
of time offered himself to the
London Society for promoting
Christianity to the Jews. He was
accepted as a student, but soon
found that he could not in all
things submit to the rules of
the Society, as leaving too
little liberty for the leading
of the Holy Spirit. The
connection was dissolved in 1830
by mutual consent, and he became
the pastor of a small
congregation at Teignmouth. In
1832 he was led to Bristol, and
it was as pastor of Bethesda
Chapel that he was led to the
Orphan Home and other work, in
connection with which God has so
remarkably led him to trust His
word and to experience how God
fulfils that word.
A few extracts in regard to his
spiritual life will prepare the
way for what we specially wish
to quote of his experiences in
reference to prayer.
‘In connection with this I would
mention, that the Lord very
graciously gave me, from the
very commencement of my divine
life, a measure of simplicity
and of childlike disposition in
spiritual things, so that whilst
I was exceedingly ignorant of
the Scriptures, and was still
from time to time overcome even
by outward sins, yet I was
enabled to carry most minute
matters to the Lord in prayer.
And I have found “godliness
profitable unto all things,
having promise of the life that
now is, and of that which is to
come.” Though very weak and
ignorant, yet I had now, by the
grace of God, some desire to
benefit others, and he who so
faithfully had once served
Satan, sought now to win souls
for Christ.’
It was at Teignmouth that he was
led to know how to use God’s
word , and to trust the Holy
Spirit as the Teacher given by
God to make that word clear. He
writes:—
‘God then began to show me that
the word of God alone is our
standard of judgment in
spiritual things; that it can be
explained only by the Holy
Spirit; and that in our day, as
well as in former times. He is
the Teacher of His people. The
office of the Holy Spirit I had
not experimentally understood
before that time.
‘It was my beginning to
understand this latter point in
particular, which had a great
effect on me; for the Lord
enabled me to put it to the test
of experience, by laying aside
commentaries, and almost every
other book and simply reading
the word of God and studying it.
‘The result of this was, that
the first evening that I shut
myself into my room, to give
myself to prayer and meditation
over the Scriptures, I learned
more in a few hours than I had
done during a period of several
months previously.
‘But the particular difference
was that I received real
strength for my soul in so
doing. I now began to try by the
test of the Scriptures the
things which I had learned and
seen, and found that only those
principles which stood the test
were of real value.’
Of obedience to the word of God,
he writes as follows, in
connection with his being
baptized:—
‘It had pleased God, in His
abundant mercy, to bring my mind
into such a state, that I was
willing to carry out into my
life whatever I should find in
the Scriptures. I could say, “I
will do His will,” and it was on
that account, I believe, that I
saw which “doctrine is of
God.”—And I would observe here,
by the way, that the passage to
which I have just alluded (John
vii. 17) has been a most
remarkable comment to me on many
doctrines and precepts of our
most holy faith. For instance:
“Resist not evil; but whosoever
shall smite thee on thy right
cheek, turn to him the other
also. And if any man will sue
thee at the law, and take away
thy coat, let him have thy cloak
also. And whosoever shall compel
thee to go a mile, go with him
twain. Give to him that asketh
thee, and from him that would
borrow of thee, turn not thou
away. Love your enemies, bless
them that curse you, do good to
them that hate you, and pray for
them which despitefully use you,
and persecute you” (Matt. v.
39-44). “Sell that ye have, and
give alms”(Luke xii. 33). “Owe
no man any thing, but to love
one another”(Rom. xii. 8). It
may be said, “Surely these
passages cannot be taken
literally, for how then would
the people of God be able to
pass through the world?” The
state of mind enjoined in John
vii. 17 will cause such
objections to vanish. WHOSOEVER
IS WILLING TO ACT OUT these
commandments of the Lord
LITERALLY, will, I believe, be
led with me to see that to take
them LITERALLY is the will of
God.—Those who do so take them
will doubtless often be brought
into difficulties, hard to the
flesh to bear, but these will
have a tendency to make them
constantly feel that they are
strangers and pilgrims here,
that this world is not their
home, and thus to throw them
more upon God, who will
assuredly help us through any
difficulty into which we may be
brought by seeking to act in
obedience to His word.’
This implicit surrender to God’s
word led him to certain views
and conduct in regard to money,
which mightily influenced his
future life. They had their root
in the conviction that money was
a Divine stewardship, and that
all money had therefore to be
received and dispensed in direct
fellowship with God Himself.
This led him to the adoption of
the following four great rules:
1. Not to receive any fixed
salary, both because in the
collecting of it there was often
much that was at variance with
the freewill offering with which
God’s service is to be
maintained, and in the receiving
of it a danger of placing more
dependence on human sources of
income than in the living God
Himself. 2. Never to ask any
human being for help, however
great the need might be, but to
make his wants known to the God
who has promised to care for His
servants and to hear their
prayer. 3. To take this command
(Luke xii. 33) literally, ‘Sell
that thou hast and give alms,’
and never to save up money, but
to spend all God entrusted to
him on God’s poor, on the work
of His kingdom. 4. Also to take
Rom. xiii. 8, ‘Owe no man
anything,’ literally, and never
to buy on credit, or be in debt
for anything, but to trust God
to provide.
This mode of living was not easy
at first. But Muller testifies
it was most blessed in bringing
the soul to rest in God, and
drawing it into closer union
with Himself when inclined to
backslide. ‘For it will not do,
it is not possible, to live in
sin, and at the same time, by
communion with God, to draw down
from heaven everything one needs
for the life that now is.’
Not long after his settlement at
Bristol, ‘THE SCRIPTURAL
KNOWLEDGE INSTITUTION FOR HOME
AND ABROAD’ was established for
aiding in Day, Sunday School,
Mission and Bible work. Of this
Institution the Orphan Home
work, by which Mr. Muller is
best known, became a branch. It
was in 1834 that his heart was
touched by the case of an orphan
brought to Christ in one of the
schools, but who had to go to a
poorhouse where its spiritual
wants would not be cared for.
Meeting shortly after with a
life of Franke, he writes (Nov,
20, 1835): ‘Today I have had it
very much laid on my heart no
longer merely to think about the
establishment of an Orphan Home,
but actually to set about it,
and I have been very much in
prayer respecting it, in order
to ascertain the Lord’s mind.
May God make it plain.’ And
again, Nov. 25: ‘I have been
again much in prayer yesterday
and today about the Orphan Home,
and am more and more convinced
that it is of God. May He in
mercy guide me. The three chief
reasons are—1. That God may be
glorified, should He be pleased
to furnish me with the means, in
its being seen that it is not a
vain thing to trust Him; and
that thus the faith of His
children may be strengthened. 2.
The spiritual welfare of
fatherless and motherless
children. 3. Their temporal
welfare.’
After some months of prayer and
waiting on God, a house was
rented, with room for thirty
children , and in course of time
three more, containing in all
120 children. The work was
carried on it this way for ten
years, the supplies for the
needs of the orphans being asked
and received of God alone. It
was often a time of sore need
and much prayer, but a trial of
faith more precious than of gold
was found unto praise and honour
and glory of God. The Lord was
preparing His servant for
greater things. By His
providence and His Holy Spirit,
Mr. Muller was led to desire,
and to wait upon God till he
received from Him, the sure
promise of £15,000 for a Home to
contain 300 children. This first
Home was opened in 1849. In
1858, a second and third Home,
for 950 more orphans, was
opened, costing £35,000. And in
1869 and 1870, a fourth and a
fifth Home, for 850 more, at an
expense of £50,000, making the
total number of the orphans
2100.
In addition to this work, God
has given him almost as much as
for the building of the Orphan
Homes, and the maintenance of
the orphans, for other work, the
support of schools and missions,
Bible and tract circulation. In
all he has received from God, to
be spent in His work, during
these fifty years, more than one
million pounds sterling. How
little he knew, let us carefully
notice, that when he gave up his
little salary of £35 a year in
obedience to the leading of
God’s word and the Holy Spirit,
what God was preparing to give
him as the reward of obedience
and faith; and how wonderfully
the word was to be fulfilled to
him: ‘Thou hast been faithful
over few things; I will set thee
over many things.’
And these things have happened
for an ensample to us. God calls
us to be followers of George
Muller, even as he is of Christ.
His God is our God; the same
promises are for us; the same
service of love and faith in
which he laboured is calling for
us on every side. Let us in
connection with our lessons in
the school of prayer study the
way in which God gave George
Muller such power as a man of
prayer: we shall find in it the
most remarkable illustration of
some of the lessons which we
have been studying with the bl
word. We shall specially have
impressed upon us His first
great lesson, that if we will
come to Him in the way He has
pointed out, with definite
petitions, made known to us by
the Spirit through the word as
being according to the will of
God, we may most confidently
believe that whatsoever we ask
it shall be done.
PRAYER AND THE WORD OF GOD.
We have more than once seen that God’s listening to our voice depends
upon our listening to His voice. (See Lessons 22 and 23.) We must not
only have a special promise to plead, when we make a special request,
but our whole life must be under the supremacy of the word: the word
must be dwelling in us. The testimony of George Muller on this point is
most instructive. He tells us how the discovery of the true place of the
word of God, and the teaching of the Spirit with it, was the
commencement of a new era in his spiritual life. Of it he writes:—
‘Now the scriptural way of reasoning would have been: God Himself has
condescended to become an author, and I am ignorant about that precious
book which His Holy Spirit has caused to be written through the
instrumentality of His servants, and it contains that which I ought to
know, and the knowledge of which will lead me to true happiness;
therefore I ought to read again and again this most precious book, this
book of books, most earnestly, most prayerfully, and with much
meditation; and in this practice I ought to continue all the days of my
life. For I was aware, though I read it but little, that I knew scarcely
anything of it. But instead of acting thus and being led by my ignorance
of the word of God to study it more, my difficulty in understanding it,
and the little enjoyment I had in it, made me careless of reading it
(for much prayerful reading of the word gives not merely more knowledge,
but increases the delight we have in reading it); and thus, like many
believers, I practically preferred, for the first four years of my
divine life, the works of uninspired men to the oracles of the living
God. The consequence was that I remained a babe, both in knowledge and
grace. In knowledge, I say; for all true knowledge must be derived, by
the Spirit, from the word. And as I neglected the word, I was for nearly
four years so ignorant, that I did not clearly know even the fundamental
points of our holy faith. And this lack of knowledge most sadly kept me
back from walking steadily in the ways of God. For when it pleased the
Lord in August 1829 to bring me really to the Scriptures, my life and
walk became very different. And though ever since that I have very much
fallen short of what I might and ought to be, yet by the grace of God I
have been enabled to live much nearer to Him than before. If any
believers read this who practically prefer other books to the Holy
Scriptures, and who enjoy the writings of men much more than the word of
God, may they be warned by my loss. I shall consider this book to have
been the means of doing much good, should it please the Lord, through
its instrumentality, to lead some of His people no longer to neglect the
Holy Scriptures, but to give them that preference which they have
hitherto bestowed on the writings of men.
‘Before I leave this subject, I would only add: If the reader understands
very little of the word of God, he ought to read it very much; for the
Spirit explains the word by the word. And if he enjoys the reading of
the word little, that is just the reason why he should read it much; for
the frequent reading of the Scriptures creates a delight in them, so
that the more we read them, the more we desire to do so.
‘Above all, he should seek to have it settled in his own mind that God
alone by His Spirit can teach him, and that therefore, as God will be
inquired of for blessings, it becomes him to seek God’s blessing
previous to reading, and also whilst reading.
‘He should have it, moreover, settled in his mind that although the Holy
Spirit is the best and sufficient Teacher, yet that this Teacher does
not always teach immediately when we desire it, and that therefore we
may have to entreat Him again and again for the explanation of certain
passages; but that He will surely teach us at last, if indeed we are
seeking for light prayerfully, patiently, and with a view to the glory
of God.’ 4
We find in his journal frequent mention made of his spending two and three
hours in prayer over the word for the feeding of his spiritual life. As
the fruit of this, when he had need of strength and encouragement in
prayer, the individual promises were not to him so many arguments from a
book to be used with God, but living words which he had heard the
Father’s living voice speak to him, and which he could now bring to the
Father in living faith.
PRAYER AND THE WILL OF GOD.
One of the greatest difficulties with young believers is to know how
they can find out whether what they desire is according to God’s will. I
count it one of the most precious lessons God wants to teach through the
experience of George Muller, that He is willing to make know, of things
of which His word says nothing directly, that they are His will for us,
and that we may ask them. The teaching of the Spirit, not without or
against the word, but as something above and beyond it, in addition to
it, without which we cannot see God’s will, is the heritage of every
believer. It is through THE WORD, AND THE WORD ALONE, that the Spirit
teaches, applying the general principles or promises to our special
need. And it is THE SPIRIT, AND THE SPIRIT ALONE, who can really make
the word a light on our path, whether the path of duty in our daily
walk, or the path of faith in our approach to God. Let us try and notice
in what childlike simplicity and teachableness it was that the discovery
of God’s will was so surely and so clearly made known to His servant.
With regard to the building of the first Home and the assurance he had of
its being God’s will, he writes in May 1850, just after it had been
opened, speaking of the great difficulties there were, and how little
likely it appeared to nature that they would be removed: ‘But while the
prospect before me would have been overwhelming had I looked at it
naturally, I was never even for once permitted to question how it would
end. For as from the beginning I was sure it was the will of God that I
should go to the work of building for Him this large Orphan Home, so
also from the beginning I was as certain that the whole would be
finished as if the Home had been already filled.’
The way in which he found out what was God’s will, comes out with special
clearness in his account of the building of the second Home; and I ask
the reader to study with care the lesson the narrative conveys:—
‘Dec. 5, 1850.—Under these circumstances I can only pray that the Lord in
His tender mercy would not allow Satan to gain an advantage over me. By
the grace of God my heart says: Lord, if I could be sure that it is Thy
will that I should go forward in this matter, I would do so cheerfully;
and, on the other hand, if I could be sure that these are vain, foolish,
proud thoughts, that they are not from Thee, I would, by Thy grace, hate
them, and entirely put them aside.
‘My hope is in God: He will help and teach me. Judging, however, from His
former dealings with me, it would not be a strange thing to me, nor
surprising, if He called me to labour yet still more largely in this
way.
‘The thoughts about enlarging the Orphan work have not yet arisen on
account of an abundance of money having lately come in; for I have had
of late to wait for about seven weeks upon God, whilst little, very
little comparatively, came in, i.e. about four times as much was going
out as came in; and, had not the Lord previously sent me large sums, we
should have been distressed indeed.
‘Lord! how can Thy servant know Thy will in this matter? Wilt Thou be
pleased to teach him!
December 11.—During the last six days, since writing the above, I have
been, day after day, waiting upon God concerning this matter. It has
generally been more or less all the day on my heart. When I have been
awake at night, it has not been far from my thoughts. Yet all this
without the least excitement. I am perfectly calm and quiet respecting
it. My soul would be rejoiced to go forward in this service, could I be
sure that the Lord would have me to do so; for then, notwithstanding the
numberless difficulties, all would be well; and His Name would be
magnified.
‘On the other hand, were I assured that the Lord would have me to be
satisfied with my present sphere of service, and that I should not pray
about enlarging the work, by His grace I could, without an effort,
cheerfully yield to it; for He has brought me into such a state of
heart, that I only desire to please Him in this matter. Moreover,
hitherto I have not spoken about this thing even to my beloved wife, the
sharer of my joys, sorrows, and labours for more than twenty years; nor
is it likely that I shall do so for some time to come: for I prefer
quietly to wait on the Lord, without conversing on this subject, in
order that thus I may be kept the more easily, by His blessing, from
being influenced by things from without. The burden of my prayer
concerning this matter is, that the Lord would not allow me to make a
mistake, and that He would teach me to do His will.
‘December 26.—Fifteen days have elapsed since I wrote the preceding
paragraph. Every day since then I have continued to pray about this
matter, and that with a goodly measure of earnestness, by the help of
God. There has passed scarcely an hour during these days, in which,
whilst awake, this matter has not been more or less before me. But all
without even a shadow of excitement. I converse with no one about it.
Hitherto have I not even done so with my dear wife. For this I refrain
still, and deal with God alone about the matter, in order that no
outward influence and no outward excitement may keep me from attaining
unto a clear discovery of His will. I have the fullest and most peaceful
assurance that He will clearly show me His will. This evening I have had
again an especial solemn season for prayer, to seek to know the will of
God. But whilst I continue to entreat and beseech the Lord, that He
would not allow me to be deluded in this business, I may say I have
scarcely any doubt remaining on my mind as to what will be the issue,
even that I should go forward in this matter. As this, however, is one
of the most momentous steps that I have ever taken, I judge that I
cannot go about this matter with too much caution, prayerfulness, and
deliberation. I am in no hurry about it. I could wait for years, by
God’s grace, were this His will, before even taking one single step
toward this thing, or even speaking to anyone about it; and, on the
other hand, I would set to work tomorrow, were the Lord to bid me do so.
This calmness of mind, this having no will of my own in the matter, this
only wishing to please my Heavenly Father in it, this only seeking His
and not my honour in it; this state of heart, I say, is the fullest
assurance to me that my heart is not under a fleshly excitement, and
that, if I am helped thus to go on, I shall know the will of God to the
full. But, while I write this, I cannot but add at the same time, that I
do crave the honour and the glorious privilege to be more and more used
by the Lord.
‘I desire to be allowed to provide scriptural instruction for a thousand
orphans, instead of doing so for 300. I desire to expound the Holy
Scriptures regularly to a thousand orphans, instead of doing so to 300.
I desire that it may be yet more abundantly manifest that God is still
the Hearer and Answerer of prayer, and that He is the living God now as
He ever was and ever will be, when He shall simply, in answer to prayer,
have condescended to provide me with a house for 700 orphans and with
means to support them. This last consideration is the most important
point in my mind. The Lord’s honour is the principal point with me in
this whole matter; and just because this is the case, if He would be
more glorified by not going forward in this business, I should by His
grace be perfectly content to give up all thoughts about another Orphan
House. Surely in such a state of mind, obtained by the Holy Spirit,
Thou, O my Heavenly Father, wilt not suffer Thy child to be mistaken,
much less deluded. By the help of God I shall continue further day by
day to wait upon Him in prayer, concerning this thing, till He shall bid
me act.
‘Jan. 2, 1851.—A week ago I wrote the preceding paragraph. During this
week I have still been helped day by day, and more than once every day,
to seek the guidance of the Lord about another Orphan House. The burden
of my prayer has still been, that He in His great mercy would keep me
from making a mistake. During the last week the book of Proverbs has
come in the course of my Scripture reading, and my heart has been
refreshed in reference to this subject by the following passages: “Trust
in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own
understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy
paths” (Prov. iii. 5, 6). By the grace of God I do acknowledge the Lord
in all my ways, and in this thing in particular; I have therefore the
comfortable assurance that He will direct my paths concerning this part
of my service, as to whether I shall be occupied in it our not. Further:
“The integrity of the upright shall preserve them” (Prov. xi. 3). By the
grace of God I am upright in this business. My honest purpose is to get
glory to God. Therefore I expect to be guided aright. Further: “Commit
thy works unto the Lord, and thy thoughts shall be established” (Prov.
xvi. 3). I do commit my works unto the Lord, and therefore expect that
my thoughts will be established. My heart is more and more coming to a
calm, quiet, and settled assurance, that the Lord will condescend to use
me still further in the orphan work. Here Lord is Thy servant.’
When later he decided to build two additional houses, Nos. 4 and 5, he
writes thus again:—
‘Twelve days have passed away since I wrote the last paragraph. I have
still day by day been enabled to wait upon the Lord with reference to
enlarging the Orphan work, and have been during the whole of this period
also in perfect peace, which is the result of seeking in this thing only
the Lord’s honour and the temporal and spiritual benefit of my
fellow-men. Without an effort could I by His grace put aside all
thoughts about this whole affair, if only assured that it is the will of
God that I should do so; and, on the other hand, would at once go
forward, if He would have it be so. I have still kept this matter
entirely to myself. Though it be now about seven weeks, since day by
day, more or less, my mind has been exercised about it, and since I have
been daily praying about it, yet not one human being knows of it. As yet
I have not even mentioned it to my dear wife in order that thus, by
quietly waiting upon God, I might not be influenced by what might be
said to me on the subject. This evening has been particularly set apart
for prayer, beseeching the Lord once more not to allow me to be mistaken
in this thing, and much less to be deluded by the devil. I have also
sought to let all the reasons against building another Orphan House, and
all the reasons for doing so pass before my mind: and now for the
clearness and definiteness, write them down. . .
‘Much, however, as the nine previous reasons weigh with me, yet they would
not decide me were there not one more. It is this. After having for
months pondered the matter, and having looked at it in all its bearings
and with all its difficulties, and then having been finally led, after
much prayer, to decide on this enlargement, my mind is at peace. The
child who has again and again besought His Heavenly Father not to allow
him to be deluded, nor even to make a mistake, is at peace, perfectly at
peace concerning this decision; and has thus the assurance that the
decision come to, after much prayer during weeks and months, is the
leading of the Holy Spirit; and therefore purposes to go forward,
assuredly believing that he will not be confounded, for he trusts in
God. Many and great may be his difficulties; thousands and ten thousands
of prayers may have ascended to God, before the full answer may be
obtained; much exercise of faith and patience may be required; but in
the end it will again be seen, that His servant, who trusts in Him, has
not been confounded.’
PRAYER AND THE GLORY OF GOD.
We have sought more than once to enforce the truth, that while we
ordinarily seek the reasons of our prayers not being heard in the thing
we ask not being according to the will of God, Scripture warns us to
find the cause in ourselves, in our not being in the right state or not
asking in the right spirit. The thing may be in full accordance with His
will, but the asking, the spirit of the supplicant, not; then we are not
heard. As the great root of all sin is self and self-seeking, so there
is nothing that even in our more spiritual desires so effectually
hinders God in answering as this: we pray for our own pleasure or glory.
Prayer to have power and prevail must ask for the glory of God; and he
can only do this as he is living for God’s glory.
In George Muller we have one of the most remarkable instances on record of
God’s Holy Spirit leading a man deliberately and systematically, at the
outset of a course of prayer, to make the glorifying of God his first
and only object. Let us ponder well what he says, and learn the lesson
God would teach us through him:—
‘I had constantly cases brought before me, which proved that one of the
especial things which the children of God needed in our day, was to have
their faith strengthened.
‘I longed, therefore, to have something to point my brethren to, as a
visible proof that our God and Father is the same faithful God as ever
He was; as willing as ever to PROVE Himself to be the LIVING GOD in our
day as formerly, to all who put their trust in Him.
‘My spirit longed to be instrumental in strengthening their faith, by
giving them not only instances from the word of God, of His willingness
and ability to help all who rely upon Him, but to show them by proofs
that He is the same in our day. I knew that the word of God ought to be
enough, and it was by grace enough for me; but still I considered I
ought to lend a helping hand to my brethren.
‘I therefore judged myself bound to be the servant of the Church of
Christ, in the particular point in which I had obtained mercy; namely,
in being able to take God at His word and rely upon it. The first object
of the work was, and is still: that God might be magnified by the fact
that the orphans under my care are provided with all they need, only by
prayer and faith, without any one being asked; thereby it may be seen
that God is FAITHFUL STILL, AND HEARS PRAYER STILL.
‘I have again these last days prayed much about the Orphan House, and have
frequently examined my heart; that if it were at all my desire to
establish it for the sake of gratifying myself, I might find it out. For
as I desire only the Lord’s glory, I shall be glad to be instructed by
the instrumentality of my brother, if the matter be not of Him.
‘When I began the Orphan work in 1835, my chief object was the glory of
God, by giving a practical demonstration as to what could be
accomplished simply through the instrumentality of prayer and faith, in
order thus to benefit the Church at large, and to lead a careless world
to see the reality of the things of God, by showing them in this work,
that the living God is still, as 4000 years ago, the living God. This my
aim has been abundantly honoured. Multitudes of sinners have been thus
converted, multitudes of the children of God in all parts of the world
have been benefited by this work, even as I had anticipated. But the
larger the work as grown, the greater has been the blessing, bestowed in
the very way in which I looked for blessing: for the attention of
hundreds of thousands has been drawn to the work; and many tens of
thousands have come to see it. All this leads me to desire further and
further to labour on in this way, in order to bring yet greater glory to
the Name of the Lord. That He may be looked at, magnified, admired,
trusted in, relied on at all times, is my aim in this service; and so
particularly in this intended enlargement. That it may be seen how much
one poor man, simply by trusting in God, can bring about by prayer; and
that thus other children of God may be led to carry on the work of God
in dependence upon Him; and that children of God may be led increasingly
to trust in Him in their individual positions and circumstances,
therefore I am led to this further enlargement.’
PRAYER AND TRUST IN GOD.
There are other points on which I would be glad to point out what is to
be found in Mr. Muller’s narrative, but one more must suffice. It is the
lesson of firm and unwavering trust in God’s promise as the secret of
persevering prayer. If once we have, in submission to the teaching of
the Spirit in the word, taken hold of God’s promise, and believed that
the Father has heard us, we must not allow ourselves by any delay or
unfavourable appearances be shaken in our faith.
‘The full answer to my daily prayers was far from being realized; yet
there was abundant encouragement granted by the Lord, to continue in
prayer. But suppose, even, that far less had come in than was received,
still, after having come to the conclusion, upon scriptural grounds,
after much prayer and self-examination, I ought to have gone on without
wavering, in the exercise of faith and patience concerning this object;
and thus all the children of God, when once satisfied that anything
which they bring before God in prayer, is according to His will, ought
to continue in believing, expecting, persevering prayer until the
blessing is granted. Thus am I myself now waiting upon God for certain
blessings, for which I have daily besought Him for ten years and six
months without one day’s intermission. Still the full answer is not yet
given concerning the conversion of certain individuals, though in the
meantime I have received many thousands of answers to prayer. I have
also prayed daily without intermission for the conversion of other
individuals about ten years, for others six or seven years, for others
from three or two years; and still the answer is not yet granted
concerning those persons, while in the meantime many thousands of my
prayers have been answered, and also souls converted, for whom I had
been praying. I lay particular stress on this for the benefit of those
who may suppose that I need only to ask of God, and receive at once; or
that I might pray concerning anything, and the answer would surely come.
One can only expect to obtain answers to prayers which are according to
the mind of God; and even then, patience and faith may be exercised for
many years, even as mine are exercised, in the matter to which I have
referred; and yet am I daily continuing in prayer, and expecting the
answer, and so surely expecting the answer, that I have often thanked
God that He will surely give it, though now for nineteen years faith and
patience have thus been exercised. Be encouraged, dear Christians, with
fresh earnestness to give yourselves to prayer, if you can only be sure
that you ask things which are for the glory of God.
‘But the most remarkable point is this, that £6, 6s. 6d. from Scotland
supplied me, as far as can be known now, with all the means necessary
for fitting up and promoting the New Orphan Houses. Six years and eight
months I have been day by day, and generally several times daily, asking
the Lord to give me the needed means for this enlargement of the Orphan
work, which, according to calculations made in the spring of 1861,
appeared to be about fifty thousand pounds: the total of this amount I
had now received. I praise and magnify the Lord for putting this
enlargement of the work into my heart, and for giving me courage and
faith for it; and above all, for sustaining my faith day by day without
wavering. When the last portion of the money was received, I was no more
assured concerning the whole, that I was at the time I had not received
one single donation towards this large sum. I was at the beginning,
after once having ascertained His mind, through most patient and
heart-searching waiting upon God, as fully assured that He would bring
it about, as if the two houses, with their hundreds of orphans occupying
them, had been already before me. I make a few remarks here for the sake
of young believers in connection with this subject: 1. Be slow to take
new steps in the Lord’s service, or in your business, or in your
families: weigh everything well; weigh all in the light of the Holy
Scriptures and in the fear of God. 2. Seek to have no will of your own,
in order to ascertain the mind of God, regarding any steps you propose
taking, so that you can honestly say you are willing to do the will of
God, if He will only please to instruct you. 3. But when you have found
out what the will of God is, seek for His help, and seek it earnestly,
perseveringly, patiently, believingly, expectantly; and you will surely
in His own time and way obtain it.
‘To suppose that we have difficulty about money only would be a mistake:
there occur hundreds of other wants and of other difficulties. It is a
rare thing that a day occurs without some difficulty or some want; but
often there are many difficulties and many wants to be met and overcome
the same day. All these are met by prayer and faith, our universal
remedy; and we have never been confounded. Patient, persevering,
believing prayer, offered up to God, in the Name of the Lord Jesus, has
always, sooner or later, brought the blessing. I do not despair, by
God’s grace, of obtaining any blessing, provided I can be sure it would
be for any real good, and for the glory of God.
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