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“Only a life of prayer meditation will render a vessel ready for the Master’s use.” – George Muller [PHOTO SOURCE: https://www.georgemuller.org/quotes/a-vessel-ready-for-the-masters-use] |
September 27, 2025 would have been Evangelist George Mueller’s 220th birthday. He was born on September 27, 1805. I admire him for being a prayer warrior and also for his care of more than 10,000 orphans. I will post a devotion of Mueller and an article from Ask Pastor John Podcast in memory of him. There will be links about him below.
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George Muller - "Never begin anything without going to God about it in prayer!" This quote emphasizes the importance of prayer and seeking divine guidance before undertaking any task or endeavor, reflecting his deep faith and reliance on God for direction and power. [PHOTO SOURCE: https://www.georgemuller.org/quotes/never-begin-anything-without-prayer] |
A Common Faith (1842) by George Mueller
I DESIRE that all the children of God, who may read these details, may thereby be led to increased and more simple confidence in God for everything which they may need under any circumstances, and that these many answers to prayer may encourage them to pray, particularly as regards the conversion of their friends and relatives, their own progress in grace and knowledge, the state of the saints whom they may know personally, the state of the Church of God at large, and the success of the preaching of the gospel. Especially I affectionately warn them against being led away by the device of Satan to think that these things are peculiar to me and cannot be enjoyed by all the children of God; for though, as has been stated before, every believer is not called upon to establish Orphan Houses, Charity Schools, etc., and trust in the Lord for means, yet all believers are called upon, in the simple confidence of faith, to cast all their burdens upon Him, to trust in Him for everything, and not only to make everything a subject of prayer, but to expect answers to their petitions that they have asked according to His will, and in the name of the Lord Jesus—Think not, dear reader, that I have the gift of faith, that is, the gift of which we read in 1 Corinthians 12:9 and that is mentioned along with “the gifts of healing,” “the working of miracles,” “prophecy”—and that on that account I am able to trust in the Lord...
From my inmost soul I do ascribe it to God alone that He has enabled me to trust in Him, and that He has not suffered my confidence in Him to fail. But I thought it needful to make these remarks, lest anyone should think that my depending upon God was a particular gift given to me, which other saints have no right to look for; or lest it should be thought that this, my depending upon Him, had only to do with the obtaining of money by prayer and faith. By the grace of God I desire that my faith in God should extend towards every thing: the smallest of my own temporal and spiritual concerns, and the smallest of the temporal and spiritual concerns of my family, towards the saints among whom I labor, the Church at large, everything that has to do with the temporal and spiritual prosperity of the Scriptural Knowledge Institution, etc. Dear reader, do not think that I have attained in faith (and how much less in other respects!) to that degree to which I might and ought to attain.
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Painting of George Muller with orphans [PHOTO SOURCE: https://crownoflifepress.com/2022/06/22/1805-1898-george-muller-i-have-lacked-nothing/] https://lutherandcalvinbrigade914.blogspot.com/2025/09/george-muellers-220th-birthday.html |
Lastly, let not Satan deceive you in making you think that you could not have the same faith, but that it is only for persons who are situated as I am. When I lose such a thing as a key, I ask the Lord to direct me to it, and I look for an answer to my prayer; when a person with whom I have made an appointment does not come at the fixed time, and I begin to be inconvenienced by it, I ask the Lord to be pleased to hasten him to me, and I look for an answer. When I do not understand a passage of the Word of God, I lift up my heart to the Lord, that He would be pleased, by His Holy Spirit, to instruct me, and I expect to be taught, though I do not fix the time when, and the manner how, it should be. When I am going to minister in the Word, I seek help from the Lord, and while I, in the consciousness of natural inability as well as utter unworthiness, begin this His service, I am not cast down, but of good cheer, because I look for His assistance and believe that He, for His dear Son’s sake, will help me. Oh! I beseech you, do not think me an extraordinary believer, having privileges above other of God’s dear children that they cannot have; nor look on my way of acting as something that would not do for other believers. Make but trial! Do but stand still in the hour of trial and you will see the help of God, if you trust in Him. But there is so often a forsaking the ways of the Lord in the hour of trial, and thus the food of faith, the means whereby our faith may be increased, is lost.
https://www.georgemuller.org/devotional/a-common-faith
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"The Christian should never worry about tomorrow or give sparingly because of a possible future need. Only the present moment is ours to serve the Lord, and tomorrow may never come...Life is worth as much as it is spent for the Lord's service." – George Muller [PHOTO SOURCE: https://www.georgemuller.org/quotes/never-worry-about-tomorrow7107008] |
A Life of Prayer
Müller prayed about everything and expected each prayer to be answered. One example was when one of the orphan house's boiler stopped working; Müller needed to have it fixed. This was a problem because the boiler was bricked up and the weather was worsening with each day. So he prayed for two things; firstly that the workers he had hired would have a mind to work throughout the night, and secondly that the weather would let up. On the Tuesday before the work was due to commence, a bitter north wind still blew but in the morning, before the workmen arrived, a southerly wind began to blow and it was so mild that no fires were needed to heat the buildings. That evening, the foreman of the contracted company attended the site to see how he might speed things along and instructed the men to report back first thing in the morning to make an early resumption of work. The team leader stated that they would prefer to work through the night. The job was done in thirty hours.
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"Never since the Orphan work has been in existence have I asked one single human being for any help for this work; and yet, unasked for, simply in answer to prayer, from so many parts of the world, as has been stated, the donations have come in, and that very frequently at a time of the greatest need." – George Muller George Muller prayed and trusted God [PHOTO SOURCE: https://www.instagram.com/p/DNafAnsCCmK/?img_index=4] ARTICLE: https://www.georgemuller.org/devotional/five-conditions-of-prevailing-prayer7854890] BLOG: https://lutherandcalvinbrigade914.blogspot.com/2025/09/george-muellers-220th-birthday.html |
In 1862, it was discovered that one of the drains was blocked. Being some 11 feet underground, workmen were unable to find the blockage despite several attempts. Müller prayed about the situation and the workmen at once found the site of the problem.
Strong gales in Bristol on Saturday 14 January 1865 caused considerable damage in the area and over twenty holes were opened in the roofs. About twenty windows were also broken and two frames damaged by falling slates. The glazier and slater normally employed had already committed their staff to other work so nothing could be done until the Monday. Had the winds continued, with heavy rain, the damage to the orphanage would have been much greater. After much prayer, the wind stopped in the afternoon and no rain fell until Wednesday, by which time most of the damage had been repaired.
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“I’ll keep working as long as God gives me the strength to go on.” - George Muller [PHOTO SOURCE: https://familystyleschooling.com/2017/01/18/george-muller/] |
Once, while crossing the Atlantic on the SS Sardinian in August 1877, his ship ran into thick fog. He explained to the captain that he needed to be in Quebec by the following afternoon, but Captain Joseph E. Dutton said that he was slowing the ship down for safety and Müller's appointment would have to be missed. Müller asked to use the chart-room to pray for the lifting of the fog. The captain followed him down, claiming it would be a waste of time. After Müller prayed a very simple prayer, the captain started to pray, but Müller stopped him; partly because of the captain's unbelief, but mainly because he believed the prayer had already been answered. Müller said, "Captain, I have known my Lord for more than fifty years and there is not one instance that I have failed to have an audience with the King. Get up, Captain, for you will find that the fog has gone." When the two men went back to the bridge, they found the fog had indeed lifted, and Müller was able to keep his appointment. The captain became a Christian shortly afterwards and was later known as "Holy Joe."
Müller's faith in God strengthened day by day and he spent hours in daily prayer and Bible reading. Indeed, it was his practice, in later years, to read through the entire Bible four times a year.
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The power for good or evil that resides in a little child is great beyond all human calculation. A child rightly trained may be a world-wide blessing, with an influence reaching onward to eternal years. But a neglected or misdirected child may live to blight and blast mankind, and leave influences of evil which shall roll on in increasing volume till they plunge into the gulf of eternal perdition. – George Muller [PHOTO SOURCE: https://www.georgemuller.org/quotes/train-a-child-in-the-way-he-should-go] https://www.georgemuller.org/devotional/the-wise-sayings-of-george-muller |
What Is the Place of Faith in My Unanswered Prayers?
00:00
Episode 1249
September 12, 2018
Interview with
John Piper
Founder & Teacher, Desiring God
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Audio Transcript
What role does our faith play when we are praying for the faith of others? It’s an important question related to our prayer lives, and the question comes to us from a listener named Richard.
“Hello, Pastor John. Thank you for this podcast. I write because I have become discouraged in my prayer life. None of my requests ever get answered. I have been praying for family members to be reconciled, friends to come to faith, Christ’s glory to be made evident to me, and other requests. I faithfully read Scripture and cannot think of any unrepentant sin in my life that would hinder my prayers. It just seems my answers are always ‘no,’ and I have become discouraged because of it. Do you have any sustaining counsel for a weak brother who is enduring the silence of God?”
Müller’s Prayers
Richard, I will try to give you some sustaining counsel. Although I do share some of your deep disappointments, and I am fighting the same fight you are fighting in regard to extended years of unanswered prayer, especially as it regards salvation of people we care about.
“Don’t grow weary in praying for your lost friends and family.”
I don’t know if what I say will be what you need, but it is what I have to give. It is how I press on. Outside the Bible, no one has taught me more about prayer than George Müller.
Perhaps you know that he was famous in the nineteenth century for founding and running orphanages in Britain. He did so by asking God for every need. He asked God to meet the needs of these children, and he saw amazing answers to his prayers.
But listen to him in 1864. He was 59 years old when he wrote this:
I am now, in 1864, waiting upon God for certain blessings, for which I have daily besought Him for 19 years and 6 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 four, three and two years, for others about eighteen months; and still the answer is not yet granted. (Autobiography, 296)
Müller had an explanation for why some prayers like this were not answered for twenty years, while thousands were answered. His explanation was that his prayers for the salvation of particular people to be saved did not have explicit biblical promises to rest on. There was no promise that those very individuals would be saved.
And the promise that whatever we ask would be given is always qualified, he would argue, by praying according to God’s sovereign will. Read 1 John 5:14–15, and read it carefully because in one half of the verse it sounds totally sweeping — “whatever you ask” — and the other half of the verse sounds very qualified — “according to God’s sovereign will.”
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"Never since the Orphan work has been in existence have I asked one single human being for any help for this work; and yet, unasked for, simply in answer to prayer, from so many parts of the world, as has been stated, the donations have come in, and that very frequently at a time of the greatest need." – George Muller [PHOTO SOURCE: https://www.georgemuller.org/quotes/george-muller-quotes-collection-35] ARTICLE: https://snickerdoodlesmusings.blogspot.com/2017/03/answers-to-prayer-george-muller.html |
But Müller said that when he prayed for the needs of the orphans to be met, the prayer was based on an explicit biblical promise in Matthew 6:33: “Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”
He cited that specifically. He did not decide ahead of time what the all things had to include. Be careful — don’t over expect with specificity when the Bible hasn’t been specific. But he did believe God had promised to provide what was needed for the doing of God’s will and the glorifying of God’s name, which is what we’re commanded to do.
The Grace of Faith
We could go to many other passages of Scripture to see this same explicit promise.
· Philippians 4:19: “My God will supply all your needs.”
· Romans 8:32: “He will give us all things with him.”
· Psalm 34:10: “Those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.”
And on and on we could go. Müller believed that it was a sin not to believe that God would give us what these passages promise.
“Müller believed that it was a sin not to believe that God would give us what these passages promise.”
People thought he had the gift of faith that was in a class by itself, and other Christians didn’t have this. Müller emphatically denied this. He insisted that he simply had the grace of faith, not the spiritual gift of faith from 1 Corinthians 12 (like the gift of prophecy or the gift of wisdom).
Here is one of the most illuminating passages from Müller that has been helpful for me:
The difference between the gift and the grace of faith seems to me this. According to the gift of faith, I am able to do a thing, or believe that a thing will come to pass, the not doing of which, or the not believing of which would not be sin; according to the grace of faith, I am able to do a thing, or believe that a thing will come to pass, respecting which I have the word of God as the ground to rest upon, and, therefore, the not doing it, or the not believing it would be sin. For instance, the gift of faith would be needed to believe that a sick person should be restored again though there is no human probability, for there is no promise to that effect; the grace of faith is needed to believe that the Lord will give me the necessaries of life, if I seek the kingdom of God and his righteousness, for there is a promise to that effect. (Narrative, 1:65)
So here’s the implication. His wife, Mary, was dying. He’s about 60 years old. He prayed that she would be healed. She was not healed, and here’s what he wrote:
The last portion of Scripture which I read to my precious wife was this: “The Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord will give grace and glory. No good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly” [Psalm 84:11]. . . . I said to myself, with regard to the latter part, “no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly” — I am in myself a poor, worthless sinner, but I have been saved by the blood of Christ. And I do not live in sin; I walk uprightly before God. Therefore, if it is really good for me, my darling wife will be raised up again, sick as she is. God will restore her again. But if she is not restored again, then it would not be a good thing for me. And so my heart was at rest. I was satisfied with God. (Narrative, 2:745)
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“For the first four years after my conversion I made no progress, because I neglected the Bible. But when I regularly read on through the whole with reference to my own heart and soul, I directly made progress. Then my peace and joy continued more and more. Now I have been doing this for 47 years. I have read through the whole Bible about 100 times and I always find it fresh when I begin again. Thus my peace and joy have increased more and more.” – George Muller Article: https://rootedthinking.com/2018/10/02/george-muller-on-the-christian-life/ [PHOTO SOURCE: https://www.georgemuller.org/quotes/reading-the-bible-consistently] |
Don’t Lose Heart
Richard, perhaps the encouragement for you and me is, first, don’t grow weary in praying for your lost friends and family since it may be that the very perseverance is a sign that the faith you are exercising in the perseverance is itself a gift. That’s what Müller believed. He did see some saved after fifty years of prayer.
“Don’t miss or minimize the answers you are receiving. You say there are none; I doubt that.”
Second, don’t miss or minimize the answers you are receiving. You say there are none; I doubt that. Are you still a Christian? God is hearing your prayer for keeping you. Are you in any measure of health? God is sustaining. Are you in any way at all influential in pointing others to Christ? God is working. Are you inclined to God’s word? That’s an answer to prayer.
Are you able to see any beautiful, spiritual things in God’s word? God is answering. Is Christ precious to you? That’s a miraculous answer. Do you have any measure of satisfaction in him? He’s acting. Do you hallow his name? Seek his kingdom? Do his will? Eat daily bread? Escape from temptation? Defeat the devil’s lies?
Oh my, God is answering. Let us not make too little of these glorious acts of God.
John Piper (@JohnPiper) is founder and teacher of Desiring God and chancellor of Bethlehem College and Seminary. For 33 years, he served as pastor of Bethlehem Baptist Church, Minneapolis, Minnesota. He is author of more than 50 books, including Desiring God: Meditations of a Christian Hedonist and most recently Foundations for Lifelong Learning: Education in Serious Joy. Read more about John.
https://www.desiringgod.org/interviews/what-is-the-place-of-faith-in-my-unanswered-prayers
Paul Washer on George Muller:
Paul Washer - The Influence of George Müller
VIDEO SOURCE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jWAG2ZJJUhY
Paul Washer Testifies to How God Always Provides
Jan 20, 2011
Download MP3/Listen: https://illbehonest.com/God-Always-Provides-Paul-Washer
Matthew 6:33 - But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
Paul Washer reads from a journal of how God provided every need HeartCry had. God is so good indeed.
VIDEO SOURCE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r8OR61p-gbU
George Müller: He built orphanages and housed over 10,000 children.
Jun 13, 2025
Discover the incredible life of George Müller, a man who defied expectations and built a legacy that continues to inspire millions. He cared for over 10,000 orphans throughout his lifetime, establishing multiple orphanages where children received quality education, food, and care.
But here's the astonishing part: Müller achieved all of this without ever soliciting a single donation, running campaigns, or asking anyone for money. His unwavering belief in God's provision led him to rely solely on prayer. Time and again, faced with impossible needs for food, clothing, and funds, he would kneel in prayer, and miraculous provisions would arrive, often at the very last moment.
His life is a powerful testament to faith in action, demonstrating how one man's absolute trust in divine providence transformed the lives of thousands of vulnerable children. He not only provided for their physical needs but also ensured they received a Christian education, shaping their futures.
VIDEO SOURCE: https://youtu.be/OWq_Cpb8ws0?si=PpP8T2s88eKpwfWY
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"In order to enjoy the Word, we ought to continue to read it, and the way to obtain a spirit of prayer, is, to continue praying; for the less we read the Word of God, the less we desire to read it, and the less we pray, the less we desire to pray." – George Muller ARTICLE: https://www.georgemuller.org/quotable-quotes.html [PHOTO SOURCE: https://www.georgemuller.org/quotes/continue-reading-and-praying5950703] |
GEORGE MULLER LINKS:
https://www.georgemuller.org/devotional/legacy-of-faithfulness-george-muller
https://www.orphanagesforafrica.org/usa/george-muller.html
https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/he-fed-ten-thousand-orphans-with-prayer
GEORGE MULLER ON DOCTRINES OF GRACE LINKS:
https://www.georgemuller.org/quotes/apprehension-of-truth-the-doctrine-of-election
https://www.desiringgod.org/messages/george-muellers-strategy-for-showing-god
https://www.crossway.org/articles/gods-calling-for-george-mueller/
https://michaeljeshurun.wordpress.com/2020/01/30/george-mueller-the-calvinist/
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The gospel of submission, commitment, decision, and victorious living is not good news about what God has achieved but a demand to save ourselves with God’s help. Besides the fact that Scripture never refers to the gospel as having a personal relationship with Jesus nor defines faith as a decision to ask Jesus to come into our heart, this concept of salvation fails to realize that everyone has a personal relationship with God already: either as a condemned criminal standing before a righteous judge or as a justified coheir with Christ and adopted child of the Father. – Michael Horton [PHOTO SOURCE: https://www.azquotes.com/quote/1312636] https://lutherandcalvinbrigade914.blogspot.com/2018/10/prayer-word-takes-on-life.html |
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But the heart of Christianity is Good News. It comes not as a task for us to fulfill, a mission for us to accomplish, a game plan for us to follow with the help of life coaches, but as a report that someone else has already fulfilled, accomplished, followed, and achieved everything for us. – Michael Horton [PHOTO SOURCE: https://www.azquotes.com/quote/1318750] https://www.monergism.com/thethreshold/articles/bio/michaelhorton.html https://lutherandcalvinbrigade914.blogspot.com/2018/10/prayer-word-takes-on-life.html |
DOCTRINES OF GRACE LINKS:
https://findlivinghope.com/2025/03/why-i-love-the-doctrines-of-grace/
https://churcheswithoutchests.net/2025/08/21/the-doctrines-of-grace-found-me/
https://www.walkingthroughthegospel.com/2023/09/10-reasons-to-believe-doctrines-of-grace.html
https://www.oakhillspca.com/blog/post/why-i-love-the-doctrine-of-irresistible-grace
https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/devastated-and-delighted
https://lutherandcalvinbrigade914.blogspot.com/2021/05/john-calvin-on-isaiah-41-verse-10-and-13.html
https://lutherandcalvinbrigade914.blogspot.com/2024/01/540th-birthday-for-zwingli-swiss.html
https://www.apuritansmind.com/tulip/
https://www.apuritansmind.com/tulip/why-i-am-a-calvinist-by-dr-c-matthew-mcmahon/
Michael Jeshurun:
https://michaeljeshurun.wordpress.com/2023/04/15/biblical-election-a-truth-to-be-preached-2/
https://michaeljeshurun.wordpress.com/2023/05/26/rejoicing-in-the-truth-of-sovereign-election/
https://michaeljeshurun.wordpress.com/tag/calvinism-not-from-calvin/
Frontline Fellowship:
https://www.frontlinemissionsa.org/answers-to-critical-questions
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Jesus said that HE LOSES NONE that the Father gives to Him!!!! [PHOTO SOURCE: https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=3694855480648456&set=a.112059135594793] |
Christus Victor Links:
"The work of Christ is first and foremost a victory over the powers which hold mankind in bondage: sin, death, and the devil.” - Aulén, Gustaf (1969) [1931], 'Christus Victor: An Historical Study of the Three Main Types of the Idea of Atonement, translated by Hebert, A. G., Macmillan
BIG NEWS for EVERY Christian | John MacArthur
Sep 12, 2025 #christian #reaction #god
Worried about Your Salvation, or afraid of LOSING IT.....Then this video is a MUST WATCH. One of the most powerful sermons by Pastor John MacArthur on the subject you will ever hear.
VIDEO SOURCE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ANYDh19nFPg
https://dailyencouragement.wordpress.com/2025/03/17/christus-victor-amen/
https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/essay/christus-victor/
https://www.1517.org/articles/christus-victor-saved-my-life
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The White Horse Tavern or White Horse Inn was allegedly the meeting place in Cambridge for English Protestant reformers to discuss Lutheran ideas, from 1521 onwards. According to the historian Geoffrey Elton the group of university dons who met there were nicknamed "Little Germany" in reference to their discussions of Luther. Whilst the pub undoubtedly existed, several scholars have questioned the existence of the White Horse meetings – they are described by John Foxe in his Book of Martyrs, but no other evidence for them exists. Gergely M Juhász writes that "Foxe’s romantic image of these students and scholars convening secretly on a regular basis in the White Horse Inn… is unsubstantiated", and Alec Ryrie refers to it as "the stubborn legend of the White Horse Inn". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_Horse_Tavern,_Cambridge [PHOTO SOURCE: https://whitehorseiow.co.uk/] Applying the riches of the Reformation to the modern church, White Horse Inn is a weekly roundtable discussion about theology and culture. Launched in 1990, White Horse Inn is a listener-supported radio show and podcast named after the pub in Cambridge, England, where the Reformation came to the English-speaking world. Our hosts model conversational theology, representing the Baptist, Reformed, Lutheran, and Anglican traditions. Each week, they tackle tough topics that matter to Christians living in a pluralistic world. Part theology, part apologetics, part cultural analysis, White Horse Inn calls the church back to the first principles of the Reformation, believing that a rediscovery of those riches could spark a modern reformation in our churches and family rooms. |
GIVE ME JESUS
Lord, you have given me a portion in the world. You have given me credit and a reputation among others.
But what is all this to me, if I am without Christ? If I do not have the one who gives grace to my soul, the one who is my all in all?
Lord, you have taught me this day that the distance between you and me is so great that without a mediator, I perish forever.
So whatever else you deny me, give me Jesus. Amen.
—Jeremiah Burroughs
