| George Mueller: Prayer Warrior continued...
Chapter VI
TRUSTING GOD FOR DAILY SUPPLIES
During the next seven years Mr. Muller's
problem was one of trusting for daily supplies. There
were three houses to be maintained, and about a hundred
orphans to be clothed and fed. The daily expenditure
was heavy, the rent considerable, and the personal needs
of his helpers were great. In addition to this, the
work of the Institution, assisting schools, paying teachers,
running Sunday schools and helping missionaries demanded
a constant stream of money flowing in.
Early in 1838 sickness fell heavily upon the leader,
and as his custom he went to his knees in the midst
of his affliction. While reading the Bible his eyes
fell upon the 68th Psalm and in the course
of his meditation, the words "A father of the fatherless"
stood out in mighty letters as a divine promise in this
stressful hour.
"This word, 'A father of the fatherless'" he affirms,
"contains enough encouragement to cast thousands of
orphans, with all their needs, upon the loving heart
of God."
From then on the burdens were not his but the Lord's.
He cast them from his shoulders through loving trust
upon the broad arms of the Master. During June God tested
his faith by suddenly shutting off the gifts which had
so abundantly flowed in. Muller took the matter to the
Lord.
He enters in his Journal under the date of July 22 (1838),
"This evening I was walking in our little garden...meditating
on Hebrews 13:8, 'Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and
today, and forever.'...All at once the present need
of the Orphan-House was brought to my mind. Immediately
I was led to say to myself, Jesus in His love and power
has hitherto supplied me with what I have needed for
the Orphans, and in the same unchangeable love and power
He will provide with what I may need for the future.
A flow of joy came into my soul..."
This soul joy was the fore announcer of a coming blessing.
"About one minute later a letter was brought to me,
enclosing a bill for twenty pounds," he writes.
In this case God's timing was perfect, for when the
need existed, and Muller had prayed, the next moment
the supply was forthcoming.
Throughout that turbulent year Mr. Muller's faith was
sorely tried, for often there was not a single penny
in the houses; but God was leading him forth, proving
and testing him in the smaller things, so that later
he might be able to feed as many as two thousand children
daily through the instrument of prayer.
On September 18 the funds were exhausted, and Mr. Muller
thought of selling the things that could be done without
in the homes. "This morning," he writes, "I had asked
the Lord, if it might be, to prevent the necessity of
our doing so."
That afternoon a lady from London, who had been staying
at Bristol, brought a package with money in it from
her daughter who had sent it several days before.
"That the money had been so near," declares Mr. Muller,
"for several days without being given, is a plain proof
that it was in the heart of God to help us; but because
He delights in the prayers of His children, He had allowed
us to pray so long...to try our faith and to make the
answer so much the sweeter." [Delays often make the
answer sweeter and more appreciated, if you're waiting
in genuine trust and faith.]
During this time Mr. Muller's health was not good and
his friends asked him to go away for a rest, but he
refused, saying, "I must remain to pass with my dear
Orphans through the trial, though these dear ones know
nothing about it, because their tables are as well supplied
as when there was eight hundred pounds in the bank;
and they have lack of nothing."
Many times he was forced to say, "The funds are exhausted."
But not once did these words hold true over night. Funds
might have been depleted during the day, at times all
day, again for hours, but when nightfall came there
was something on hand for the next day. With this faith
apostle, this meant daily trusting for today's needs...
Sometimes in plenty, but oftener in poverty, his faith
carried the orphanages on. Many times in dire straits
the money would arrive at the very moment of prayer,
or as he was reading the list of needs for the day.
His trust in "the father of the fatherless" was so confident
that not once did he turn a child away...
Often gifts came in at the very instant of prayer.
On March 5, 1839, he writes, "Whilst I was in prayer,
Q.Q. sent a check for seven pounds..."
Closing the report for the year 1839, he sums up the
bounteous blessing of God, saying, "For the Orphan Houses,
without any one having been asked by us, the
sum of L3,067 8s. 9 1/4d. has been given entirely
as a result of prayer to God, from the commencement
of the work to December 9, 1839."
The following year was started without enough money
to carry through the first day. A peculiar incident
occurred that day which showed Mr. Muller's character.
After the usual Watch night service, about an hour past
midnight, a friend, whom Mr. Muller knew to be in debt,
handed him a sealed envelope with money in it. "I resolved,
therefore, without opening the paper to return it....This
was done when I knew there was not enough in hand
to meet the expenses of the day."
Seven hours later, "about eight this morning," a brother
brought five pounds for the orphans. "Observe, the brother
is led to bring it at once." God honored Mr.
Muller's faith in giving back the money he knew the
lady needed to pay her debts more than the orphans needed
it.
On January 12, 1841, after he had been forced to delay
printing his yearly report because of a lack of funds,
he notes that the Lord supplies this need and in addition
$5,000 was received for missionary work in the East
Indies. Here is his prayer testimony concerning this
the largest gift he had thus far received. "In all
my experience I have found...that if I could only settle
a certain thing to be done was according to the will
of God, that means were soon obtained to carry it into
effect.
God never failed His servant. Often he was led through
the valley of great want, but always to the shining
peak of supply...
But Mr. Muller's faith was so dominant that however
much the need, he rested calmly in the divine assurance
that God's hand would contain a bounteous supply when
the moment arrived. He and worry parted forever. Though
he was deeply concerned, he never fretted at delay in
receiving answers to his requests.
On February 15, 1842, his attitude is typical. "I sat
peacefully down to give myself to meditation over the
Word, considering that was now my service, though I
knew not whether there was a morsel of bread for tea
in any one of the houses, but being assured that
the Lord would provide. For through grace my mind
is so fully assured of the faithfulness of the Lord,
that in the midst of the greatest need, I am enabled
in peace to go about my other work. Indeed, did not
the Lord give me this, which is the result of trusting
in Him, I should be scarcely able to work at all."
His mind was fixed in God and would not be moved, for
he knew at the proper time the money or the food would
arrive...
During these testing days Mr. Muller was often asked
how he managed to build such a strong faith in God.
He replied that he endeavored to keep his faith in God
strong not only for daily supplies of food for the orphans
and money for the missionary work but also for the spiritual
concern of the world.
"Let not Satan deceive you," writes Mr. Muller during
those faith-wrenching days, "in making you think you
could not have the same faith, but that it is only for
persons 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 an appointment does not come...I ask the Lord
to be pleased to hasten him to me, and I look for an
answer....Thus in all my temporal and spiritual concerns
I pray to the Lord and expect an answer to my requests;
and may not you do the same, dear believing reader?"
In giving advice gained through daily trials of his
faith, this father of the orphans laid down rules for
Christians to follow by which they might also strengthen
their faith. These rules are:
- Read the Bible and meditate upon it. God has become
known to us through prayer and meditation upon His
own Word.
- Seek to maintain an upright heart and a good conscience.
- If we desire our faith to be strengthened, we should
not shrink from opportunities where our faith may
be tried, and therefore, through trial, be strengthened.
- The last important point for the strengthening of
our faith is that we let God work for us, when the
hour of trial of our faith comes, and do not work
a deliverance of our own.
"Would the believer therefore have his faith
strengthened, he must give God time to work,"
he declares...
He exercised faith and proclaimed that the work undertaken
was not particularly to feed the orphans, as great as
this was, nor for their spiritual welfare as glorious
and blessed as this is.
"The primary object of the work is," he observed, "to
show before the whole world...that even in these evil
days the living God is ready to prove Himself as the
living God, by being ever willing to help...and answer
the prayers of those who trust in Him."...
"I had a secret satisfaction," he writes, "in the greatness
of the difficulties....So far from being cast down on
account of them, they delighted my soul....I did nothing
but pray. Prayer and faith...helped me over the difficulties."
From the human standpoint there was little prospect
of receiving the necessary funds, but leaving the matter
to the Lord, he was overwhelmed with a peaceful calm.
"...my soul is at peace. The Lord's time is not yet
come; but when it is come He will blow away all these
obstacles."
Less than fifteen minutes after he had prayed on July
12, God sent in seven hundred and two pounds, three
shillings and seven pence. Early in August, after fifty
days of waiting on the Lord, he and his wife were on
their way to Germany.
But God's time was about to arrive and Mr. Muller had
learned to step when God's hour struck, however massive
the problem or vexing the difficulty...
This was the day that God gave him the text, "Let patience
have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire,
wanting nothing."...
After the land was bought [for yet another orphan house],
he continued his daily season of intercourse with God
for funds. Step by step he waited upon the Lord to supply
all that was needed in the construction of so large
a building.
Gifts varying in size from a farthing to five and six
hundred pounds made Mr. Muller's heart glad. On January
25, 1847, he entered in his diary, "Therefore with increased
earnestness I have given myself unto prayer, importuning
the Lord that He would...speedily send the remainder
of the amount...and I have increasingly of late felt
that the time is drawing near." This was fourteen months
three weeks after he first began asking God for a new
building, and it was to be a grand day in the work of
God. [A perfect example of "Ask, keep on asking, Seek,
keep on seeking, Knock, keep on knocking" talked of
by Jesus in Matthew 7.] Let his words tell the story.
"I arose from my knees this morning full of confidence....About
an hour, after I had prayed thus, there was given me
the sum of two thousand pounds [2,000 x 5 = $5,000]
for the Building Fund. Thus I have received altogether
L9,285 3s. 9 1/2d. Four hundred and forty-seven days
I have had day by day to wait upon God before the sum
reached the above amount."
When this princely gift came he was neither excited
nor surprised, he "could only sit before God, and admire
Him, like David in II Samuel, chapter 7." Finally he
threw himself flat on his face and burst forth in thanksgivings
to God and "in surrendering my heart afresh to Him for
His blessed service."
Then came other gifts, among them two thousand pounds,
followed by another of one thousand, and on July 5,
1847, when eleven thousand and sixty-two pounds had
been donated, the building was finally begun.
This was after the help of the Lord had been daily sought
for six hundred and seven days. As the building progressed
funds increased until fifteen thousand, seven hundred
and eighty-four pounds were received. The last donation
was for two thousand pounds from a man who brought the
money in notes so that his bankers might not know of
his liberality. [Amazing that some may find they have
to be careful not to let the world see them giving too
much, but it didn't stop this man from giving, nonetheless.]
After the building was finished, all expenses met, trustees
organized, there was a balance of L776, which afforded
"a manifest proof that the Lord can not only supply
us with all we need in His service simply in answer
to prayer, but that He can also give us even more than
we need."
All of these gifts, it must be remembered, were wrestled
from the hand of God through Mr. Muller's prayers. He
prayed definitely and diligently. God answered just
as specifically. In addition to praying in the building
funds, Mr. Muller also bore the burden of caring for
the houses on Wilson Street and their one hundred and
thirty children. Never once did he despair of the Lord's
willingness and ability to give. He knew he was centered
in God's will, and asking and receiving were natural
complements.
On July 21 he records asking God for four specific things:
his own personal needs, for the building fund, for the
orphanage on Wilson Street and for the Institution.
A gentleman from Devonshire called upon him and made
a donation of twenty pounds, specifying that it was
for the four identical things which he had been talking
to God. "Thus I received, at the very moment that
I had been asking God, four answers to my prayers."
On June 18, 1849, more than twelve years after beginning
the work, the orphans were transferred from the rented
houses on Wilson Street to the new house on Ashley Down.
Throughout the year there were 275 children in the house,
the whole number of those connected with the institution
being 308, who daily depended upon the prayers of Mr.
Muller for their sustenance.
On Saturday, June 23, after moving to Ashley Down, God
marvelously began supplying the needs. A man while walking
through the home with Mr. Muller exclaimed, "These children
must consume a great deal of provisions," and while
speaking drew from his pocket-book notes to the amount
of a hundred. On the same day came six casks of treacle
and six loaves of sugar. Information arrived that a
friend has just then purchased a thousand pounds of
rice for the children.
"So bountifully has the Lord been pleased to help of
late, that I have not only been able to meet all the
extraordinary heavy expenses connected with moving...filling
the stores...but I have more than five hundred pounds
in hand to begin house-keeping in the new Orphan House....After
all the many and long-continued seasons of great trial
of faith for thirteen years and two months, during which
the orphans were in Wilson Street, the Lord dismisses
us from thence in comparative abundance. His name be
praised."
So gracious had the Lord dealt with Mr. Muller that
no sooner had he housed his children in their new home
and filled it to capacity than his faith began reaching
forth for larger quarters, so that he might care for
a thousand children. This was in spite of the fact that
each day had to be supplied through constant and long
seasons of prayers. No great abundance of money was
coming to meet these daily needs.
On December 5, 1850, he wrote, "It is now sixteen years
and nine months this evening since I began the Scriptural
Knowledge Institution for Home and Abroad...It is so
large that I have not only disbursed since its commencement
about fifty thousand pounds sterling, but that also
the current expenses...amount to above six thousand
pounds a year. [$30,000 a year in 1850's dollars.] I
did 'open my mouth wide' this evening fifteen years
ago, and the Lord has filled it..."
On January 14, 1851, he went over the old grounds once
again for and against a new house to care for seven
hundred more children, and as previously, faith prevailed,
and he declared that God would enable him to carry it
through.
A couple weeks later he affirmed that he did not doubt
that God would be honored by his asking largely for
this purpose; since it was his duty to enlarge his quarters.
Accordingly he set the sum of L35,000 as the goal to
be sought before beginning the work. In May of that
year he let his intentions be known. Realizing that
the amount was large, his heart leaped with secret joy,
"for the greater the difficulty to be overcome, the
more it would be seen to the glory of God how much can
be done by prayer and faith."
[Even George Muller could get discouraged. How did he
handle that?] He had become somewhat discouraged with
the slowness and the smallness of the gifts as they
arrived.
The year 1851 was a test of his faith, but the following
came as a triumph of his trust. In March of that year
he was encouraged by a gift of L999, and when the accounts
for the twelve months were closed the fund stood at
L3,530, which included the seven hundred and seventy-six
pounds left from the first building fund.
At this time 360 orphans were awaiting admission, and
as applicants arrived Mr. Muller's faith increased.
For where there was a need he felt God would surely
supply. At the beginning of 1853 several Christians
together promised approximately $40,500 to be distributed
among the various funds, $30,000 of which was to go
into the Building Fund.
Mr. Muller thus realized that there was no limit upon
God's willingness and ability to provide large donations.
As the money increased, Mr. Muller began looking for
a suitable building site, but when none was found close
by the first house, he decided to construct two buildings
instead of one. The first was to house 400 girls, and
the other 300 boys. He had sufficient funds at hand
to construct the first building, so he decided to proceed
with the first house. There were at this time 715 orphans
seeking admission to the home.
In spite of the large gifts that continued to flow in,
he was a faithful servant in the smaller things. On
October 12, 1852, he made this Journal entry: "By sale
of rags and bones twelve shillings sixpence. I copy
literally from the receipt book. We seek to make the
best of everything. As a steward of public money, I
feel it right that even these articles should be turned
into money; nor could we expect answers to our prayers
if knowingly there were any waste allowed in connection
with the work."
In those times of larger vision and work, God led him
day by day to trust for supplies. Speaking of two weeks
during the Christmas holidays of 1852-53, he said, "We
had nothing in advance of our wants. Means came in only
as they were required for pressing needs. We ask no
human being for help...We depend alone upon God." [Man,
I hate it when I see so-called ministries with their
hand out for money! They could take a lesson from George
Muller, who knew God wasn't broke and could supply their
needs. But it takes prevailing prayer and faith. Maybe
those asking for money have neither of those items in
their lives or ministries.]...
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