George Müller: The Orphan Father Who Prayed for Every Meal

He started out as a thief. By sixteen, George Müller had stolen from his own father, run out on hotel bills, and landed in a German jail. By the time he died, he had cared for more than ten thousand orphans and handled over a million pounds, and he never once asked a single human being for a penny of it. Same man. One changed heart in between. Müller was born in Prussia in 1805. His father wanted him to be a clergyman because pastors earned a steady living, so young George studied for the ministry while living a double life of drinking and gambling. Then a friend took him to a small prayer meeting in a private home. He watched a man kneel down on the floor and talk to God as if God were really listening. He had never seen anything like it. He went home that night a different man. In Bristol, England, Müller opened orphan houses on Ashley Down. Thousands of children were fed, clothed, schooled, and told about Jesus. But here is the part the world could never explain. Müller made one rule. He would never ask anyone for money. No appeals. No hints. When a need came, he told God and no one else, and then he waited. The money came, sometimes the very hour it was needed. He wrote down tens of thousands of answered prayers in his own hand because he wanted a doubting world to see that God still hears. He prayed for five lost friends every single day for more than fifty years. The last of them came to Christ after Müller went to heaven. A five-minute reminder that you do not need a bigger personality or a stronger will. You need the same simple faith Müller had. Scripture echo: Jeremiah 33:3 Key figure: George Müller (1805-1898), Prussian-born evangelist and founder of the Bristol orphan houses Read or listen on the blog: https://rodneycoe.com/george-mueller-life-of-prayer/ Five minutes. Pull up a chair.

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He started out as a thief. By 16, George Mueller had stolen from his father, run out on hotel bills, and landed in a German jail. By the time he died, he had cared for more than 10,000 orphans and handled over a million pounds. He had never once asked a single human being for a penny of it. Same man, one changed heart in between. Stay with me. You're gonna want to hear the rest of the story. Welcome to Lift Up Your Day, a daily five-minute devotional, short stories with a biblical heartbeat. I'm Rodney Coe, and today the life of a man who took God at his word and proved him true. George Mueller was born in Prussia in 1805. His father wanted him to be a clergyman because pastors earned a steady living, so young George studied for the ministry while living a double life. He drank and gambled and lied his way through. He could read the Bible in the original languages and had never let it touch his heart. Then one evening a friend took him to a small prayer meeting in a private home. Mueller watched a man kneel down on the floor and talked to God as if God were really there, really listening. He had never seen anything like it. He went home that night a different man. Mueller gave his life to Christ, and before long he gave it to the poor and the fatherless. He settled in Bristol, England, and opened houses for orphans on Ashley Dam. The work grew until thousands of children were being fed, clothed, schooled, and told about Jesus. But here is the part the world could never explain. Mueller made a rule. He would never ask anyone for money. No appeals, no hints. When a name came, he told God and no one else. And then he waited. The money came, sometimes the very hour it was needed. He wrote down tens of thousands of answered prayers in his own hand because he wanted a doubting world to see that God still hears. One morning the cupboards were bare. Three hundred children sat down at long tables with plates in front of them and nothing on the plates. Mueller stood and thanked God for the food they were about to eat. Before the prayer was finished, a knock came at the door. A baker stood there with bread. He said he could not sleep in the night. Sure the children had no bread, so he had risen at two in the morning to bake. The words were barely out when a second knock came. The milkman's cart had broken down right outside the orphanage, and he wanted to give the milk away before it spoiled. There stood breakfast, bread and milk, sent by a god who had heard the need before a single person was told. It would happen like that again and again for the rest of his life. He prayed about everything. He prayed for five lost friends every single day for more than fifty years. The last of them came to Christ after Mueller went to heaven. And every morning, before he did anything else, he opened his Bible and read until his soul was happy in God. He read the Bible through about two hundred times. We look at a life like that and assume the man was made of something we are not. He was not. He was a former thief who decided to take God at his word and never stopped. You do not need a bigger personality or a stronger will. You need the same simple faith Mueller had. Mueller's whole life was an answer to that invitation. He called, God answered. Ten thousand orphans were fed on the strength of it. So whatever you're carrying tonight, tell God. Not the crowd, not your own clever plan, tell God. And then watch what he does with a person who simply believes him. And that friend is how God lives up your day.