I have read many biographies and missionary stories to my children since we started homeschooling seven years ago, but no other captured my heart more than George Müller: The Guardian of Bristol’s Orphans.

The whole Christian Heroes Then & Now series, written by Janet and Geoff Benge and published by YWAM Publishings have been shaping our family’s faith and love for missions. But, George Müller’s biography, in particular, has revived my faith in believing for miraculous provision like no other.

This post is the first of a series called Heroes Then & Now put together by several homeschool bloggers whose families have been greatly impacted by Janet & Geoff Benge’s books.

Today I’m sharing the great faith lessons George Muller has taught me.

We have been huge fans of Christian Heroes Then & Now, the series which this book belongs too, thanks to our Sonlight Curriculum for 1st grade. Our children’s faith foundation and love for missions have always been our first priority as Christian parents.

Although I had this book for a few years in my bookshelf and have often looked at its cover puzzled with curiosity, it was only this summer that I decided to open it and read it with my children. Oh, and how I wish I had done it soon!

We couldn’t put this book down and we even had the audiobook version playing in our car everywhere we went. Many times, we sat in our minivan just to wait for the chapter to finish before we entered a store or getting back into our house.

George’s great life transformation, followed by his unattachment to material things, unwavering trust in the Lord, His great faith and radical prayer life are moving and inspiring!

George Müller’s Life Transformed

If God can change George Müller, He can change anyone.

In the first two chapters of the book, we get to know George before his encounter with the love of God. He was a thief who stole even from his own father. He was a liar, a gambler, and a drinker from an early age.

George only thought about himself and how to take advantage of others, always stealing, always cheating… But God was about to change his life and the life of thousands, if not millions, who would cross his path or like me, one day would read his story.

After studying theology and continuing in his crooked ways, George was confronted with and convicted by the love of God through reading John 3:16 while attending a Bible study.

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

– John 3:16

The Word of God and the sincere faith of those attending the Bible study had a profound impact on George that night and he couldn’t help but kneeling in his room later that night and give his life to Christ.

George’s change of heart was immediate and he soon was convicted to become a missionary and share the Gospel with as many as he could. God had a great plan for George’s life and this book was about to impact my life in a way I never expected.

 George Muller: The Guardian of Bristol’s Orphans (Christian Heroes: Then & Now) George Muller Audiobook: The Guardian of Bristol’s Orphans (Christian Heroes: Then & Now) Audio CD – Audiobook, CD (Christian Heroes Then and Now)

George Müller Was No Ordinary Christian

The moment he gave his life to Christ and set his heart in serving God, Mr. Müller trusted The Lord wholeheartedly for provision in his life.

It started with a simple prayer. Kneeling for the first time alone in his dorm room, he said:

“Dear God, You know the situation I’m in, and You know what I need. I ask you to provide for me. Amen.”

In less than two hours, God answered George’s prayer above and beyond all he has asked for. He knew he could trust God for whatever need he had.

My 3 Top Lessons from George Müller’s Life

Unwavering Trust In God’s Word

In a world where believers trust more on their own paycheck, credit cards, and loans to cushion a life they can’t afford, oh, how we need to go back to the Bible to know God and His promises to us!

George devoted himself to the reading and meditation of Scriptures daily before breakfast. He gave God the first minutes of his day. In his daily morning walks with The Lord, he meditated on the Scripture passage he had read and talked to The Lord. He believed his spirit should be fed first so he could be prepared for his day.

Instead of reading books about God, he chose to read only The Word of God, which he read over 100 times in his life. The more he read The Word, the more he was convinced that God’s promises are true and he could depend on Him fully.

So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

– Romans 10:17

So great was his devotion to spending time with the Lord and reading God’s Word, that many called him the Enoch of his generation.

He hated debt and trusted God alone to supply for his needs and the needs of the thousands of orphans he came to care for. He stood on God’s promises and watch God providing for every need he had.

It’s estimated that according to his records of answered prayers for every need George prayed for, that by prayer alone, without asking none by God, God provided over US$150 million which he used to build the five orphanage houses on Ashley Down, care for over 10000 orphans, hundreds of missionaries, and so much more! Every penny was used for the glory of God!

Unshakable Faith

Be assured, if you walk with him, look to him, and expect help from him, he will never fail you.

– George Müller

George knew that whatever he would ask for according to God’s will, he would receive. Sometimes, the answer to his prayers came immediately, in other times, he waited patiently for years to receive it.

His faith in God was unshakable. He has proved and tasted God’s goodness and faithfulness in so many circumstances, how could he doubt Him? He knew that God never changes. The same God that made miracles through the apostles was the same and He was still making miracles in his days.

Oh, how we need to be reminded that our God does not change! He is still a way maker, a miracle worker, a promise keeper, and He will forever be.

Reading George Müller: The Guardian of Bristol’s Orphans was the reminder I needed to step out with unwavering faith to fulfill what God has called me to do in this season of my life.

We are so quick to make excuses not to trust that God, who is faithful, will fulfill His promises to us and that if He calls us to do anything greater than ourselves, it is not in our own power or knowledge or great skills that we will accomplish it but it will be in His power and in His name!

The Lord will guide you continually,

And satisfy your soul in drought,

And strengthen your bones;

You shall be like a watered garden,

And like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail.

– Isaiah 58:11

There is no need that The Lord, Our God, cannot provide for us. As George Muller did, we too can fully have faith in a God that never changes.

Radical Prayer Life

I believe God has heard my prayers. He will make it manifest in His own good time that He has heard me. I have recorded my petitions that when God has answered them, His name will be glorified.” – George Müller

In his lifetime, George Müller recorded over 60000 prayers in his journals!

In these past days, I have delighted myself in reading George’s Answers to Prayer. Nothing was too little or too big that he could not bring it before the Lord with a pure heart and a complete faith that the Lord would hear and answer his prayers.

He believed every believer could experience the same faithfulness to their prayers.

“The joy which answers to prayer give, cannot be described; and the impetus which they afford to the spiritual life is exceedingly great. The experience of this happiness I desire for all my Christian readers. If you believe indeed in the Lord Jesus for the salvation of your soul, if you walk uprightly and do not regard iniquity in your heart, if you continue to wait patiently, and believingly upon God; then answers will surely be given to your prayers. You may not be called upon to serve the Lord in the way the writer does, and therefore may never have answers to prayer respecting such things as are recorded here; but, in your various circumstances, your family, your business, your profession, your church position, your labour for the Lord, etc., you may have answers as distinct as any here recorded.” ~ George Muller

A Mission Field Where You Are

Even though George spent years learning Hebrew and preparing himself to minister to the Jews in another country, the Lord showed him that his mission field was right there where he was. A place with thousands of orphan children facing the hardship of the workhouses and homelessness.

George couldn’t be indifferent to the needs of those orphans on the street and little by little he did what he could, by the grace of God to give them all a home, love, food, clothing, education, and above all, the Gospel.

He became a selfless man with a humble heart who made his daily mission to save as many orphans as he could from the streets of Bristol, and so he did!

His faith, devotion, and testimony are contagious! And one can only pray that we too would have the faith and prayer life of George Müller to fulfill God’s calling on our lives and labor tirelessly to see the harvest in the mission field God has given us, even if this mission field is right there we’re standing today!

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Have you read any books on the Christian Heroes Then & Now series? Which one is your favorite?

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More books from the series Heroes Then & Now:

Christian Heroes Gift Set (1-5) Christian Heroes Then & NowChristian Heroes Gift Set (11-15) Christian Heroes Then & NowBrother Andrew: God’s Secret Agent (Christian Heroes: Then & Now)Christian Heroes Books 16-20 Gift Set (Christian Heroes: Then & Now)Christian Heroes Books 6-10 Gift Set (Christian Heroes: Then & Now) (Displays and Gift Sets)Christian Heroes Gift Set (26-30) Christian Heroes Then & NowJohn Wesley: The World His Parish (Christian Heroes: Then & Now)Christian Heroes Gift Set (36-40) Christian Heroes Then & NowJohn Newton: Change of Heart (Christian Heroes : Then & Now)Elisabeth Elliot: Joyful Surrender (Christian Heroes: Then & Now) (Christian Heroes: Then and Now)Lillian Trasher: The Greatest Wonder in Egypt (Christian Heroes: Then & Now)David Livingstone: Africa’s Trailblazer (Christian Heroes: Then & Now)Christian Heroes Gift Set (41-45) Christian Heroes Then & NowC.S. Lewis: Master Storyteller (Christian Heroes: Then & Now)Ida Scudder: Healing Bodies, Touching Hearts (Christian Heroes: Then & Now)Richard Wurmbrand: Christian Heroes Then & NowWilfred Grenfell: Fisher of Men (Christian Heroes: Then & Now)Lottie Moon: Giving Her All for China (Christian Heroes: Then & Now)C.S. Lewis Audiobook: Master Storyteller (Christian Heroes: Then & Now) Audio CD – Audiobook, CDSundar Singh: Footprints Over the Mountains (Christian Heroes: Then & Now)Jacob DeShazer: Forgive Your Enemies (Christian Heroes : Then & Now)Eric Liddell: Something Greater Than Gold (Christian Heroes: Then & Now)Dietrich Bonhoeffer: In the Midst of Wickedness (Christian Heroes: Then & Now)Christian Heroes Books 21-25 Gift Set (Christian Heroes: Then & Now)Amy Carmichael: Rescuer of Precious Gems (Christian Heroes: Then & Now)Christian Heroes Gift Set (31-35) Christian Heroes Then & NowCorrie ten Boom: Keeper of the Angels’ Den (Christian Heroes: Then and Now)Adoniram Judson: Bound for Burma (Christian Heroes: Then & Now)Dietrich Bonheoffer Audiobook: In the Midst of Wickedness (Christian Heroes: Then & Now) Audio CD – Audiobook, CDNate Saint: On a Wing and a Prayer (Christian Heroes: Then & Now)George Muller: The Guardian of Bristol’s Orphans (Christian Heroes: Then & Now)William Bradford: Plymouth’s Rock (Heroes of History) (Christian Heroes : Then & Now)Jim Elliot: One Great Purpose (Christian Heroes: Then & Now)C.T. Studd: No Retreat (Christian Heroes: Then & Now)Florence Young: Mission Accomplished (Christian Heroes: Then & Now)Amy Carmichael Audiobook: Rescuer of Precious Gems (Christian Heroes: Then & Now) Audio CD – Audiobook, CDMildred Cable: Through the Jade Gate (Christian Heroes: Then & Now)Rachel Saint Audiobook: A Star In the Jungle (Christian Heroes: Then & Now) Audio CD – Audiobook, CDFrancis Asbury: Circuit Rider (Christian Heroes: Then & Now)Betty Greene: Wings to Serve (Christian Heroes: Then & Now)William Carey: Obliged to Go (Christian Heroes: Then & Now)Gladys Aylward: The Adventure of a Lifetime (Christian Heroes: Then & Now)Helen Roseveare: Mama Luka (Christian Heroes Then & Now)Isobel Kuhn: On the Roof of the World (Christian Heroes: Then & Now)Cameron Townsend: Good News in Every Language (Christian Heroes: Then & Now)Count Zinzendorf: Firstfruit (Christian Heroes: Then & Now)George Muller Audiobook: The Guardian of Bristol’s Orphans (Christian Heroes: Then & Now) Audio CD – Audiobook, CD (Christian Heroes Then and Now)Hudson Taylor Audiobook: Deep In the Heart of China (Christian Heroes: Then & Now) Audio CD – Audiobook, CDD. L. Moody: Bringing Souls to Christ (Christian Heroes: Then & Now)Rowland Bingham: Into Africa’s Interior (Christian Heroes: Then & Now) (Christian Heroes: Then and Now)

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About Ana Willis

Ana is the unhurried homeschool mom of 3, wife, and homeschool blogger. She loves to encourage, inspire and empower moms to go from stressed to blessed by providing them with the tips, strategies, and resources they need to succeed. Ana is the founder of They Call Me Blessed and the creator of: Hebrew for Homeschoolers, Charlotte Mason Online Conference, The Homeschool Sisterhood, and the Beyond Blessed Life Planner. She leads a vibrant free community for homeschool moms on Facebook and you can connect with her at www.facebook.com/theycallmeblessedblog.