The Life and Faith of George Müller: Lessons for Christians Today

George Müller (1805–1898) was a man who lived fully by faith and prayer, caring for over 10,000 orphans, giving away hundreds of thousands of Bibles, and inspiring generations to trust God’s promises.

In this episode, Nathan Johnson explores the incredible life and legacy of Müller—once a liar, thief, and drunkard who was transformed by Christ into a humble servant of God. From his radical dependence on prayer, to his refusal to ask for money, to the miraculous ways God provided for thousands of children in Bristol, Müller’s story continues to challenge believers to live a surrendered life of faith, prayer, and obedience to Jesus Christ. Join us as we unpack his biography, his lessons on faith, and the powerful truths from Scripture that shaped his life.

Resources Mentioned

• Saturation Bible Study (by NRJohnson) … discover the adventure of knowing Jesus more deeply through time in the Bible. Get the book or the quickstart course.
• George Müller Books and Resources:
  • The Autobiography of George Müller
  • George Muller: The Guardian of Bristol’s Orphans (Christian Heroes: Then and Now) – by Janet and Geoff Benge
  • George Müller of Bristol: His Life of Prayer and Faith – by AT Pierson
  • George Müller: Delighted in God – by Roger Steer
  • Release The Power Of Prayer – by George Müller
  • Movie: Robber of the Cruel Streets

Listen to + Download the Audio Study

George Müller’s Biosketch

• Born in Germany on September 27, 1805.
• Liar, thief, gambler, and drunkard in his young years
• Went to school to become a pastor (a highly respectable and lucrative profession in Germany at that time)
• God got a hold of Müller’s life at age 20 (1825) while studying divinity at the University of Halle. It was then that Müller began to attend Christian prayer meetings, read his Bible regularly, and begin his early steps of living by faith.
• George fell in love and married Mary Groves in 1830, who shared his convictions about faith, money, and trusting God. They had four children, two of which were still-born. Their daughter was Lydia, and they also had a son Elijah, who died of pneumonia when he was very young.
• In 1829, He moved to London to originally work with and preach to the Jews in England, but since he was not allowed to preach, he went to Teignmouth and became the minister of Ebenezer Chapel on a salary of £55 per year ($7,883.49 today) … but eventually renounced his regular salary so that he could put an end to the practice of renting church pews which he saw as unscriptural.
• In 1832, He moved to Bristol, England to work at Bethesda Chapel.
• In 1834, at age 29, he began the “Scriptural Knowledge Institution for Home and Abroad” which had five focuses:
  • 1. To assist Sunday Schools, Day Schools, and schools for adults and to start new ones.
  • 2. To sell Bibles and Testaments to the poor at low prices and even give them away if the person could not pay.
  • 3. To aid missionaries
  • 4. To circulate tracts and books in English and other languages
  • 5. To care for orphans, which became a central focus for Müller in 1836.
• In 1836, he and his wife (Mary) began to take in orphaned girls into their home, later starting houses used to house orphaned children.
• With a need for a bigger facility, Müller found a large piece of property outside Bristol and opened the first orphanage at Ashley Down, Bristol in 1849. Later five large houses were built on the property, accommodating over 2,000 children at a time. Müller’s desire was to help the children transition from the orphanage into gainful employment as apprentices and professionals when they were old enough to leave. Over 10,000 children were lovingly cared for throughout the years that George Müller was in charge of the orphanage.
• Mary, his loving and dedicated wife, died in 1870. He later married Susannah Sanger in 1871.
• By the 1870s, Müller was sending over $1.3 million (in today’s currency) to support nearly two hundred missionaries.
• Later in his life (1875–1892), he (with Susannah) traveled the world preaching the Gospel and telling the story of a life lived by faith. They visited 42 countries and traveled over 200,000 miles during those years, preaching to over 3 million people—fulfilling a passion and leading Müller had when he first became a Christian to preach to the nations.
• He lived till the age of 92 and died peacefully on March 10, 1898 in Bristol. He outlived his second wife, Susannah, who died in 1894, and his daughter Lydia, who died in 1890.
• Besides caring for over 10,000 orphans in his lifetime, he gave away more than 250,000 Bibles. He paid tuition for hundreds of children to go to school. And the equivalent of $129 million dollars flowed through his hand as an answer to a life of prayer—yet he died with very little money, not wanting to keep any money for himself.

A Life of Faith and Absolute Trust

You ask, “How may I have my faith strengthened?” The answer is this … The increase of faith is a good gift (see James 1:17), and it must come from God. Therefore, we should ask Him for this blessing. The following guidelines will help a believer build his faith:

• 1. Carefully read the Word and meditate on it … [by which] the believer becomes acquainted with the nature and character of God. … He has learned from the Word that God is almighty in power, infinite in wisdom, and ready to help and deliver His people. Reading the Word of God, together with meditation on it, is an excellent way to strengthen faith.
• 2. We must maintain an upright heart and a good conscience and not knowingly and habitually indulge in things which are contrary to the mind of God. How can I possibly continue to act in faith if I grieve the Lord and detract from His glory and honor?
• 3. If we desire our faith to be strengthened, we should not shrink from opportunities where our faith may be tried. The more I am in a position to be tried in faith, the more I will have the opportunity of seeing God’s help and deliverance. Every fresh instance in which He helps and delivers me will increase my faith. The believer should not shrink from situations, positions, or circumstances in which his faith may be tried, but he should cheerfully embrace them as opportunities to see the hand of God stretched out in help and deliverance. Thus his faith will be strengthened.
• 4. The last important point for the strengthening of our faith is that we let God work for us and do not work a deliverance on our own. When a trial of faith comes, we are naturally inclined to distrust God and to trust in ourselves, in our friends, or in circumstances. We would rather work a deliverance of our own that simply look to God and wait for His help. But if we do not patiently wait for God’s help, or if we work a deliverance on our own, then at the next trial of our faith we will have the same problem. We will again be inclined to try and deliver ourselves. … [But] if we stand firm in order to see the salvation of God, trusting in Him alone, our faith will be increased. ⁽¹⁾

Life Lessons from George Müller

1. Prayer is powerful

• Müller had recorded over 50,000 answer to prayer (yet only 5,000, or 10%, were answered immediately)
• Müller often had to labor in prayer for days, weeks, months, and even years before he saw an answer to his prayers.
• Story: food for orphans … bread baked by the baker early in the morning after having a burden and milk cart breaking down in front of orphanage.

2. We must live by faith

Müller wanted his life to show that God is still God and is faithful to respond to the needs and requests of His people. This is classically demonstrated by Müller’s desire to never ask for money from anyone but rather trust God and pray that all needed resource would be provided.

“With every fresh trial, faith either increases by trusting God and getting help, or it decreases by not trusting Him.” ⁽²⁾

Müller wanted all the glory to be God’s alone. He merely wanted to be a vessel through which the power and glory of God could be revealed to the unbelieving world around him.

3. Absolute trust in God

We can trust our God. But if we are to trust Him, we must be in His Word and know His character.

Müller’s thoughts on reading Scripture:

• Reading the Word increases love for it
• Reading the Word fosters spiritual growth
• Reading the Word teaches spiritual truths

George Müller’s Bible reading method was simple: he read and meditated upon the Bible systematically, typically reading a portion of the Old Testament one day, a portion of the New Testament the next (and then going back and forth every other day).

H. Wayland Lincoln said, “George Müller was a living demonstration of the reality of the Scripture, ‘But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus’ (Philippians 4:19).” ⁽³⁾

4. Record God’s faithfulness and answers to prayer

To learn more about how to journal, check out my article How to Journal Consistently and Easily.

5. Humility and childlikeness

George Müller proved that the more I live by faith, the more humble and childlike I will become.

FOOTNOTES

(1) George Müller, The Autobiography of George Müller (New Kensington, PA: Whitaker House, 1985), 157–158.
(2) Ibid, 157.
(3) Ibid, 231.

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