Trials of Faith and Prayer
George Müller
In commencing his labours on behalf of destitute orphans, Mr. Müller had prayed that ;£’i,ooo might be given to him as a token that the Lord looked favourably upon his enterprise. By June, 1837, every penny of that sum had been sent to him, without one single individual having been asked for any contribution. This fact so encouraged him to pray and trust for further supplies, that he determined to proceed in his chosen mission to the friendless. He decided to open a orphan house. “As an orphan house for boys above seven years of age seems greatly needed in this city, and as also without it we know not how to provide for the little boys in the infant orphan house when they are above seven years of age, I propose to establish an orphan house for about forty boys above seven years of age.”
He accordingly rented a large and commodious house which he intended to serve as the boys’ orphan home; but some persons living in that part of the city threatened the landlord with an action on account of his having let the house for a charitable institution. Mr. Müller at once gave it up to avoid litigation, feeling sure that the Lord would soon provide other premises; and shortly after a house was offered in Wilson Street, near the others, while a sister sent to assist in furnishing it This house would accommodate thirty boys, so that when filled, as it soon was, Mr. Müller’s whole number of orphans was ninety-six. A pretty large family this.
But at the end of twelve months he was penniless. All the money which had come in by subscriptions had been expended; and unless the same One who” feeds the young ravens when they cry,** sent supplies of money, or food, or clothes, the enterprise would come to an end. What was to be done? Summoning his co-workers to meet him, Mr. Muller commenced united meetings for prayer, beseeching the Lord to grant supplies to those who were so manifestly looking up to Him for their next meals. Sometimes it happened that they actually came to their last bit of meat, or loaf of bread. The barrels of treacle were empty, wages were unpaid, and no money remained wherewith to purchase milk for the young children. As under no circumstances were bills contracted, it may be imagined how constantly recurring was this trouble, Mr. Muller had laid down the rule that no purchases were to be made beyond those sufficient for the week, or day, or month, as the case may be; khat the rent was to be put by weekly, and that no credit was to be asked for. As the consequence, he was brought into innumerable straits and difficulties; but invariably the Lord sent him deliverance upon all these occasions. Sometimes he would receive a large donation of fifty or a hundred pounds. At other times, only a few shillings or a box of jewellery, clothes or books, which could be turned into money; but it was always sufficient to tide over the existing distress./
Speaking of these early years of trial, difficulty, faith and prayer, Mr. Muller tells us that in his supplications for the orphans and their needs, he pleaded the following arguments before God: —
1. That as he set about the work for the glory of God, there might.be a visible proof to the world that God did supply answers No prayer only,
2. That as God is the Father of the fatherless. He would be pleased to provide for these fatherless orphans.
3. That having received these children in the name of Christ, and therefore, in a measure, Christ Himself, He would be pleased to consider and own this.
4. That the faith of many of God’s children having been strengthened by this work, and its manifest support, those who were weak in faith would have been staggered by the withholding of the blessing.
5. That many enemies would laugh were the
Lord to withhold supplies.
6. That many of the children of God would feel themselves justified in continuing their alliance with the world, so far as the obtaining of means for the support of similar institutions were concerned, if He would not help them,
7. That the Lord would graciously pity him, and not cast all the burden upon him long without sending relief.
8. That the Lord would likewise remember all the workers who trusted in Him, but who would be sorely tried were supplies withheld.
9. That in case supplies did not come, the children must be dismissed to their former evil associations.
10. That Providence might show those to be mistaken who said that although help might be looked for while the thing was neWy it could not be expected afterwards; and also that if answers to prayers failed now, he would be at a loss to understand what construction to put upon the many remarkable answers to prayer he had experienced in the past.
Most remarkable interpositions of Providence were manifested in answer to these supplications. Sometimes an orphan child would be sent in, and a £^ note with it from some generous donor. Another time, a friend would sell a number of trinkets and devote the produce to the orphan houses. Sometimes one of the assistants would give a donation from his or her own pocket Sometimes the matrons of the houses would send to him for supplies, and he would request them to come to-morrow, depending only on God to send the means to give them. Occasionally, Mr. Muller would remain late overnight at one of the orphan houses, praying unitedly with the helpers that means might be sent before breakfast next morning, and in some way the breakfast always came. Never was he disappointed.
One morning when everything was finished and no food remained in the house, a brother sent twenty-nine pounds of salt, forty-four dozen of onions, and twenty-six pounds of groats.
Another time there was no money wherewith to take up bread for the next day’s consumption. Mr. Muller and his associates prayed, and £ ids. 6d. came in wherewith to take up sufficient; another day they had only £ 8s. to spend, but after spending it and laying the matter before the Lord in prayer, a lady called and gave £1 2s, 6d. for the houses.
At another time Mr. Muller raised £y by selling ten pairs of new blankets, which had been given to the institution either for sale or use.
One or two extracts from Mr. Muller*s journal will prove the trials and extremities of this time: —
“Never were we so reduced in funds as to-day» There was not one single halfpenny in hand between the matrons of the three orphan houses. There was a good dinner, and by managing to help one another by bread, &c., there was a prospect of getting over this day also; but for none of the houses had we the prospect of being able to take in bread. When I left the brethren and sisters at one o’clock, after prayer, I told them that we must wait for help, and see how the Lord would deliver us at this time. About twenty yards from my house I met a brother who walked back with me, and after a little conversation gave me ;g“io towards providing the poor people with coals, blankets, and warm clothing; £^ for the orphans, and £<^ for the other objects of the Scriptural Knowledge Institution. This brother had called twice while I was gone to the orphan houses, and had I now been one half-minute later I should have missed him.”
On the next day more help arrived, and two days aftei*ward, three sacks of potatoes, and a watch, which sold for fifty shillings. Four days later, the funds were gone, and although there was everything needful for dinner, there were no means to provide bread or milk for tea. Meeting his co-workers in prayer, at mid-day, Mr. Müller felt that help would surely come. And come it did; for while they were bending in prayer, a letter containing ;^io was put on the table, and the donor followed up this amount with a second gift of £Oy for new clothes for Mr. Müller and Mr. Craik. Two days after this arrived a gift of ;^8o from a. lady in Suffolk, £y:> of which were meant for the orphans, and £io for the pastor. About a week later £QO were received from a friend, who, while earning her bread with her own hands, chose to give away the whole of a legacy which she had received.
“There was to-day the greatest poverty in all three houses; all the stores were very low, as the income throughout the week had been so small. In addition to this it was Saturday, when the wants are nearly double in comparison with other days. At least £% were needed to help us comfortably through the day; but there was nothing towards this in hand. My only hope was in God. The very necessity led me to expect help for this day, for if none had come, the Lord’s name had been dishonoured. Between twelve and one, two sisters in the Lord called on me, and the one gave me £2^ and the other seven-and-sixpence for the orphansj With this I went to the boys’ house, where I found the children at dinner. There came in still further this day several shillings, by sales and donations, so that we had £% 6s. 6d. to meet all necessities, and were brought to the close of another week.
“There was not one penny in hand when the day commenced. Last evening, the labourers in the orphan houses, together with the teachers in the day-schools, met for prayer. This morning, one of the teachers, who had money of his own, brought £ Ss. 6d, Thus as we had hoped, we were able again to provide for dinner. In the afternoon, all of us met for prayer. Another teacher of the day-schools gave us 2s. 6d., and is. came in beside.
“But all this was not enough. There was no dinner provided for to-morrow, nor was there any money to take in milk to-morrow; and besides this, a number of little things were to be purchased, that there might be no real want of anything. Now, observe how our kind Father helped us.
“Between seven and eight this evening, a sister, whose heart the Lord has made willing to take on her the service of disposing of the articles which are sent for sale, brought £2 los. 6d. for some of the things. The sister stated, that though she did not feel at all well, she had come because she had it so laid on her heart that she could not stay away.”
Within six days after this, nearly £QO were received from various parts of the country, either in money, or in the produce of articles sent for sale. Many ladies sacrificed jewellery in order to aid the project. One lady sent from Scotland, at this very juncture, two clasps, one ring, two pairs of ear-rings, a slide, a pin, a cross, and two bracelets, all of gold. From Leeds, two Christian ladies sent a box containing two silver dessert-spoons, one pair of silver sugar-tongs, one silver caddy-spoon, six plated forks, four knife-rests, a cream-spoon, six metal tea-spoons, one silver watch, one metal watch, a small telescope, three purses containing money, one silver pencil-case, two silver pocketknives, besides a large number of articles of clothing.
And these boxes of goods are only specimens of the presents Mr. Muller and his friends were constantly receiving, in answer to prayer. His own opinion was, that in leaning upon God alone for supplies, he was beyond disappointment and beyond being forsaken because of death, want of means, or decay of love.
One morning, after breakfast, there had been a prayer-meeting among the workers, to ask the Lord for means to get a dinner. This came in, and then there was a second prayer-meeting to ask for means to supply a supper. But only just enough came in response to provide these two meals; consequently, it became necessary late in the evening to entreat the Lord again, to send the means for the support of the orphans next day. After this was over, Mr. Muller returned to his own house; he found that no money had come in, so he retired to rest, leaving the matter in God’s hands. Early next morning he went over to the orphan houses, to see if God had sent anything, and found that £1 had just come in: so that supplies of food sufficient for the orphans had been secured. Some time afterward it came out that a merchant of Bristol was so worked upon by the recollection of the orphans. and their needs, on that particular morning, that he could not rest. He set out to go to his counting-house, expecting to receive some important letters, but could not proceed until he had gone to the orphan house and left the three sovereigns referred to above as a donation.
On reviewing these experiences, Mr. Müller remarks that though very often reduced to the greatest extremity, the orphans had really lacked nothing; for they had always good nourishing food and necessary clothing. He also declared that this mode of living by faith entailed less anxiety, and less worry upon himself and his helpers, than if they had adopted the more usual course of soliciting subscriptions from the public, inasmuch as the burden of support and care was laid upon a Heavenly Provider, and not carried at all by them.| As surely and as regularly as the wants recurred, God sent the means to supply those wants. “Perhaps you may say, *But how would you do in case there were a meal-time to come, and you had no provisions for the children y or they really wanted clothes, and you had no money to procure them?’ Our answer is, such a thing is impossible, as long as the Lord shall give us grace to trust in Him, and as long as He shall enable us to carry on the work in uprightness of heart But should we be ever so left to ourselves as to forsake the Lord, and trust in an arm of flesh, or should we regard iniquity in hearts, or wilfully and habitually do any tiling, either in connection with the work or otherwise, which is against the will of God, then we may pray and utter many words before Him, but He will not hear us.”
The principle of self-renunciation was carried out most fully, by both Mr. Müller and his associates. On principle they laid up nothing for a “rainy day,” throwing even that emergency on the Lord. One of the Christian sisters, on receiving a legacy, sold out every penny, it being invested in Consols at different times, and gave it to the orphanages and schools, preferring to lay up “treasure in Heaven” rather than in stocks and shares. Mr. Müller put by nothing against illness or misfortune; believing it to be his duty to live, day by day, a life of simple faith upon the loving care of the Heavenly Father. Such an instance of childlike confidence and unaffected piety could not but have its influence upon those with whom he came in contact Indeed, the whole matter affords an illustration of simple faith which is scarcely to be paralleled in this century, if in any other.
Regarding Mr. MUller’s large family of orphans, it may be literally said “The eyes of all these wait up6n Thee, and Thou givest them their meat in due season.” But of the faith which produces such wonderful fruits, which stands firm, amid all 46 The World’s Wouicers.
the assaults of unbelief and the chances of failure, it may also be truly said that it is of the kind which removes mountains, which
^’ Laughs at impossibilities,
And cries * It shall be done.’”