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George Mueller
(1805-1898) is famous for establishing orphanages in England and for
joyfully depending on God for all his needs. How did he kindle this joy and
faith? In 1841 he made a life-changing discovery. The testimony of
this from his autobiography has proved to be of tremendous value in my life
and I pray it will also bear fruit in yours:
While I was staying at Nailworth, it pleased the Lord to teach me a truth,
irrespective of human instrumentality, as far as I know, the benefit of
which I have not lost, though now...more than forty years have since passed
away.
The point is this: I saw more clearly than ever, that the first
great and primary business to which I ought to attend every day was, to
have my soul happy in the Lord. The first thing to be concerned about
was not, how much I might serve the Lord, how I might glorify the Lord; but
how I might get my soul into a happy state, and how my inner man might be
nourished. For I might seek to set the truth before the unconverted, I
might seek to benefit believers, I might seek to relieve the distressed, I
might in other ways seek to behave myself as it becomes a child of God in
this world; and yet, not being happy in the Lord and not being nourished and
strengthened in my inner man day by day, all this might not be attended to
in a right spirit.
Before this time my practice had been, at least for ten years previously, as
an habitual thing, to give myself to prayer, after having dressed the
morning. Now I saw, that the most important thing I had to do
was to give myself to the reading of the Word of God and to meditation on
it, that thus my heart might be comforted, encouraged, warned, reproved,
instructed; and that thus, whilst meditation, my heart might be brought
into experimental, communion with the Lord. I began therefore, to
meditate on the New Testament, from the beginning, early in the morning.
The first thing I did, after having asked in a few words the Lord’s
blessing upon His precious Word, was to begin to meditate on the Word of
God; searching, as it were, into every verse, to get blessing out of it; not
for the sake of the public ministry of the Word; not for the sake of
preaching on what I had meditated upon; but for the sake of obtaining food
for my own soul. The result I have found to be almost invariably this, that
after a very few minutes my soul has been led to confession, or to
thanksgiving, or to intercession, or to supplication; so that though I
did not, as it were, give to prayer but to meditation, yet it
turned almost immediately more or less to prayer.
When thus I have been for awhile making confession, or intercession, or
supplication, or have given thanks, I go on to the next words or verse,
turning all, as I go on, into prayer for myself or others, as the
Word may lead to it; but still continually keeping before me that food for
my own soul is the object of meditation. The result of this is, that
there is always a good deal of confession, thanksgiving, supplication, or
intercession mingled with my meditation, and that my inner man almost
invariably is even sensibly nourished and strengthened and that by breakfast
time, with rare exceptions, I am in a peaceful if not happy state of
heart. Thus also the Lord is pleased to communicate unto me that which,
very soon after, I have found to become food for other believers, though it
was not for the sake of the public ministry of the Word that I have myself
to meditation, but for the profit of my own inner man.
The difference between my former practice and my present one is
this. Formerly, when I rose, I began to pray as soon as possible, and
generally spent all my time till breakfast in prayer, or almost all the
time. At all events I almost invariably began with prayer.... But what
was the result? I often spent a quarter of an hour, or half an hour, or
even an hour on my knees, before being conscious to myself of having derived
comfort, encouragement, humbling of soul, etc.; and often after having
suffered much from wandering of mind for the first ten minutes, or a
quarter of an hour, or even half an hour, I only then began really to
pray.
I
scarcely ever suffer now in this way. For my heart being nourished by the
truth, being brought into experimental fellowship with God, I speak
to my Father, and to my Friend (vile though I am, and unworthy of it!) about
the things that He has brought before me in His precious Word.
It often now astonished me that I did not sooner see this. In no book did I
ever read about it. No public ministry ever brought the matter before me.
No private intercourse with a brother stirred me up to this matter. And yet
now, since God has taught me this point, it is as plain to me as anything,
that the first thing the child of God has to do morning-by-morning is to
obtain food for his inner man.
As the outward man is not fit for work for any length of time, except we
take food, and as this is one of the first things we do in the morning,
so it should be with the inner man. We should take food for that, as every
one must allow. Now what is the food for the inner man; not prayer,
but the Word of God; and here again not the simple reading of
the Word of God, so that it only passes through our minds, just as water
runs through a pipe, but considering what we read, pondering over it, and
applying it to our hearts....
I
dwell so particularly on this point because of the immense spiritual
profit and refreshment I am conscious of having derived from it myself,
and I affectionately and solemnly beseech all my fellow-believers to ponder
this matter. By the blessing of God I ascribe to this mode the help and
strength which I have had from God to pass in peace through deeper trials in
various ways than I had ever had before; and after having now above forty
years tried this way, I can most fully, in the fear of God, commend it. How
different when the soul is refreshed and made happy early in the morning,
from what it is when, without spiritual preparation, the service, the trials
and the temptations of the day come upon one!
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MORE ABOUT MUELLER
Pastor George Mueller was born in Germany in 1805, spent most of his
life in Bristol , England , preached nine times in Minneapolis in 1880,
traveled to 42 countries between the ages of 70 and 87, and died at the age
of 92, the most famous Orphanage founder in the world. He built 5 orphan
houses, cared for 10,024 orphans in his lifetime, pastored the same church
for 66 years, never incurred debt, never asked anyone for money, didn't take
a salary for 68 years, and never went hungry. He lost three children in
infancy, his first wife Mary after 39 years, his second wife Susannah after
23 years, and his daughter Lydia when she was 58. In response to the new
teaching that Christ snatches the church out of the world before the
Tribulation, Mueller reportedly said, “If you can show me a trumpet after
the last and a resurrection before the first, then I can believe this new
doctrine.” He was a Baptist who admitted people to his church as members who
had only been sprinkled as infants. He served the Lord's Supper weekly. He
rejected life insurance and retirement accounts, preached for Charles
Spurgeon, inspired Hudson Taylor, and did follow up for D. L. Moody. Here
are some quotes to give you a flavor of his relationship to God.
[On
his Calvinism]
I had been much opposed to the doctrines of election, particular redemption,
and final persevering grace; so much so that . . . I called election a
devilish doctrine . . .. But now I was brought to examine these precious
truths by the word of God. . . . To my great astonishment I found that the
passages which speak decidedly for election and persevering grace, were
about four times as many as those which speak apparently against these
truths; and even those few, shortly after, when I had examined and
understood them, served to confirm me in the above doctrines. As to the
effect which my belief in these doctrines had on me . . . by the grace of
God, I have walked more closely with Him since that period. . . . Thus, I
say, the electing love of God in Christ (when I have been able to realize
it) has often been the means of producing holiness, instead of leading me
into sin. ( Narratives and Addresses , Vol. 1, pp. 46, 40)
[On
his first wife's death]
When I heard what Mr. Pritchard's judgment was, viz., that the malady was
rheumatic fever, I naturally expected the worst, as to the issue, on account
of what I had found out about the action of my dear wife's heart, when I
felt her pulse; but though my heart was nigh to be broken, on account of the
depth of my affection, I said to myself, “The
Lord is good, and doeth good,”
all will be according to His own blessed character. Nothing but that, which
is good, like Himself, can proceed from Him. If he pleases to take my
dearest wife, it will be good, like Himself. What I have to do, as His
child, is to be satisfied with what my Father does, that I may glorify Him.
After this my soul not only aimed, but this, my soul, by God's grace,
attained to. I was satisfied with God.” (Vol. 2, pp. 398-399)
[When
he almost lost his daughter]
My dear wife and I were at peace. Why? Because we did not love her? We loved
her intensely. But we were satisfied with God, whatever he might do. (Vol.
2. p. 746)
The Lord never lays more on
us, in the way of chastisement, than our state of heart makes needful; so
that whilst He smites with the one hand, He supports with the other. (Vol.
1, p. 61)
For the first four years
after my conversion I made no progress, because I neglected the Bible. But
when I regularly read on through the whole with reference to my own heart
and soul, I directly made progress. Then my peace and joy continued more and
more. Now I have been doing this for 47 years. I have read through the whole
Bible about 100 times and I always find it fresh when I begin again. Thus my
peace and joy have increased more and more. (Vol. 2, p. 834)
According to my judgment the
most important point to be attended to is this: above all things see to it
that your souls are happy in the Lord. Other things may press upon you, the
Lord's work may even have urgent claims upon your attention, but I
deliberately repeat, it is of supreme and paramount importance that you
should seek above all things to have your souls truly happy in God Himself!
Day by day seek to make this the most important business of your life. (Vol.
2, p. 731).
In what way shall we attain
to this settled happiness of soul? How shall we learn to enjoy God? How
obtain such an all-sufficient soul-satisfying portion in him as shall enable
us to let go the things of this world as vain and worthless in comparison? I
answer; this happiness is to be obtained through the study of the Holy
Scriptures. God has therein revealed Himself unto us in the face of Jesus
Christ. (Vol. 2, p. 731)
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