Prayer Power: Learning to Pray Like George MüllerSample

Trust in the Living God

In whom do you put your trust?

Most people get help from family members, friends, pastors, counselors, financial advisors, or neighbors.

You may also place some measure of trust in your financial situation, education, career success, or life experience. It’s not wrong to pursue these things and to seek the help of others. The problem comes when you begin to lean on these things in a way that diverts you from your trust in God.

When God began to expand the work of George Müller’s orphanages, Müller remained committed to trusting in God for everything. For the first seventeen years, the largest donation Müller received was one hundred pounds (about $16,000 in today’s money). That may seem like a lot, but several hundred orphans were under his care each year. His only strategies were faith in the living God and prayer.

In 1850, Müller wrote, “The Lord was pleased greatly to encourage me and to increase my faith by a donation of five hundred pounds for the orphans; for up to that period I had never received more than one hundred pounds at once.”

It was a huge blessing. The donor suggested that Müller invest the sum and use only the interest from it. His reasoning was that there was no way the orphan institutions could be supported into the future without having some funds, property, or other resources stored up.

At that time, Müller only operated two orphanages. Because the donor was merely making a suggestion, Müller took the money and applied it to a third orphan house.

He wrote, “I looked in no degree whatever at things according to my natural fallen reason, and I trusted not in the circle of my Christian friends, but in the living God; and the result has been that there have been since 1834 ten thousand souls under our instruction in the various day schools, Sunday schools, and adult schools; several hundred orphans have been brought up; several hundred thousand tracts and many thousand copies of the Word of God have been circulated.”

Müller’s life is a picture of faith. This is what real trust looks like. It doesn’t mean Müller’s choices would be the same as yours, but it proves what can happen when we put our faith in God.

We hope this plan encourages you. Explore other resources at:

https://www.whitakerhouse.com/book-authors/brent-patrick-mcdougal.