A Biography of George Müller

A Global Missionary

George Müller was a Christian evangelist and the director of the Ashley Down orphanage in Bristol, England.

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He cared for 10,024 orphans during his lifetime,[1][2] and provided educational opportunities for the orphans to the point that he was even accused by some of raising the poor above their natural station in British life. He established 117 schools which offered Christian education to more than 120,000 children.

Early Life

In 1829, Müller offered to work with Jews in England through the London Society for Promoting Christianity Amongst the Jews. He arrived in London on March 19 of that year, but by mid-May, he fell ill and did not think that he would survive. He was sent to Teignmouth to recuperate and, while there he met Henry Craik, who became his lifelong friend.[3]

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Müller returned to London in September, but after ten days started to feel unwell again. He blamed his failing health on his having been confined to his house because of his studies. He asked the Society to send him out to preach but received no reply. By the end of November he became doubtful whether the Society was the right place for him and on 12 December made the decision to leave but to wait for a month before writing.

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Müller returned to Exmouth in East Devon, England on 31 December for a short holiday and preached at various meetings while there. He wrote to the Society in early January, requesting that they might consider allowing him to remain with them if they would allow him "to labour in regard to time and place as the Lord might direct me".

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This they refused to do at a meeting on 27 January 1830, communicating this to Müller in writing, and thus bringing to an end his association with the London Society.

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He moved from Exmouth to Teignmouth and preached several times for Craik, which led to a number of the congregation asking him to stay and be the minister of Ebenezer Chapel in Shaldon, Devon, on a salary of £55 per annum.

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On 7 October 1830, he married Mary Groves, the sister of Anthony Norris Groves. At the end of October, he renounced his regular salary, believing that the practice could lead to church members giving out of duty, not desire. He also eliminated the renting of church pews, arguing that it gave unfair prestige to the wealthy (based primarily on James 2:1–9).[4]

George Müller and Missions

Müller moved to Bristol on 25 May 1832 to begin working at Bethesda Chapel. Along with Henry Craik, he continued preaching there until his death, even while devoted to his other ministries.

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In 1834, he founded the Scriptural Knowledge Institution for Home and Abroad, with the goal of aiding Christian schools and missionaries; distributing the Bible and Christian tracts; and providing Day-schools, Sunday-schools and Adult-schools, all upon a Scriptural foundation.[5]

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By the end of February 1835, there were five Day-schools – two for boys and three for girls.[6] Not receiving government support and only accepting unsolicited gifts, this organisation received and disbursed £1,381,171[1] – around £113 million in today's terms[7] – by the time of Müller's death, primarily using the money for supporting the orphanages and distributing about 285,407 Bibles,[1] 1,459,506 New Testaments,[1] and 244,351 other religious texts,[1] which were translated into twenty other languages.[8]

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The money was also used to support other "faith missionaries" around the world, such as Hudson Taylor.[9] The work continues to this day.

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On 26 March 1875, at the age of 70 and after the death of his first wife in 1870 and his marriage to Susannah Grace Sanger in 1871, Müller and Susannah began a 17-year period of missionary travel.

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Müller always expected to pay for their fares and accommodation from the unsolicited gifts given for his own use. However, if someone offered to pay his hotel bill en route, Müller recorded this amount in his accounts.[16]

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His language abilities allowed him to preach in English, French, and German, and his sermons were translated into the host languages when he was unable to use the three languages which he spoke.[17]

The George Müller Charitable Trust

After his life, his work was continued by The George Müller Foundation, which was renamed The George Müller Charitable Trust on 1 March 2009. The Trust maintains the key principle of seeking money through prayer alone – it actively shuns fund-raising activities.

The charity works together with local churches in the Bristol area to enable them to reach out and care for their communities, especially children, young people and families with physical, emotional, social or spiritual needs; and encourages giving to support mission, social care, relief and development work across the world.[45]

From 1986 to September 2010, it also provided residential care for the elderly in Tilsley House, Weston-super-Mare. The Trust continued to maintain a sheltered accommodation unit for the elderly in Tranquil House, next-door to Tilsley House, until it was closed in 2012.

A small museum maintained by the Trust at its headquarters in Cotham Park, Bristol, is open by appointment only. Records of all children who passed through the orphanage are held and may be inspected by relatives for a modest fee.[46]

How George Müller Died

George Muller travelled more than 200,000 miles, an incredible achievement for pre-aviation times. In 1892, George Muller returned to England, where he died on 10 March 1898 in New Orphan House No 3.

George Müller's Family

Parents:

Johann Friedrich Müller

Eleonore (Hasse) Müller

Spouses:

Mary Groves (7 Oct 1830 – 6 Feb 1870)

Susannah Grace Sanger (30 Nov 1871 – 13 Jan 1894)

Children:

Lydia (17 Sep 1832 – 10 Jan 1890)

Elijah (19 Mar 1834 – 26 Jun 1835).

Two other children were still-born, 9 Aug 1831 and 12 Jun 1838.

Recommended Resources on George Müller

The Autobiography Of George Muller (1996)
George Muller: The Guardian of Bristol's Orphans by Janet and George Benge (1999 - Kids Book - Christian Heroes: Then & Now)
Robber of the Cruel Streets: The Prayerful Life of George Muller, starring Russell Boulter, Adam Stone, Andy Harrison (2006)

George Müller Movies

Robber of the Cruel Streets: The Prayerful Life of George Muller, starring Russell Boulter, Adam Stone, Andy Harrison (2006)

George Müller Books

George Muller: The Guardian of Bristol's Orphans by Janet and George Benge (1999 - Kids Book - Christian Heroes: Then & Now)
George Müller: Delighted in God by Roger Steer (2015 - History Maker)
The Autobiography Of George Muller (1996)
George Muller: Man of Faith and Miracles by Basil Miller (1972 - Men of Faith)
George Müller on Faith by Lance Wubbels (2002)
George Müller of Bristol: His Life of Prayer and Faith by A. T. Pierson (2017)
An Hour With George Müller by Charles R. Parsons (2014)
Spiritual Secrets of George Muller by Roger Steer (1992)
George Müller: Does money grow on trees? by Catherine MacKenzie (2012 - Kids Book)
A Living Reality: George Muller’s Experience of God by Roger Steer (1985)

Works by George Müller

George Müller Quotes

The beginning of anxiety is the end of faith, and the beginning of true faith is the end of anxiety.
Faith does not operate in the realm of the possible. There is no glory for God in that which is humanly possible. Faith begins where man's power ends.
There was a day when I died, utterly died — died to George Müller, his opinions, preferences, tastes, and will; died to the world, its approval or censure; died to the approval or blame even of my brethren and friends — and since then I have only to show myself approved to God.
No situation, no business will be given to me by God, in which I have not time enough to care about my soul.
There is no joy in man's own doings and choosings.
Further, I did not keep in mind, that if the most illiterate persons in the congregation can comprehend the discourse, the most educated will understand it too; but that the reverse does not hold true.
I have considered that there is no ground to go away from the door of the Lord to that of a believer, so long as He is so willing to supply our need.
In order to enjoy the Word, we ought to continue to read it, and the way to obtain a spirit of prayer, is, to continue praying; for the less we read the Word of God, the less we desire to read it, and the less we pray, the less we desire to pray.
I live in the spirit of prayer. I pray as I walk about, when I lie down and when I rise up. And the answers are always coming.
The only way to learn strong faith is to endure great trials.

References

Müller (2004), p. 693
Pierson (1899), p. 301.
Steer, p. 24
Müller (2003), p. 54.
Harding, p 79.
Harding, p82.
"Currency converter". The National Archives. Retrieved 19 July 2018.
Harding, p 269
"A Brief Narrative of Facts Relating to The Ashley Down Orphanage (The Annual Report) 1931-32 p 5
Steer, p. 98-101
Müller (2003), p. 354
Steer, p. 131.
The Autobiography of George Müller (Springdale, Pennsylvania: Whitaker House, 1984), ISBN 0-88368-159-5, p198.
Harding, p88.
George Müller Charitable Trust Annual Reports 1834 – present
Garton pp 126-148.
Garton, pp 126-148
Müller (2003), pp 39–40
Müller (2003), p.40.
Harding, p117
Harding, p 117-8
Müller (2003), p 224
Harding, p 119
Harding, p 123-4
Collingwood, WilliamO (August 1899). "The "Brethren"" (PDF). The Bible and Tract Depot. p. 8. Retrieved 27 June 2010.
Harding, p 124
Cordner, Michael. "The Rapture of the Church". Online Library. Northwestern Theological Seminary. Retrieved 27 June 2010.
Mueller, Susannah Grace (1883). Preaching tours and missionary labours of George Mueller. p. 148.
Garton, pp 88-89
Harding, p 3
Groves, p. xi
Our Own Correspondent (22 December 1868). "George Muller; The New Orphan Houses of Bristol" (PDF). The New York Times. New York: New York Times Archive. Retrieved 27 June 2010.
Müller (1984), p. 31
Müller (2004), p.2
Müller (2003), p. 10
The Autobiography of George Müller, p14-15.
The Autobiography of George Müller, p16.
Müller (2003), p23-24.
Steer, p. 124-6
Ellis, James J (1912). George Muller – The Man who Trusted God. Pickering & Inglis, 14 Paternoster Row, London EC4. p. 49.
24th Annual Report, 1863, page 8
Annual Report, 1865 page 7
Steer, p. 177
Warne, Frederick G (1898). George Müller: the modern apostle of faith. Fleming H. Revell. p. 230.
Steer, p. 249-252
Steer, p. 253.

Bibliography

Garton, Nancy (1992). George Müller and his Orphans. Bath: Chivers Press. ISBN 0-7451-1675-2.
Groves, Edward Kennaway (1906). George Müller and His Successors.
Harding, William Henry (1914). The Life of George Müller. London/Edinburgh: Oliphants.
Müller, George (2004). Autobiography of George Müller: A Million and a Half in Answer to Prayer. Vestavia Hills, AL: Solid Ground Christian Books. ISBN 0-9647552-0-3.
——— (1984). Autobiography of George Müller: the life of trust. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House. ISBN 0-8010-6105-9.
——— (2003). A narrative of some of the Lord's dealings with George Müller Volume 1. Spring Lake, MI: Dust & Ashes Publications. ISBN 0-9705439-6-4.
Pierson, Arthur Tappan (1899). George Müller of Bristol. London: James Nisbet & Co.
Steer, Roger (1997). George Müller: Delighted in God. Tain, Rosshire: Christian Focus. ISBN 978-1-85792-340-7.