Today we remember the amazing pastor, prayer warrior and justice activist George Müller who died on 10 March in 1898.

But who was George Müller?

George Müller was born Johann Georg Ferdinand Müller, on 27 September 1805 in Kroppenstedt, Kingdom of Prussia (now Saxony-Anhalt, Germany). Müller moved to Bristol, England on 25 May 1832, to begin working at Bethesda Chapel. He later became director of the Ashley Down orphanage. He was one of the founders of the Plymouth Brethren movement.

Müller proved the sovereign faithfulness of God in the matter of finances. He and his wife had taken literally Jesus’ command to give away all their possessions (Luke 14:33), so they had no personal resources. He was also firmly committed to the principle of not making his financial needs known to anyone, except to God in prayer. He was extremely careful not even to give hints about his own needs or the needs of the orphanage. The children never knew about any financial difficulties, nor did they ever lack good food, clothes, or warmth.

But there were times when  Müller’s faith was tried. On February 8, 1842, they had enough food in all the orphan houses for that day’s meals, but no money to buy the usual stock of bread or milk for the following morning, and two houses needed coal. Müller noted in his journal that if God did not send help before nine the next morning, His name would be dishonoured.

The next morning Müller walked to the orphanage early to see how God would meet their need, only to discover that the need had already been met. A Christian businessman had walked about a half mile past the orphanages toward his place of work when the thought occurred to him that Müller’s children might be in need. He decided not to retrace his steps then, but to drop off something that evening. But he couldn’t go any further and felt constrained to go back. He gave a gift that met their need for the next two days. Müller knew many instances like that where God tried his faith.

In his lifetime Müller and his team personally cared for 10,024 orphans, started 117 schools and educated 120,000 children. What’s more, this entire vast operation was funded by the simple power of believing prayer. He believed 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 may be nourished.

In his lifetime, Müller distributed 285,407 Bibles, 1,459,506 New Testaments, and 244,351 other religious texts, which were translated into twenty languages. He also supported other “faith missionaries” around the world, such as Hudson Taylor in China.

Müller was often fiercely criticised for ‘raising the poor above their natural station in life.’ It’s harder to think of a greater compliment.