Faith and mission

George Muller

1805 to 1898 · Germany and England

George Muller (1805 to 1898) was a Prussian-born evangelist in Bristol, England, who cared for more than ten thousand orphans over his lifetime and refused ever to ask anyone for money. He prayed, and the food and funds came. His orphanages were, in his own words, a living demonstration that God still hears and answers prayer, and his journals record decades of specific requests and their answers.

Life and context

Muller was born near Halberstadt in Prussia in 1805 and by his own account was a dishonest, thieving youth, even jailed once, before his conversion around 1825. He moved to England and became a pastor in Bristol. Beginning in 1836 he opened homes for orphans, eventually building large houses on Ashley Down that cared for thousands of children at a time. As a deliberate principle he never made his needs known to any person, only to God in prayer, so that the provision that came would be a public testimony to God’s faithfulness. He kept careful records of the answers. Late in life he traveled the world preaching, and he died in Bristol in 1898.

What he taught and lived

Muller’s life was an argument in the form of a practice: prayer is real dependence on a real and living God. He recorded thousands of specific answers, from a morning with no food and full plates arriving in time, to the exact sums needed for new buildings. He wanted skeptics and believers alike to see that God provides for those who trust him.

What his witness points us to

Muller points to a Father who can be trusted, and to the Christ through whom all his need was supplied. His orphanages preach a simple sermon: ask, and depend, and see that God is faithful.

Frequently asked questions

Who was George Muller?

George Muller (1805 to 1898) was a Prussian-born evangelist in Bristol, England, who cared for more than ten thousand orphans in his lifetime while refusing to ask anyone but God to supply the funds.

How did Muller fund his orphanages?

As a matter of principle, Muller never appealed to people for money. He made his needs known only to God in prayer, and kept detailed records of the provision that came, as a testimony to God's faithfulness.

What did Muller teach about prayer?

Muller taught prayer as genuine dependence on a living God who answers. His orphan work was meant to show, publicly, that God still hears and provides for those who trust him.