EDITOR'S NOTE. For more than a year now we have printed monthly articles on prayer. Now we want to bring before you one man whose entire life’s ministry was built on prayer. That man: George Muller of Bristol, England. He is a con crete example—a giant one—in our study of prayer. He died more than half a century ago but his child like faith burns on to warm the heart of every child of God who longs to live a life of prayer. In this first article Mr. Muller tells why and how this work among or phans was started. A mong other reasons for estab- ^ lishing an orphan-house were the following: Sometimes I found children of God tried in mind by the prospect of old age, when they might be unable to work any long er and therefore were harassed by the fear of having to go into the poorhouse. If in such a case I pointed out to them how their heavenly Father has always helped those who put their trust in Him, they might not perhaps always say that times have changed; but yet it was evident enough that God was not looked upon by them as the Living God. My spirit was oftentimes bowed down by this, and I longed to set something before the children of God whereby they might see that He does not forsake, even in our day, those who rely upon Him. Another class of persons were brethren in business who suffered in their souls and brought guilt on their consciences by carrying on their business almost in the same way as unconverted persons do. The competition in trade, the bad times, the overpeopled country, were given as reasons why, if the business were carried on simply
according to the Word of God, it could not be expected to do well. Such a brother perhaps would express the wish that he might be differently situated, but very rarely did I see that there was a stand made for God, that there was the holy determination to trust in the living God and to depend on Him in order that a good conscience might be maintained. To this class likewise I desired to show by a vis ible proof that God is unchangeably the same. Then there was another class of persons, individuals who were in professions in which they could not continue with a good conscience or persons who were in an unscrip- tural position with reference to spir itual things, but both classes feared on account of the consequences to give up the profession in which they could not abide with God, or to leave their position lest they should be thrown out of employment. My spirit longed to be instrumen tal in strengthening their faith, by giving them not only instances from the Word of God of His willingness and ability to help all those who rely upon Him but to show them by proofs that He is the same in our day. I well knew that the Word of God ought to be enough, and it was, by grace, enough to me; but still I considered that I ought to lend a helping hand to my brethren, if by any means by this visible proof to the unchangeable faithfulness of the Lord I might strengthen their hands in God; for I remembered what a great blessing my own soul had received through the Lord’s dealings with His servant, A. H. Franke, who in dependence upon the living God alone, established an immense orphan-house which I had seen many times with my own eyes. I therefore judged myself bound
to be the servant of the Church of God in the particular point on which I had obtained mercy: name ly, in being able to take God by His Word and to rely upon it. All these exercises of my soul, which resulted from the fact that so many believers with whom I be came acquainted were harassed and distressed in mind or brought guilt on their consciences on account of not trusting in the Lord, were used by God to awaken in my heart the desire of setting before the church at large and before the world a proof that He has not in the least changed; and this seemed to me best done by the establishing of an orphan-house. It needed to be something which could be seen, even by the natural eye. Now if I, a poor man, simply by prayer and faith obtained without asking any individual the means for establishing and carrying on an orphan-house, there would be something which with the Lord’s blessing might be instrumental in strengthening the faith of the chil dren of God, besides being a testi mony to the consciences of the un converted, of the reality of the things of God. This then was the primary reason for establishing the orphan-house. I certainly did from my heart desire to be used by God to benefit the bodies of poor children bereaved of both parents, and seek in other respects, with the help of God, to do them good for this life. I also par ticularly longed to be used by God in getting the dear orphans trained up in the fear of God; but still, the first and primary object of the work was that God might be magnified by the fact that the orphans under my care are provided with all they need, only by prayer and faith without anyone being asked by me
16
THE KING'S BUSINESS
Made with FlippingBook - Online Brochure Maker