A. T. Pierson
The classic biography of George Müller tells the story of one of England’s greatest evangelists, famed and admired for his establishment of orphanages in his hometown of Bristol.George Müller was successful in caring for well over 10,000 orphans, yet it was only after long and difficult campaigns and effort that such hard-won victories against social and economic injustice were won. Beginning his efforts in the 1820s, and continuing as the United Kingdom’s population ballooned in the midst of industrialization, Müller encountered many obstacles on his path. A passionate believer in both God and social justice, Müller found opposition to his ideas among the wealthy. Firm in the belief that the poor should receive a good standard of education, he was ridiculed and dismissed as a foolish idealist. Yet Müller proved the naysayers wrong: decades of effort resulted in the Ashley Downs orphanage which housed thousands of impoverished children, while he assisted in the establishment of 117 schools - in all, these ensured education for 120,000 children during Müller’s lifetime. In his later years, Müller embarked on a seventeen year mission around the world, where he evangelized on topics concerning both God and his accomplishments in assisting the poor. Speaking far and wide to congregations in India, South Africa, Canada, the United States and continental Europe, he became a prominent figure seen to exemplify Christian kindness and good deeds. As well as his work in society, Müller was a profoundly religious person who would spend much of his life in prayer. He prayed spontaneously and would request God’s assistance in all manner of things; the repair of a orphan house’s boiler, the health of a sick child, and good weather and fortune during his long voyages on ship being just a few of his pleas to the Lord. Joining God at the age of ninety-two in 1898, George Müller’s work changed countless lives, and he continues to inspire Christians to this day.
