“…The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.”

James 5:16

I am spending a few weeks preaching on the model prayer from the Sermon on the Mount. Seldom is the time I teach on prayer that I am not reminded of George Mueller. Mueller was an evangelist who lived in the 1800’s. He is widely remembered for his work with orphans at the Ashley Down Orphanage in Bristol, England. In his lifetime, he is reported to have cared for over 10,000 orphans: He housed then, fed them, educated them, and disciple them in Christianity. He did all of this without ever asking for money or going into debt! He only accepted unsolicited donations. Depending totally on prayer and God’s effectual answers, he impacted thousands of lives.

One story in particular has always stood out to me. On a particular morning, 300 orphans where dressed and ready for school when the housemother informed Mueller that there was no food for them to eat. She was instructed to take the children to the dining hall and have them sit at the tables. He then prayed, thanking God for their food. Within minutes a baker knocked at the door and said that the previous night he was unable to sleep because God had revealed to him that the children would need bread that morning. So, he got up and baked three batches of bread…just enough for the 300 children! Soon, another knock came at the door…it was a milkman. He told Mueller that his cart had broken down in front of the orphanage, and his milk would spoil before he could get it fixed…and he wanted to know if they wanted it. The man brought in 10 large cans of milk…just enough for the children!!

There are literally hundreds of recorded stories about George Mueller and God’s miraculous answers to prayer. Another favorite of mine is concerning his prayers for the lost. In November of 1844, he began to pray for the conversion of 5 particular people. He persisted, and 18 months later the first was saved. He continued to persist, and 5 years later the next was saved. He continued to persist, and 6 years later the third was saved. In the months before Mueller’s death, he confessed that he had been praying for the remaining two men for 52 years! George Mueller died without seeing the salvation of the remaining two men, but both were converted with months of his death!!

I love these stories about answered prayer because they illustrate how God is able and willing to provide for us as we seek His will and pray for that will to come in the earth. I want to encourage you to mediate on the Word of God and seek out those things that the Lord has promised the saints. With that truth as the content of our prayers, the Lord will be faithful to answer our prayers in His time and in His way! God is not only able, but willing to give good gifts to His children. Because of what God has already done for you through Jesus Christ, we can ask with confidence and expect great things from our loving and generous Heavenly Father!

Blessings,

Pastor Brian