ANSWERS TO PRAYER

From George Müller's Narratives

Compiled by A. E. C. Brooks. 

The Moody Press153 Institute PlaceChicago

"I never remember, in all my Christian course, a period now (in March, 1895) of sixty-nine years and four months, that I ever SINCERELY andPATIENTLY sought to know the will of God by _the teaching of the HolyGhost_, through the instrumentality of the _Word of God_, but I havebeen ALWAYS directed rightly. But if _honesty of heart_ and _uprightnessbefore God_ were lacking, or if I did not _patiently_ wait upon God forinstruction, or if I preferred _the counsel of my fellow men_ to thedeclarations of _the Word of the living God_, I made great mistakes. "

GEORGE MÜLLER. 

Printed in United States of America

[Illustration: Fac simile of Mr. Müller's permission for the compilationof this book. ]

PREFACE

Mr. Brooks, in this compilation, has endeavored to select those incidentsand practical remarks from Mr. Müller's Narratives, that show in anunmistakeable way, both to believers and unbelievers, the secret ofbelieving prayer, the manifest hand of a living God, and His unfailingresponse, in His own time and way, to every petition which is accordingto His will. 

The careful perusal of these extracts will thus further the great objectwhich Mr. Müller had in view, without the necessity of reading throughthe various details of his "Narratives, " details which Mr. Müller feltbound to give when writing periodically the account of God's dealingswith him. 

For those who have the opportunity, an examination of the "Autobiographyof George Müller, or, a Million and a Half in Answer to Prayer" willrichly repay the time spent upon it. 

Mr. Müller's permission for the compilation of this volume is shown inthe accompanying facsimile, (see p. 2), in the following words:

"If the extracts are given exactly as printed, and the punctuationexactly as in the book and in the connection in which the facts stand, Ihave no objection. "

HOW TO ASCERTAIN THE WILL OF GOD

I seek at the beginning to get my heart into such a state that it has nowill of its own in regard to a given matter. Nine-tenths of the troublewith people generally is just here. Nine-tenths of the difficulties areovercome when our hearts are ready to do the Lord's will, whatever itmay be. When one is truly in this state, it is usually but a little wayto the knowledge of what His will is. 

2. --Having done this, I do not leave the result to feeling or simpleimpression. If so, I make myself liable to great delusions. 

3. --I seek the Will of the Spirit of God through, or in connection with, the Word of God. The Spirit and the Word must be combined. If I look tothe Spirit alone without the Word, I lay myself open to great delusionsalso. If the Holy Ghost guides us at all, He will do it according to theScriptures and never contrary to them. 

4. --Next I take into account providential circumstances. These oftenplainly indicate God's Will in connection with His Word and Spirit. 

5. --I ask God in prayer to reveal His Will to me aright. 

6. --Thus, through prayer to God, the study of the Word, and reflection, I come to a deliberate judgment according to the best of my ability andknowledge, and if my mind is thus at peace, and continues so after twoor three more petitions, I proceed accordingly. In trivial matters, andin transactions involving most important issues, I have found thismethod always effective. 

GEORGE MÜLLER. 

ANSWERS TO PRAYER

CHAPTER I

BEGINNING AND EARLY DAYS OF THE ORPHAN WORK. 

 "That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ. "--1 Peter, i. 7. 

Mr. George Müller, the founder of the New Orphan-Houses, Ashley Down, Bristol (institutions that have been for many years the greatestmonuments of modern times to a prayer-answering God), gives in that mostvaluable and instructive book, "A Narrative of Some of the Lord'sDealings with George Müller, " Vol. I. , among other reasons forestablishing an Orphan-House, the following:--

"Sometimes I found children of God tried in mind by the prospect of oldage, when they might be unable to work any longer, and therefore wereharassed by the fear of having to go into the poorhouse. If in such acase I pointed out to them, how their Heavenly Father has always helpedthose 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 notlooked upon by them as the LIVING God. My spirit was ofttimes bowed downby 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, thosewho rely upon Him. 

"Another class of persons were brethren in business, who suffered intheir souls, and brought guilt on their consciences, by carrying ontheir business, almost in the same way as unconverted persons do. Thecompetition in trade, the bad times, the over-peopled country, weregiven as reasons why, if the business were carried on simply accordingto 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, thatthere was the holy determination to trust in the living God, and todepend on Him, in order that a good conscience might be maintained_. Tothis class likewise I desired to show, by a visible proof, that God isunchangeably the same. 

"Then there was another class of persons, individuals who were inprofessions in which they could not continue with a good conscience, orpersons who were in an unscriptural position with reference to spiritualthings; but both classes feared, on account of the consequences, to giveup the profession in which they could not abide with God, or to leavetheir position, lest they should be thrown out of employment. My spiritlonged to be instrumental in strengthening their faith, by giving themnot only instances from the word of God, of His willingness and abilityto help all those who rely upon Him, but _to show them by proofs_, thatHe is the same in our day. I well knew _that the Word of God ought to beenough_, and it was, by grace, enough, to me; but still, I consideredthat I ought to lend a helping hand to my brethren, if by any means, bythis visible proof to the unchangeable faithfulness of the Lord, I mightstrengthen their hands in God; for I remembered what a great blessing myown soul had received through the Lord's dealings with His servant A. H. Franke, who in dependence upon the living God alone, established animmense 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: namely, _in beingable to take God by His word and to rely upon it_. All these exercisesof my soul, which resulted from the fact that so many believers, withwhom I became acquainted, were harassed and distressed in mind, or broughtguilt on their consciences, on account of not trusting in the Lord; wereused by God to awaken in my heart the desire of setting before thechurch at large, and before the world, a proof that He has not in theleast changed; and this seemed to me best done, by the establishing ofan Orphan-House. It needed to be something which could be seen, even bythe natural eye. Now, if I, a poor man, simply by prayer and faith, obtained _without asking any individual_, the means for establishing andcarrying on an Orphan-House, there would be something which, with theLord's blessing, might be instrumental in strengthening the faith of thechildren of God, besides being a testimony to the consciences of theunconverted, of the reality of the things of God. This, then, was theprimary reason for establishing the Orphan-House. I certainly did frommy 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 ofGod, to do them good for this life;--I also particularly longed to beused by God in getting the dear orphans trained up in the fear ofGod;--but still, the first and primary object of the work was (and stillis:) that God might be magnified by the fact, that the orphans under mycare are provided with all they need, only by _prayer and faith_ withoutanyone being asked by me or my fellow-laborers whereby it may be seen, that God is FAITHFUL STILL, and HEARS PRAYER STILL. That I was notmistaken, has been abundantly proved since November, 1835, both by theconversion of many sinners who have read the accounts, which have beenpublished in connection with this work, and also by the abundance offruit that has followed in the hearts of the saints, for which from myinmost soul, I desire to be grateful to God, and the honor and glory ofwhich not only is due to Him alone, but, which I, by His help, amenabled to ascribe to Him. "

"OPEN THY MOUTH WIDE. "

In the account written by Mr. Müller dated Jan. 16, 1836, respecting theOrphan-House intended to be established in Bristol in connection withthe Scriptural Knowledge Institution for Home and Abroad, we read:--

"When, of late, the thoughts of establishing an Orphan-House, independence upon the Lord, revived in my mind, during the first two weeksI only prayed that if it were of the Lord, he would bring it about, butif not that He graciously would be pleased to take all thoughts about itout of my mind. My uncertainty about knowing the Lord's mind did notarise from questioning whether it would be pleasing in His sight, thatthere should be an abode and Scriptural education provided for destitutefatherless and motherless children; but whether it were His will that Ishould be the instrument of setting such an object on foot, as my handswere already more than filled. My comfort, however, was, that, if itwere His will, He would provide not merely the means, but also suitableindividuals to take care of the children, so that my part of the workwould take only such a portion of my time, as, considering the importanceof the matter, I might give, notwithstanding my many other engagements. The whole of those two weeks I never asked the Lord for money or forpersons to engage in the work. 

"On December 5th, however, the subject of my prayer all at once becamedifferent. I was reading Psalm lxxxi. , and was particularly struck, morethan at any time before, with verse 10: "_Open thy month wide, and Iwill fill it_. " I thought a few moments about these words, and then wasled to apply them to the case of the Orphan-House. It struck me that Ihad never asked the Lord for anything concerning it, except to know Hiswill, respecting its being established or not; and I then fell on myknees and opened my mouth wide, asking Him for much. I asked in submissionto His will, and without fixing a time when He should answer my petition. I prayed that He would give me a house, _i. E. _, either as a loan, orthat someone might be led to pay the rent for one, or that one might begiven permanently for this object; further, I asked Him for £1000; andlikewise for suitable individuals to take care of the children. Besidesthis, I have been since led to ask the Lord, to put into the hearts ofHis people to send me articles of furniture for the house, and someclothes for the children. When I was asking the petition, I was fullyaware what I was doing, _i. E. _, that I was asking for something which Ihad no natural prospect of obtaining from the brethren whom I know, butwhich was not too much for the Lord to grant. "

"December 10, 1835. --This morning I received a letter, in which abrother and sister wrote thus:--"We propose ourselves for the service ofthe intended Orphan-House, if you think us qualified for it; also togive up all the furniture, &c. , which the Lord has given us, for itsuse; and to do this without receiving any salary whatever; believingthat if it be the will of the Lord to employ us, He will supply all ourneeds, &c. "

"Dec. 13. --A brother was influenced this day to give 4s. Per week, or£10 8s. Yearly, as long as the Lord gives the means; 8s. Was given byhim as two weeks' subscriptions. To-day a brother and sister offeredthemselves, with all their furniture, and all the provisions which theyhave in the house, if they can be usefully employed in the concerns ofthe Orphan-House. "

A GREAT ENCOURAGEMENT. 

"Dec. 17. --I was rather cast down last evening and this morning aboutthe matter, questioning whether I ought to be engaged in this way, andwas led to ask the Lord to give me some further encouragement. Soonafter were sent by a brother two pieces of print, the one seven and theother 23¾ yards, 6¾ yards of calico, four pieces of lining, about fouryards altogether, a sheet, and a yard measure. This evening anotherbrother brought a clothes horse, three frocks, four pinafores, sixhandkerchiefs, three counterpanes, one blanket, two pewter salt cellars, six tin cups, and six metal tea spoons; he also brought 3s. 6d. Givento him by three different individuals. At the same time he told me thatit had been put into the heart of an individual to send to-morrow £100. "

ONE THOUSAND POUNDS. 

"June 15, 1837. --To-day I gave myself once more earnestly to prayerrespecting the remainder of the £1000. This evening £5 was given, sothat now the whole sum is made up. To the Glory of the Lord, whose I am, and whom I serve, I would state again, that every shilling of thismoney, and all the articles of clothing and furniture, which have beenmentioned in the foregoing pages, have been given to me, _without onesingle individual having been asked by me for anything_. "

ORPHANS FOR THE BUILDING. 

In a third statement, containing the announcement of the opening of theOrphan-House, for destitute female children, and a proposal for theestablishment of an Infant Orphan-House, which was sent to the press onMay 18, 1836, Mr. Müller wrote:--

"So far as I remember, I brought even the most minute circumstancesconcerning the Orphan-House before the Lord in my petitions, beingconscious of my own weakness and ignorance. There was, however, onepoint I never had prayed about, namely that the Lord would send children;for I naturally took it for granted that there would be plenty ofapplications. The nearer, however, the day came which had been appointedfor receiving applications, the more I had a secret consciousness, thatthe Lord might disappoint my natural expectations, and show me that Icould not prosper in one single thing without Him. The appointed timecame, and not even one application was made. I had before this beenrepeatedly tried, whether I might not, after all, against the Lord'smind, have engaged in the work. This circumstance now led me to lie lowbefore my God in prayer the whole of the evening, February 3, and toexamine my heart once more as to all the motives concerning it; andbeing able, as formerly, to say, that His glory was my _chief aim_, _i. E. _, that it might be seen that it is not a vain thing to trust inthe living God, --and that my _second aim_ was the spiritual welfare ofthe orphan-children, --and the _third_ their bodily welfare; and stillcontinuing in prayer, I was at last brought to this state, that I couldsay _from my heart_, that I should rejoice in God being glorified inthis matter, though it were by _bringing the whole to nothing_. But asstill, after all, it seemed to me more tending to the glory of God, toestablish and prosper the Orphan-House, I could then ask Him heartily, to send applications. I enjoyed now a peaceful state of heart concerningthe subject, and was also more assured than ever that God wouldestablish it. _The very next day_, February 4, the first applicationwas made, and since then 42 more have been made. "

"JUST FOR TO-DAY. "

Later on, when there were nearly 100 persons to be maintained, and thefunds were reduced to about £20, Mr. Müller writes:--

"July 22 [1838]. --This evening I was walking in our little garden, meditating on Heb. Xiii. 8, "Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to-day, and for ever. " Whilst meditating on His unchangeable love, power, wisdom, &c. --and turning all, as I went on, into prayer respecting myself; andwhilst applying likewise His unchangeable love, and power and wisdom, &c. , both to my present spiritual and temporal circumstances:--all atonce the present need of the Orphan-House was brought to my mind. Immediately I was led to say to myself, Jesus in His love and power hashitherto supplied me with what I have needed for the Orphans, and in thesame unchangeable love and power He will provide me with what I may needfor the future. A flow of joy came into my soul whilst realising thusthe unchangeableness of our adorable Lord. About one minute after, aletter was brought me, enclosing a bill for £20. In it was written:"Will you apply the amount of the enclosed bill to the furtherance ofthe objects of your Scriptural Knowledge Society, or of your OrphanEstablishment, or in the work and cause of our Master in any way thatHe Himself, on your application to Him, may point out to you. It is nota great sum, but it is a sufficient provision for the exigency ofto-day; and it is for _to-day's_ exigencies, that, ordinarily, the Lordprovides. To-morrow, as it brings its demands, will find its supply, etc. "

"[Of this £20 I took £10 for the Orphan fund, and £10 for trip otherobjects, and was thus enabled to meet the expenses of about £34 which, in connection with the Orphan-Houses, came upon me within four daysafterwards, and which I knew beforehand would come. ]"

WAITING FOR HELP. 

"Nov. 21, 1838. --Never were we so reduced in funds as to-day. There wasnot a single halfpenny in hand between the matrons of the three houses. Nevertheless there was a good dinner, and by managing so as to help oneanother with bread, etc. , there was a prospect of getting over this dayalso; but for none of the houses had we the prospect of being able totake in bread. When I left the brethren and sisters at one o'clock, after prayer, I told them that we must wait for help, and see how theLord would deliver us this time. I was sure of help, but we were indeedstraitened. When I came to Kingsdown, I felt that I needed more exercise, being very cold; wherefore I went not the nearest way home, but round byClarence Place. About twenty yards from my house, I met a brother whowalked back with me, and after a little conversation gave me £10 to behanded over to the brethren, the deacons, towards providing the poorsaints with coals, blankets and warm clothing; also £5 for the Orphans, and £5 for the other objects of the Scriptural Knowledge Institution. The brother had called twice while I was gone to the Orphan-Houses, andhad I now been _one half minute_ later, I should have missed him. Butthe Lord knew our need, and therefore allowed me to meet him. I sent offthe £5 immediately to the matrons. "

BEYOND DISAPPOINTMENT. 

"Sept. 21 [1840], Monday. By what was in hand for the Orphans, and by whathad come in yesterday, the need of to-day is more than supplied, as thereis enough for to-morrow also. To-day a brother from the neighbourhood ofLondon gave me £10, to be laid out as it might be most needed. As wehave been praying many days for the School, --Bible, --and MissionaryFunds, I took it all for them. This brother knew nothing about our work, when he came three days since to Bristol. Thus the Lord, to show Hiscontinued care over us, raises up new helpers. They that trust in theLord shall never be confounded! Some who helped for a while may fallasleep in Jesus; others may grow cold in the service of the Lord; othersmay be as desirous as ever to help, but have no longer the means; othersmay have both a willing heart to help, and have also the means, but maysee it the Lord's will to lay them out in another way;--and thus, fromone cause or another, were we to lean upon man, we should surely beconfounded; but, in leaning upon the living God alone, we are _BEYONDdisappointment, and BEYOND being forsaken because of death_, or _want ofmeans_, or _want of love_, or _because of the claims of other work_. Howprecious to have learned in any measure to stand with God alone in theworld, and yet to be happy, and to know that surely no good thing shallbe withheld from us whilst we walk uprightly!"

A GREAT SINNER CONVERTED. 

In his REVIEW OF THE YEAR 1841, Mr. Müller writes:--

"During this year I was informed about the conversion of one of the verygreatest sinners, that I ever heard of in all my service for the Lord. Repeatedly I fell on my knees with his wife, and asked the Lord for hisconversion, when she came to me in the deepest distress of soul, onaccount of the most barbarous and cruel treatment that she received fromhim, in his bitter enmity against her for the Lord's sake, and becausehe could not provoke her to be in a passion, and _she would not_ strikehim again, and the like. At the time when it was at its worst I pleadedespecially on his behalf the promise in Matthew xviii. 19: 'Again I sayunto you, that if two of you shall agree on earth as touching anythingthat they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my father which is inheaven. ' And now this awful persecutor is converted. "

PRAYER FOR SPIRITUAL BLESSING AMONG THE SAINTS. 

"On May 25th, I began to ask the Lord for greater real spiritualprosperity among the saints, among whom I labour in Bristol, than thereever yet had been among them; and now I have to record to the praise ofthe Lord that truly He has answered this request; for, considering allthings, at no period has there been more manifestation of grace andtruth, and spiritual power among us, than there is now while I amwriting this for the press (1845). Not that we have attained to what wemight; we are far, very far from it; but the Lord has been very, verygood to us, and we have most abundant cause for thanksgiving. "

WITHHOLDING THE REPORT. 

"Dec. 9 [1841]. --To-day came in for the Orphans by the sale of stockings10s. 10d. --We are now brought to the close of the sixth year of thispart of the work, _having only in hand the money which has been put byfor the rent_; but during the whole of this year we have been suppliedwith all that was needed. 

"During the last three years we had closed the accounts on this day, andhad, a few days after, some public meetings, at which, for the benefitof the hearers, we stated how the Lord had dealt with us during theyear, and the substance of what had been stated at these meetings wasafterwards printed for the benefit of the church at large. This time, however, it appeared to us better to delay for a while both the publicmeetings and the publishing of the Report. Through grace we had learnedto lean upon the Lord only, being assured, that, if we were never tospeak or write one single word more about this work, yet should we besupplied with means, as long as He should enable us to depend on Himselfalone. But whilst we neither had had those public meetings for thepurpose of exposing our necessity, nor had had the account of the Lord'sdealings with us published for the sake of working thereby upon thefeelings of the readers, and thus inducing them to give money, but onlythat we might by our experience benefit other saints; yet it might haveappeared to some that, in making known our circumstances, we wereactuated by some such motives. What better proof, therefore, could wegive of our depending upon the living God alone, and not upon publicmeetings or printed Reports, than that, _in the midst of our deeppoverty_, instead of being glad for the time to have come when we couldmake known our circumstances, we still went on quietly for some timelonger, without saying anything. We therefore determined, as we soughtand still seek in this work to act for the profit of the saintsgenerally, to delay both the public meetings and the Report for a fewmonths. _Naturally_ we should have been, of course, as glad as anyone tohave exposed our poverty at that time; but _spiritually_ we were unableto delight even then in the prospect of the increased benefit that mightbe derived by the church at large from our acting as we did. 

 * * * * *

"Dec. 18. Saturday morning. There is now the greatest need, and only 4d. In hand, which I found in the box at my house; yet I fully believe theLord will supply us this day also with all that is required. --Pause afew moments, dear reader! Observe two things! We acted _for God_ indelaying the public meetings and the publishing of the Report; but _God'sway leads always into trial, so far as sight and sense are concerned_. _Nature_ always will be tried _in God's ways_. The Lord was saying bythis poverty, 'I will now see whether you truly lean upon me, andwhether you truly look to me. ' Of all the seasons that I had ever passedthrough since I had been living in this way, _up to that time_, I neverknew any period in which my faith was tried so sharply, as during thefour months from Dec. 12, 1841, to April 12, 1842. But observe further:We might even now have altered our minds with respect to the publicmeetings and publishing the Report; _for no one knew our determination, at this time_, concerning the point. Nay, on the contrary, we knew withwhat delight very many children of God were looking forward to receivefurther accounts. But the Lord kept us steadfast to the conclusion, atwhich we had arrived under His guidance. "

"HE ABIDETH FAITHFUL. "

Under the date Jan. 25, 1842, Mr. Müller writes:--

"Perhaps, dear reader, you have said in your heart before you have readthus far: 'How would it be, suppose the funds for the Orphans werereduced to nothing, and those who are engaged in the work had nothing oftheir own to give, and a meal time were come, and you had no food forthe children. '

"Thus indeed it may be, for our hearts are desperately wicked. If everwe should be so left to ourselves, as that either we depend no more uponthe living God, or that 'we regard iniquity in our hearts, ' then such astate of things, we have reason to believe, would occur. But so long aswe shall be enabled to trust in the living God, and so long as, thoughfalling short in every way of what we might be, and ought to be, we areat least kept from living in sin, such a state of things cannot occur. Therefore, dear reader, if you yourself walk with God, and if, on thataccount, His glory is dear to you, I affectionately and earnestlyentreat you to beseech Him to uphold us; for how awful would be thedisgrace brought upon His holy name if we, who have so publicly made ourboast in Him, and have spoken well of Him, should be left to disgraceHim, either by unbelief in the hour of trial, or by a life of sin inother respects. "

DELAYED BUT SURE. 

"March 9 [1842]. --At a time of the greatest need, both with regard tothe Day-Schools and the Orphans, so much so that we could not have goneon any longer without help, I received this day £10 from a brother wholives near Dublin. The money was divided between the Day-Schools and theOrphan-Houses. The following little circumstance is to be noticedrespecting this donation:--As our need was so great, and my soul was, through grace, truly waiting upon the Lord, I looked out for supplies inthe course of this morning. The post, however, was out, and no supplieshad come. This did not in the least discourage me. I said to myself, theLord can send means without the post, or even now, though the post isout, by this very delivery of letters He may have sent means, though themoney is not yet in my hands. It was not long after I had thus spoken tomyself, when, according to my hope in God, we were helped; for thebrother who sent us the £10, had this time directed his letter to theBoys' Orphan-House, whence it was sent to me. "

"LIKE AS A FATHER. "

"March 17. --From the 12th to the 16th had come in £4 5s. 11½d. For theOrphans. This morning our poverty, which now has lasted more or lessfor several months, had become exceedingly great. I left my house a fewminutes after seven to go to the Orphan-Houses, to see whether there wasmoney enough to take in the milk, which is brought about eight o'clock. On my way it was specially my request that the Lord would be pleased topity us, even as a father pitieth his children, and that He would notlay more upon us than He would enable us to bear, I especially entreatedHim that He would now be pleased to refresh our hearts by sending ushelp. I likewise reminded Him of the consequences that would result, both in reference to believers and unbelievers, if we should have togive up the work because of want of means, and that He therefore wouldnot permit of its coming to nought. I moreover again confessed beforethe Lord that I deserved not that He should continue to use me in thiswork any longer. While I was thus in prayer, about two minutes' walkfrom the Orphan-Houses, I met a brother who was going at this early hourto his business. After having exchanged a few words with him, I went on;but he presently ran after me, and gave me £1 for the Orphans. Thus theLord speedily answered my prayer. Truly, it is worth being poor andgreatly tried in faith, for the sake of having day by day such preciousproofs of the loving interest which our kind Father takes in everythingthat concerns us. And how should our Father do otherwise? He that hasgiven us the greatest possible proof of His love which He could havedone, in giving us His own Son, surely He will with Him also freely giveus all things. "

TRUST IN THE LORD BETTER THAN MAN'S PROMISES. 

"May 6 [1845]. --About six weeks ago intimation was kindly given by abrother that he expected a certain considerable sum of money, and that, if he obtained it, a certain portion of it should be given to the Lord, so that £100 of it should be used for the work in my hands, and the otherpart for Brother Craik's and my own personal expenses. However, dayafter day passed away, and the money did not come. I did not trust inthis money, yet, as during all this time, with scarcely any exception, we were more or less needy, I thought again and again about thisbrother's promise; though I did not, by the grace of God, trust in thebrother who had made it, but in the Lord. Thus week after week passedaway, and the money did not come. Now this morning it came to my mind, that such promises ought to be valued, in a certain sense, as nothing, _i. E. _, that the mind ought never for a moment to be directed to them, but to the living God, and to the living God only. I saw that suchpromises ought not to be of the value of one farthing, so far as itregards thinking about them for help. I therefore asked the Lord, when, as usual, I was praying with my beloved wife about the work in my handsthat He would be pleased to take this whole matter, about that promise, completely out of my mind, and to help me, not to value it in theleast, yea, to treat it as if not worth one farthing, but to keep my eyedirected only to Himself. I was enabled to do so. We had not yetfinished praying when I received the following letter:

 ----May 5, 1845

 Beloved Brother, Are your bankers still Messrs. Stuckey and Co. Of Bristol, and are their bankers still Messrs. Robarts and Co. Of London? Please to instruct me on this; and if the case should be so, please to regard this as a letter of advice that £70 are paid to Messrs. Robarts and Co. , for Messrs. Stuckey and Co. , for you. This sum apply as the Lord may give you wisdom. I shall not send to Robarts and Co. Until I hear from you. 

 Ever affectionately yours, * * * *

"Thus the Lord rewarded at once this determination to endeavour not tolook in the least to that promise from a brother, but only to Himself. But this was not all. About two o'clock this afternoon I received fromthe brother, who had more than forty days ago, made that promise, £16618s. , as he this day received the money, on the strength of which he hadmade that promise. Of this sum £100 are to be used for the work in myhands, and the remainder for brother Craik's and my own personalexpenses. "

Under date 1842 Mr. Müller writes:--

"I desire that all the children of God, who may read these details, maythereby be lead to increased and more simple confidence in God foreverything which they may need under any circumstances, and that thesemany answers to prayer may encourage them to pray, particularly as itregards the conversion of their friends and relatives, their own progressin grace and knowledge, the state of the saints whom they may knowpersonally, the state of the church of God at large, and the success ofthe preaching of the Gospel. Especially I affectionately warn them againstbeing led away by the device of Satan, to think that these things arepeculiar to me, and cannot be enjoyed by all the children of God; forthough, as has been stated before, every believer is not called upon toestablish Orphan-Houses, Charity Schools, etc. , and trust in the Lordfor means; yet all believers are called upon, in the simple confidenceof faith, to cast all their burdens upon Him, to trust in Him foreverything, and not only to make every thing a subject of prayer, but toexpect answers to their petitions which they have asked according to Hiswill, and in the name of the Lord Jesus. --Think not, dear reader, that Ihave _the gift of faith_, that is, that gift of which we read in 1 Cor. Xii. 9, and which is mentioned along with 'the gifts of healing, ' 'theworking of miracles, ' 'prophecy, ' and that on that account I am able totrust in the Lord. _It is true_ that the faith, which I am enabled toexercise, is altogether God's own gift; it is true that He alonesupports it, and that He alone can increase it; it is true that, momentby moment, I depend upon Him for it, and that, if I were only onemoment left to myself, my faith would utterly fail; but _it is not true_that my faith is that gift of faith which is spoken of in 1 Cor. Xii. 9for the following reasons:--

"1. The faith which I am enabled to exercise with reference to theOrphan-Houses and my own temporal necessities, is not that 'faith' ofwhich it is said in 1 Cor. Xiii. 2 (evidently in allusion to the faithspoken of in 1 Cor. Xii. 9), 'Though I have all faith, so that I couldremove mountains, and have not charity (love), I am nothing'; but it isthe self-same faith which is found in _every believer_, and the growthof which I am most sensible of to myself; for, by little and little, ithas been increasing for the last sixty-nine years. 

"2. This faith which is exercised respecting the Orphan-Houses and myown temporal necessities, shows itself in the same measure, for instanceconcerning the following points: I have never been permitted to doubtduring the last sixty-nine years that my sins are forgiven, that I am achild of God, that I am beloved of God, and that I shall be finallysaved; because I am enabled, by the grace of God, to exercise faith uponthe word of God, and believe what God says in those passages whichsettle these matters (1 John v. 1--Gal. Iii. 26--Acts x. 43--Romans x. 9, 10--John iii. 16, etc. ).... Further, when sometimes all has beendark, exceedingly dark, with reference to my service among the saints, judging from natural appearances; yea, when I should have beenoverwhelmed indeed in grief and despair, had I looked at things afterthe outward appearance; at such times I have sought to encourage myselfin God, by laying hold in faith on His mighty power, His unchangeablelove, and His infinite wisdom, and I have said to myself: God is ableand willing to deliver me, if it be good for me; for it is written: "Hethat spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shallHe not with Him also freely give us all things?" Rom. Viii. 32. This, this it was which, being believed by me through grace, kept my soul inpeace. --Further, when in connection with the Orphan-Houses, Day Schools, etc. , trials have come upon me which were far heavier than the want ofmeans when lying reports were spread that the Orphans had not enough toeat, or that they were cruelly treated in other respects, and the like;or when other trials, still greater, but which I cannot mention, havebefallen me in connexion with this work, and that at a time when I wasnearly a thousand miles absent from Bristol, and had to remain absentweek after week: at such times my soul was stayed upon God; I believedHis word of promise which was applicable to such cases; I poured out mysoul before God, and arose from my knees in peace, because the troublethat was in the soul was in believing prayer cast upon God, and thus Iwas kept in peace, though I saw it to be the will of God to remain faraway from the work. --Further, when I needed houses, fellow-labourers, masters and mistresses for the Orphans or for the Day Schools, I havebeen enabled to look for all to the Lord and trust in Him forhelp. --Dear reader, I may seem to boast; but, by the grace of God, I donot boast in thus speaking. From my inmost soul I do ascribe it to Godalone that He has enabled me to trust in Him, and that hitherto He hasnot suffered my confidence in Him to fail. But I thought it needful tomake these remarks, lest anyone should think that my depending upon Godwas a particular gift given to me, which other saints have no right tolook for; or lest it should be thought that this my depending upon Himhad _only to do with the obtaining of MONEY by prayer and faith_. By thegrace of God I desire that my faith in God should extend towards EVERYthing, the smallest of my own temporal and spiritual concerns, and thesmallest of the temporal and spiritual concerns of my family, towardsthe saints among whom I labour, the church at large, everything that hasto do with the temporal and spiritual prosperity of the ScripturalKnowledge Institution, etc. Dear reader, do not think that I haveattained in faith (and how much less in other respects!) to that degreeto which I might and ought to attain; but thank God for the faith whichHe has given me, and ask Him to uphold and increase it. And lastly, oncemore, let not Satan deceive you in making you think that you could nothave the same faith but that it is only for persons who are situated asI am. When I lose such a thing as a key, I ask the Lord to direct me toit, and I look for an answer to my prayer; when a person with whom I havemade an appointment does not come, according to the fixed time, and Ibegin to be inconvenienced by it, I ask the Lord to be pleased to hastenhim to me and I look for an answer; when I do not understand a passageof the word of God, I lift up my heart to the Lord, that He would bepleased, by His Holy Spirit to instruct me, and I expect to be taught, though I do not fix the time when, and the manner how it should be; whenI am going to minister in the Word, I seek help from the Lord, and whileI, in the consciousness of natural inability as well as utter unworthinessbegin this His service, I am not cast down, but of good cheer, because Ilook for His assistance, and believe that He, for His dear Son's sakewill help me. And thus in other of my temporal and spiritual concerns Ipray to the Lord, and expect an answer to my requests; and may not _you_do the same, dear believing reader? Oh! I beseech you, do not think mean extraordinary believer, having privileges above other of God's dearchildren, which they cannot have; nor look on my way of acting assomething that would not do for other believers. Make but trial! Do butstand still in the hour of trial, and you will see the help of God, ifyou trust in Him. But there is so often a forsaking the ways of the Lordin the hour of trial, and thus the _food of faith_, the means wherebyour faith may be increased, is lost. This leads me to the followingimportant point. You ask, How may I, a true believer, have my faithstrengthened? The answer is this:--

"I. --Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comethdown from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neithershadow of turning. " James i. 17. As the increase of faith is a goodgift, it must come from God, and therefore He ought to be asked for thisblessing. 

"II. --The following means, however, ought to be used:--1, _The carefulreading of the word of God, combined with meditation on it. _ Throughreading of the word of God, and especially through meditation on theword of God, the believer becomes more and more acquainted with thenature and character of God, and thus sees more and more, besides Hisholiness and justice, what a kind, loving, gracious, merciful, mighty, wise, and faithful Being He is, and, therefore, in poverty, afflictionof body, bereavement in his family, difficulty in his service, want of asituation or employment, he will repose upon the _ability_ of God tohelp him, because he has not only learned from His word that He is ofalmighty power and infinite wisdom, but he has also seen instance uponinstance in the Holy Scriptures in which His almighty power and infinitewisdom have been actually exercised in helping and delivering Hispeople; and he will repose upon the _willingness_ of God to help him, because he has not only learned from the Scriptures what a kind, good, merciful, gracious, and faithful being God is, but because he has alsoseen in the word of God how, in a great variety of instances He hasproved Himself to be so. And the consideration of this, if _God hasbecome known to us through prayer and meditation on His own word_, willlead us, in general at least, with a measure of confidence to rely uponHim: and thus the reading of the word of God, together with meditationon it, will be one especial means to strengthen our faith. 2, As withreference to the growth of every grace of the Spirit, it is of theutmost importance that we seek to maintain an upright heart and a goodconscience, and, therefore, do not knowingly and habitually indulge inthose things which are contrary to the mind of God, so it is alsoparticularly the case with reference to the _growth in faith_. How can Ipossibly continue to act faith upon God, concerning anything, if I amhabitually grieving Him, and seek to detract from the glory and honourof Him in whom I profess to trust, upon whom I profess to depend? All myconfidence towards God, all my leaning upon Him in the hour of trialwill be gone, if I have a guilty conscience, and do not seek to put awaythis guilty conscience, but still continue to do the things which arecontrary to the mind of God. And if, in any particular instance, Icannot trust in God, because of the guilty conscience, then my faith isweakened by that instance of distrust; for faith with every fresh trialof it either increases by trusting God, and thus getting help, or itdecreases by not trusting Him; and then there is less and less power oflooking simply and directly to Him, and a habit of self-dependence isbegotten or encouraged. One or the other of these will always be thecase in each particular instance. Either we trust in God, and in thatcase we neither trust in ourselves, nor in our fellow-men, nor incircumstances, nor in anything besides; or we DO trust in one or more ofthese, and in that case do NOT trust in God. 3, If we, indeed, desireour faith to be strengthened, we should not shrink from opportunitieswhere our faith may be tried, and, therefore, through the trial, bestrengthened. In our natural state we dislike dealing with God alone. Through our natural alienation from God we shrink from Him, and frometernal realities. This cleaves to us more or less, even after ourregeneration. Hence it is, that more or less, even as believers, we havethe same shrinking from standing with God alone, --from depending uponHim alone, --from looking to Him alone:--and yet this is the veryposition in which we ought to be, if we wish our faith to bestrengthened. The more I am in a position to be tried in faith withreference to my body, my family, my service for the Lord, my business, etc. , the more shall I have opportunity of seeing God's help anddeliverance; and every fresh instance, in which He helps and deliversme, will tend towards the increase of my faith. On this account, therefore, the believer should not shrink from situations, positions, circumstances, in which his faith may be tried; but should cheerfullyembrace them as opportunities where he may see the hand of God stretchedout on his behalf, to help and deliver him, and whereby he may thushave his faith strengthened. 4, The last important point for thestrengthening of our faith is, that we let God work for us, when thehour of the trial of our faith comes, and do not work a deliverance ofour own. Wherever God has given faith, it is given, among other reasons, for the very purpose of being tried. 

"Yea, however weak our faith may be, God will try it; only with thisrestriction, that as in every way, He leads on gently, gradually, patiently, so also with reference to the trial of our faith. At firstour faith will be tried very little in comparison with what it may beafterwards; for God never lays more upon us that He is willing to enableus to bear. Now when the trial of faith comes, we are naturally inclinedto distrust God, and to trust rather in ourselves, or in our friends, orin circumstances. 

"We will rather work a deliverance of our own somehow or other, thansimply look to God and wait for His help. But if we do not patientlywait for God's help, if we work a deliverance of our own, then at thenext trial of our faith it will be thus again, we shall be againinclined to deliver ourselves; and thus with every fresh instance ofthat kind, our faith will decrease; whilst on the contrary, were we tostand still, in order to see the salvation of God, to see His handstretched out on our behalf, trusting in Him alone, then our faith wouldbe increased, and with every fresh case in which the hand of God isstretched out on our behalf in the hour of the trial of our faith, ourfaith would be increased yet more. 

"Would the believer, therefore, have his faith strengthened, he mustespecially, _give time to God_, who tries his faith in order to prove toHis child, in the end, how willing He is to help and deliver him, themoment it is good for him. "

In the early years of the Institution Mr. Müller and his fellowlabourers had to endure many severe trials of faith, as some of theseinstances show. 

Mr. Müller when writing of this period says:--

"Though now (July, 1845) for about seven years our funds have been soexhausted, that it has been a _rare_ case that there have been means inhand to meet the necessities of more than 100 persons for _three days_together; yet I have been only once tried in spirit, and that was onSeptember 18, 1838, when, for the first time the Lord seemed not toregard our prayer. But when He did send help at that time, and I sawthat it was only for the trial of our faith, and not because He hadforsaken the work, that we were brought so low, my soul was sostrengthened and encouraged, that I have not only not been allowed todistrust the Lord, but _I have not been even cast down when in thedeepest poverty_ since that time. "

A GIFT OF £12. 

"Aug. 20 [1838]. --The £5 which I had received on the 18th. Had beengiven for house-keeping, so that to-day I was again penniless. But myeyes were up to the Lord. I gave myself to prayer this morning, knowingthat I should want again this week at least £13, if not above £20. To-day I received £12 in answer to prayer, from a lady who is staying atClifton, whom I had never seen before. Adorable Lord, grant that thismay be a fresh encouragement to me!"

A SOLEMN CRISIS. 

Regarding one of the sharpest times of trial Mr. Müller writes:--

"Sept. 10 [1838]. Monday morning. Neither Saturday nor yesterday had anymoney come in. It appeared to me now needful to take some steps onaccount of our need, _i. E. _, to go to the Orphan-Houses, call thebrethren and sisters together, (who, except brother T----, had neverbeen informed about the state of the funds), state the case to them, seehow much money was needed for the present, tell them that amidst allthis trial of faith I still believed that God would help, and to praywith them. Especially, also, I meant to go for the sake of telling themthat no more articles must be purchased than we have the means to payfor, but to let there be nothing lacking in any way to the children asit regards nourishing food and needful clothing; for I would rather atonce send them away than that they should lack. I meant to go for thesake also of seeing whether there were still articles remaining whichhad been sent for the purpose of being sold, or whether there were anyarticles really needless, that we might turn them into money. I feltthat the matter was now come to a solemn crisis. About half-past ninesixpence came in, which had been put anonymously into the box at GideonChapel. This money seemed to me like an earnest, that God would havecompassion and send more. About ten, after I had returned from brotherCraik, to whom I had unbosomed my heart again, whilst once more inprayer for help, a sister called who gave two sovereigns to my wife forthe Orphans, stating that she had felt herself stirred up to come andthat she had delayed coming already too long. A few minutes after, whenI went into the room where she was, she gave me two sovereigns more, andall this without knowing the least about our need. Thus the Lord mostmercifully has sent us a little help, to the great encouragement of myfaith. A few minutes after I was called on for money from the InfantOrphan-House, to which I sent £2, and £1 0s. 6d. To the Boys'Orphan-House, and £1 to the Girls' Orphan-House. "

A PRECIOUS DELIVERANCE. 

"Sept. 17 [1838]. --The trial still continues. It is now more and moretrying, even to faith, as each day comes. Truly, the Lord has wisepurposes in allowing us to call so long upon Him for help. But I am sureGod will send help, if we can but wait. One of the labourers had had alittle money come in of which he gave 12s. 6d. ; another labourer gave11s. 8d. , being all the money she had left; this, with 17s. 6d. , which, partly, had come in, and, partly was in hand, enabled us to pay whatneeded to be paid, and to purchase provisions, so that nothing yet, inany way, has been lacking. This evening I was rather tired respectingthe long delay of larger sums coming; but being led to go to theScriptures for comfort, my soul was greatly refreshed, and my faithagain strengthened, by the xxxivth Psalm, so that I went very cheerfullyto meet with my dear fellow-labourers for prayer. I read to them thePsalm, and sought to cheer their hearts through the precious promisescontained in it. "

"Sept. 18. --Brother T. Had 25s. In hand, and I had 3s. This £1 8s. Enabled us to buy the meat and bread, which was needed; a little tea forone of the houses, and milk for all; no more than this is needed. Thusthe Lord has provided not only for this day; for there is bread for twodays in hand. Now, however, we are come to an extremity. The funds areexhausted. The labourers, who had a little money, have given as long asthey had any left. Now observe how the Lord helped us! A lady from theneighbourhood of London who brought a parcel with money from herdaughter, arrived four or five days since in Bristol, and took lodgingsnext door to the Boys' Orphan-House. This afternoon she herself kindlybrought me the money, amounting to £3 2s. 6d. We had been reduced solow as to be on the point of selling those things which could be spared;but this morning I had asked the Lord, if it might be, to prevent thenecessity, of our doing so. That the money had been so near theOrphan-Houses for several days without being given, is a plain proofthat it was from the beginning in the heart of God to help us; butbecause He delights in the prayers of His children, He had allowed us topray so long; also to try our faith, and to make the answer so much thesweeter. It is indeed a precious deliverance. I burst out into loudpraises and thanks the first moment I was alone, after I had receivedthe money. I met with my fellow-labourers again this evening for prayerand praise; their hearts were not a little cheered. This money was thisevening divided, and will comfortably provide for all that will beneeded to-morrow. "

CHAPTER II. 

THE NEW ORPHAN HOUSES, ASHLEY DOWN. 

A complaint having been received from a gentleman in October, 1845, thatsome of the inhabitants of Wilson Street were inconvenienced by theOrphan-Houses being in that street, Mr. Müller ultimately decided forthat and other reasons, after much prayerful meditation, to build anOrphan-House elsewhere to accommodate 300 children, and commenced to askthe Lord for means for so doing:--

"Jan. 31 [1846]. --It is now 89 days since I have been daily waiting uponGod about the building of an Orphan-House. The time seems to me now nearwhen the Lord will give us a piece of ground, and I told the brethrenand sisters so this evening, after our usual Saturday evening prayermeeting at the Orphan-Houses. 

"Feb. 1. --A poor widow sent to-day 10s. 

"Feb. 2. --To-day I heard of suitable and cheap land on Ashley Down. 

"Feb. 3. --Saw the land. It is the most desirable of all I haveseen. --There was anonymously put in an Orphan-box at my house asovereign, in a piece of paper, on which was written, 'The NewOrphan-House. '

"Feb. 4. --This evening I called on the owner of the land on Ashley Down, about which I had heard on the 2nd, but he was not at home. As I, however, had been informed that I should find him at his house ofbusiness, I went there, but did not find him there either, as he had_just before_ left. I might have called again at his residence, at alater hour having been informed by one of the servants that he would besure to be at home about eight o'clock; but I did not do so, judgingthat there was the hand of God in my not finding him at either place:and I judged it best therefore not to force the matter, but to 'letpatience have her perfect work. '

"Feb. 5. --Saw this morning the owner of the land. He told me that heawoke at three o'clock this morning and could not sleep again till five. While he was thus lying awake, his mind was all the time occupied aboutthe piece of land, respecting which inquiry had been made of him for thebuilding of an Orphan-House, at my request; and he determined that if Ishould apply for it, he would not only let me have it, but for £120 peracre, instead of £200; the price which he had previously asked for it. How good is the Lord! The agreement was made this morning, and Ipurchased a field of nearly seven acres, at £120 per acre. 

"Observe the hand of God in my not finding the owner at home lastevening! The Lord meant to speak to His servant first about this matter, during a sleepless night, and to lead him _fully_ to decide, before Ihad seen him. "

"BECAUSE OF HIS IMPORTUNITY. "

"Nov. 19 [1846]. --I am now led more and more to importune the Lord to sendme the means, which are requisite in order that I may be able to commencethe building. Because (1) it has been for some time past publicly statedin print, that I allow it is not without ground that some of theinhabitants of Wilson Street consider themselves inconvenienced by theOrphan-Houses being in that street, and I long therefore to be able toremove the Orphans from thence as soon as possible. (2) I become more andmore convinced, that it would be greatly for the benefit of the children, both physically and morally, with God's blessing, to be in such a positionas they are intended to occupy, when the New Orphan-House shall have beenbuilt. And (3) because the number of very poor and destitute Orphans, that are waiting for admission, is so great, and there are constantlyfresh applications made. Now whilst, by God's grace, I would not wishthe building to be begun one single day sooner than is His will; andwhilst I firmly believe, that He will give me, in His own time everyshilling which I need; yet I also know, that He delights in beingearnestly entreated, and that He takes pleasure in the continuance inprayer, and in the importuning Him, which so clearly is to be seen fromthe parable of the widow and the unjust judge, Luke xviii. 1-8. Forthese reasons I gave myself again particularly to prayer last evening, that the Lord would send further means, being also especially led to doso, in addition to the above reasons, because there had come in butlittle comparatively, since the 29th of last month. This morning, betweenfive and six o'clock I prayed again, among other points, about theBuilding Fund, and then had a long season for the reading of the word ofGod. In the course of my reading I came to Mark xi. 24, 'What thingssoever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and yeshall have them. ' The importance of the truth contained in this portionI have often felt and spoken about; but this morning I felt it againmost particularly, and, applying it to the New Orphan-House, said to theLord: 'Lord I believe that Thou wilt give me all I need for this work. Iam sure that I shall have all, because I believe that I receive inanswer to my prayer. ' Thus, with the heart full of peace concerning thiswork, I went on to the other part of the chapter, and to the nextchapter. After family prayer I had again my usual season for prayer withregard to all the many parts of the work, and the various necessitiesthereof, asking also blessings upon my fellow-labourers, upon thecirculation of Bibles and Tracts, and upon the precious souls in theAdult School, the Sunday Schools, the Six Day Schools, and the fourOrphan-Houses. Amidst all the many things I again made my requests aboutmeans for the Building. And now observe: About five minutes, after I hadrisen from my knees, there was given to me a registered letter, containinga cheque for £300, of which £280 are for the Building Fund, £10 for myown personal expenses, and £10 for Brother Craik. The Lord's holy namebe praised for this precious encouragement, by which the Building Fundis now increased to more than six thousand pounds. "

MR. MÜLLER'S FIRST ORPHAN-HOUSE. 

"Jan. 25 [1847]. --The season of the year is now approaching, whenbuilding may be begun. Therefore with increased earnestness I have givenmyself unto prayer, importuning the Lord that He would be pleased toappear on our behalf, and speedily send the remainder of the amountwhich is required, and I have increasingly, of late, felt that the timeis drawing near, when the Lord will give me all that which is requisitefor commencing the building. All the various arguments which I haveoften brought before God, I brought also again this morning before Him. It is now 14 months and 3 weeks since day by day I have uttered mypetitions to God on behalf of this work. I rose from my knees thismorning in full confidence, not only that God _could_, but also _would_, send the means, and that soon. Never, during all these 14 months and 3weeks, have I had the least doubt, that I should have all that which isrequisite. --And now, dear believing reader, rejoice and praise with me. About an hour, after I had prayed thus, there was given to me the sum ofTwo Thousand Pounds for the Building Fund. Thus I have receivedaltogether £9, 285 3s. 9½d. Towards this work. --I cannot describe the joyI had in God when I received this donation. It must be known fromexperience, in order to be felt. 447 days I have had day by day to waitupon God, before the sum reached the above amount. How great is theblessing which the soul obtains by _trusting in God_, and _by waitingpatiently_. Is it not manifest how precious it is to carry on God's workin this way, even with regard to the obtaining of means?"

The total amount which came in for the Building Fund was £15, 784 18s. 10d. 

ORPHAN-HOUSES NOS. 2 & 3. 

"March 12, 1862. --It was in November, 1850, that my mind becameexercised about enlarging the Orphan Work from 300 Orphans to 1000, andsubsequently to 1150; and it was in June, 1851, that this my purposebecame known, having kept it secret for more than seven months, whilstday by day praying about it. From the end of November, 1850, to thisday, March 12, 1862, not one single day has been allowed to pass, without this contemplated enlargement being brought before God inprayer, and generally more than once a day. But only now, this day, theNew Orphan-House No. 3 was so far advanced, that it could be opened. Observe then, first, esteemed Reader, how long it may be, before a fullanswer to our prayers, even to thousands and tens of thousands ofprayers, is granted; yea, though those prayers may be believing prayers, earnest prayers, and offered up in the name of the Lord Jesus, andthough we may only for the sake of the honour of our Lord desire theanswer: for I did, by the grace of God, without the least doubt andwavering look for more than eleven years for the full answer; * * * andI sought only in this matter the glory of God. "

PRAYING THREE TIMES DAILY FOR HELPERS. 

"As in the case of No. 2, so also in the case of the New Orphan-HouseNo. 3, I had daily prayed for the needed helpers and assistants for thevarious departments. Before a stone was laid, I began to pray for this;and, as the building progressed, I continued day by day to bring thismatter before God, feeling assured, that, as in everything else, so inthis particular also, He would graciously be pleased to appear on ourbehalf and help us, as the whole work is intended for His honour andglory. 

"At last the time was near when the house could be opened, and the timetherefore near when the applications, which had been made in writingduring more than two years previously, should be considered, for thefilling up of the various posts. It now, however, was found that, whilstthere had been about 50 applications made for the various situations, some places could not be filled up, because either the individuals, whohad applied for them, were married, or were, on examination, foundunsuitable. This was no small trial of faith; for day by day, for years, had I asked God to help me in this particular, even as He had done inthe case of the New Orphan-House No. 2; I had also expected help, confidently expected help: and yet now, when help _seemed_ needed, itwas wanting. What was now to be done, dear Reader? Would it have beenright to charge God with unfaithfulness? Would it have been right todistrust Him? Would it have been right to say, it is useless to pray? Byno means. This, on the contrary, I did; I thanked God for all the help, He had given me in connection with the whole of the enlargement; Ithanked Him for enabling me to overcome so many and such greatdifficulties; I thanked Him for the helpers He had given me for No. 2; Ithanked Him, also, for the helpers He had given me already for No. 3;and instead of distrusting God, I looked upon this delay of the fullanswer to prayer, only as a trial of faith, and therefore resolved, that, instead of praying _once_ a day with my dear wife about thismatter, as we had been doing day by day for years, we should now meetdaily _three_ times, to bring this before God. I also brought the matterbefore the whole staff of my helpers in the work requesting theirprayers. Thus I have now continued for about four months longer inprayer, day by day calling upon God three times on account of thisneed, and the result has been, that one helper after the other has beengiven, without the help coming _too_ late, or the work getting intoconfusion; or the reception of the children being hindered; and I amfully assured, that the few who are yet needed will also be found, whenthey are _really_ required. "

DIFFICULTIES REMOVED AFTER PRAYER AND PATIENCE. 

Mr. Müller relates the following incidents in connection with thepurchase of the land for the Fourth and Fifth Orphan-Houses, afterreceiving five thousand pounds for the Building Fund:

"I had now, through all that had come in since May 26th, 1864, includingthis last-mentioned donation, above Twenty-Seven Thousand Pounds inhand. I had patiently waited God's time. I had determined to do nothing, until I had the full half of the sum needed for the two houses. But now, having above Two Thousand Pounds beyond the half, I felt, after againseeking counsel from God, quite happy, in taking steps for the purchaseof land. 

"My eyes had been for years directed to a beautiful piece of land, onlyseparated by the turnpike road from the ground on which the NewOrphan-House No. 3 is erected. The land is about 18 acres, with a smallhouse and outhouses built on one end thereof. Hundreds of times had Iprayed, within the last years, that God for Jesus' sake would count meworthy, to be allowed to erect on this ground two more Orphan-Houses;and hundreds of times I had with a prayerful eye looked on this land, yea, as it were, bedewed it with my prayers. I might have bought ityears ago; but that would have been going before the Lord. I had moneyenough in hand to have paid for it years ago; but I desired patiently, submissively, to wait God's own time, and for Him to mark it clearly anddistinctly that His time was come, and that I took the step according toHis will; for whatever I might apparently accomplish, if the work weremine, and not the Lord's, I could expect no blessing. But now the Lord'smind was clearly and distinctly made manifest. I had enough money inhand to pay for the land and to build one house, and therefore I wentforward, after having still asked the Lord for guidance, and beingassured that it was His will I should take active steps. The first thingI did was, to see the agent who acted for the owner of the land, and toask him, whether the land was for sale. He replied that it was, but thatit was let till March 25th, 1867. He said that he would write for theprice. Here a great difficulty at once presented itself, that the landwas let for two years and four months longer, whilst it appeareddesirable that I should be able to take possession of it in about sixmonths, viz. , as soon as the conveyance could be made out, and the plansbe ready for the New Orphan-House No. 4, and arrangements be made withcontractors. But I was not discouraged by this difficulty; for Iexpected, through prayer, to make happy and satisfactory arrangementswith the tenant, being willing to give him a fair compensation forleaving before his time had expired. But, before I had time to see aboutthis, two other great difficulties presented themselves: the one was, that the owner asked £7, 000 for the land, which I judged to beconsiderably more than its value; and the other, that I heard that theBristol Waterworks Company intended to make an additional reservoir fortheir water, on this very land, and to get an Act of Parliament passedto that effect. 

"Pause here for a few moments, esteemed Reader. You have seen, how theLord brought me so far, with regard to pecuniary means, that I felt nowwarranted to go forward; and I may further add, that I was brought tothis point as the result of thousands of times praying regarding thisobject; and that there were, also, many hundreds of children waiting foradmission; and yet, after the Lord Himself so manifestly had appeared onour behalf, by the donation of £5, 000, He allows this apparentdeath-blow to come upon the whole. But thus I have found it hundreds oftimes since I have known the Lord. The difficulties, which He is pleasedto allow to arise, are only allowed, under such circumstances, for theexercise of our faith and patience; and more prayer, more patience, andthe exercise of faith, will remove the difficulties. Now, as I knew theLord, these difficulties were no insurmountable difficulties to me, forI put my trust in Him, according to that word: "The Lord also will be arefuge for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble. And they thatknow Thy name will put their trust in Thee: for Thou, Lord, hast notforsaken them that seek Thee. " (Psalm ix. 9, 10). I gave myself, therefore, earnestly to prayer concerning all these three especialdifficulties which had arisen regarding the land. I prayed several timesdaily about the matter, and used the following means: 1. I saw theActing Committee of the Directors of the Bristol Waterworks Companyregarding their intended reservoir on the land, which I was about topurchase, and stated to them, what I had seen in print concerning theirintentions. They courteously stated to me, that only a small portion ofthe land would be required, not enough to interfere with my purpose; andthat, if it could be avoided, even this small portion should not betaken. 2. This being settled, I now saw the tenant, after many prayers;for I desired, as a Christian, that if this land were bought, it shouldbe done under amicable circumstances with regard to him. At the firstinterview, I stated my intentions to him, at the same time expressing mydesire that the matter should be settled pleasantly with regard tohimself. He said that he would consider the matter, and desired a fewdays for that purpose. After a week I saw him again, and he then kindlystated, that, as the land was wanted for such an object, he would notstand in the way; but that, as he had laid out a good deal on the houseand land, he expected a compensation for leaving it before his time wasup. As I, of course, was quite willing to give a _fair_ and _reasonable_compensation, I considered this a very precious answer to prayer. 3. Inow entered upon the third difficulty, the price of the land. I knewwell how much the land was worth to the Orphan Institution; but itsvalue to the Institution was not the market value. I gave myself, therefore, day by day to prayer, that the Lord would constrain the ownerto accept a considerably lower sum than he had asked; I also pointed outto him why it was not worth as much as he asked. At last he consented totake £5, 500 instead of £7, 000, and I accepted the offer; for I knew thatby the level character of the land we should save a considerable sum forthe two houses, and that by the new sewer, which only a few monthsbefore had been completed, running along under the turnpike road nearthe field, we should be considerably benefited. In addition to these twopoints I had to take into the account, that we can have gas fromBristol, as in the three houses already in operation. And lastly, themost important point of all, the nearness of this piece of land to theother three houses, so that all could easily be under the same directionand superintendence. In fact, no other piece of land, near or far off, would present so much advantage to us, as this spot, which the Lord thusso very kindly had given to us. All being now settled, I proceeded tohave the land conveyed to the same trustees who stood trustees for theNew Orphan-Houses No. 1, No. 2, and No. 3. --I have thus minutely dwelton these various matters for the encouragement of the reader, that hemay not be discouraged by difficulties, however great and many andvaried, but give himself to prayer, trusting in the Lord for help, yea, expecting help, which, in His own time and way, He will surely grant. "

ORPHAN-HOUSES NOS. 4 & 5. 

"March 5, 1874. --Both houses, No. 4 and No. 5, have now been for yearsin operation, No. 4 since Nov. 1868 and No. 5 since the beginning of theyear 1870, and above 1, 200 Orphans have been already received into them, and month after month more are received, as the Orphans are sent outfrom them as apprentices or servants. Moreover all the expenses inconnection with their being built, fitted up and furnished were met tothe full, as the demands arose, and, after all had been paid, there wasleft a balance of several thousand pounds, which is being used forkeeping the houses in repair. See, esteemed Reader, how abundantly Godanswered our prayers, and how plain it is, that we were not mistaken, after we had patiently and prayerfully sought to ascertain His will. Beencouraged, therefore, yet further and further to confide in the LivingGod. "

CHAPTER III

PRECIOUS ANSWERS TO PRAYER

In remarkable ways God helped Mr. Müller as "The Narratives" show:--

THE ARTIST'S FIRST RETURN. 

"April 30 [1859]. --Received the following letter from a considerabledistance: 'My dear Christian Brother, I am the husband of Mrs. ---- whosends you by this post the two Sovereign piece. How can we betterdispose of this relic of affectionate remembrance, than by depositing itin the bank of Christ, who always pays the best interest, and neverfails. --Now, my best and spiritual counsellor, I cannot express to youthe exceeding great joy I feel, in relating what follows. I am anartist, a _poor_ artist, a landscape painter. About two weeks ago I senta picture to Bristol for exhibition, just as I finished your book thatwas lent us. I most humbly and earnestly prayed to God to enable me, bythe sale of my Bristol picture, to have the blessed privilege of sendingyou _half the proceeds_. The price of the picture is £20. Now mark. Immediately the exhibition is open, God, in His mercy, mindful of myprayer, sends me a purchaser. I have exhibited in Bristol before, _butnever sold_ a picture. Oh! my dear friend, my very heart leaps for joy. I have never been so near God before. Through your instrumentality Ihave been enabled to draw nearer to God, with more earnestness, morefaith, more holy desires. --This is the _first return_ God has blessed mewith for the whole of my last year's labours. What a blessing to have itso returned!--Oh, with what joy I read your book!--The picture I speakof is now being exhibited in the academy of arts at Clifton, numbered inthe Catalogue ----, the title is ----. I cannot pay you till the closeof the exhibition, as I shall not be paid till then, &c. ' Of suchletters I have had thousands during the last 40 years. "

THE NORTH WIND CHANGED INTO A SOUTH WIND. 

"It was towards the end of November of 1857, when I was mostunexpectedly informed that the boiler of our heating apparatus at No. 1leaked very considerably, so that it was impossible to go through thewinter with such a leak. --Our heating apparatus consists of a largecylinder boiler, inside of which the fire is kept, and with which boilerthe water pipes, that warm the rooms, are connected. Hot air is alsoconnected with this apparatus. The boiler had been considered suited forthe work of the winter. To suspect that it was worn out, and not to doanything towards replacing it by a new one, and to have said, I willtrust in God regarding it, would be careless presumption, but not faithin God. It would be the counterfeit of faith. 

"The boiler is entirely surrounded by brickwork; its state, therefore, could not be known without taking down the brickwork; this, if needless, would be rather injurious to the boiler, than otherwise; and as foreight winters we had had no difficulty in this way, we had notanticipated it now. But suddenly, and most unexpectedly, at thecommencement of the winter, this difficulty occurred. What then was tobe done? For the children, especially the younger infants, I felt deeplyconcerned, that they might not suffer, through want of warmth. But howwere we to obtain warmth? The introduction of a _new_ boiler would, inall probability, take many weeks. The _repairing_ of the boiler was aquestionable matter, on account of the greatness of the leak; but, ifnot, nothing could be said of it, till the brick-chamber in which it isenclosed, was, at least in part, removed; but that would, at least, asfar as we could judge, take days; and what was to be done in themeantime, to find warm rooms for 300 children? It naturally occurred tome, to introduce temporary gas-stoves; but on further weighing thematter, it was found, that we should be unable to heat our very largerooms with gas, except we had many stoves, which we could not introduce, as we had not a sufficient quantity of gas to spare from our lightingapparatus. Moreover, for each of these stoves we needed a small chimney, to carry off the impure air. This mode of heating, therefore, thoughapplicable to a hall, a staircase, or a shop, would not suit ourpurpose. I also thought of the temporary introduction of Arnott'sstoves; but they would have been unsuitable, requiring long chimneys (asthey would have been of a temporary kind) to go out of the windows. Onthis account, the uncertainty of their answering in our case, and thedisfigurement of the rooms, led me to give up this plan also. But whatwas to be done? Gladly would I have paid £100, if thereby the difficultycould have been overcome, and the children not be exposed to suffer formany days from being in cold rooms. At last I determined on fallingentirely into the hands of God, who is very merciful and of tendercompassion, and I decided on having the brick-chamber opened, to see theextent of the damage, and whether the boiler might be repaired, so as tocarry us through the winter. 

"The day was fixed, when the workmen were to come, and all the necessaryarrangements were made. The fire, of course, had to be let out while therepairs were going on. But now see. After the day was fixed for therepairs a bleak North wind set in. It began to blow either on Thursdayor Friday before the Wednesday afternoon, when the fire was to be letout. Now came the first really cold weather, which we had in thebeginning of that winter, during the first days of December. What was tobe done? The repairs could not be put off. I now asked the Lord for twothings, viz. , that He would be pleased to change the north wind into asouth wind, and that He would give to the workmen 'a mind to work'; forI remembered how much Nehemiah accomplished in 52 days, whilst buildingthe walls of Jerusalem, because 'the people had a mind to work. ' Well, the memorable day came. The evening before, the bleak north wind blewstill: but, on the Wednesday, the south wind blew: exactly as I hadprayed. The weather was so mild that no fire was needed. The brickworkis removed, the leak is found out very soon, the boiler makers begin torepair in good earnest. About half-past eight in the evening, when I wasgoing home, I was informed at the lodge, that the acting principal ofthe firm, whence the boiler makers came, had arrived to see how the workwas going on, and whether he could in any way speed the matter. I wentimmediately, therefore, into the cellar, to see him with the men, toseek to expedite the business. In speaking to the principal of this, hesaid in their hearing, 'the men will work late this evening, and comevery early again to-morrow. '

"'We would rather, Sir, ' said the leader, 'work all night. ' Thenremembered I the second part of my prayer, that God would give the men'a mind to work. ' Thus it was: by the morning the repair wasaccomplished, the leak was stopped, though with great difficulty, andwithin about 30 hours the brickwork was up again, and the fire in theboiler; and all the time the south wind blew so mildly, that there wasnot the least need of a fire. 

"Here, then, is one of our difficulties which was overcome by prayer andfaith. "

CONVERSION OF THE ORPHANS. 

"May 26, 1860. --Day after day, and year after year, by the help of God, we labour in prayer for the spiritual benefit of the Orphans under ourcare. These our supplications, which have been for 24 years broughtbefore the Lord concerning them, have been abundantly answered, informer years, in the conversion of hundreds from among them. We have, also, had repeated seasons in which, within a short time, or even all atonce, _many_ of the Orphans were converted. Such a season we had aboutthree years since, when, within a few days, about 60 were brought tobelieve in the Lord Jesus; and such seasons we have had again twiceduring the first year. The first was in July, 1859, when the Spirit ofGod wrought so mightily in one school of 120 girls, as that very many, yea more than one-half, were brought under deep concern about thesalvation of their souls. This work, moreover, was not a mere momentaryexcitement; but, after more than eleven months have elapsed, there are31 concerning whom there is _full_ confidence as to their conversion, and 32 concerning whom there is likewise a goodly measure of confidence, though not to the same amount, as regarding the 31. There are therefore63 out of the 120 Orphans in that one School who are considered to havebeen converted in July, 1859. This blessed and mighty work of the HolySpirit cannot be traced to any particular cause. It was however, a mostprecious answer to prayer. As such we look upon it, and are encouragedby it to further waiting upon God. The second season of the mightyworking of the Holy Spirit among the Orphans, during the past year, wasat the end of January and the beginning of February, 1860. Theparticulars of it are of the deepest interest; but I must content myselfby stating, that this great work of the Spirit of God in January andFebruary, 1860, began among the younger class of the children under ourcare, little girls of about 6, 7, 8 and 9 years old; then extended tothe older girls; and then to the boys, so that within about 10 daysabove 200 of the Orphans were stirred up to be anxious about theirsouls, and in _many_ instances found peace _immediately_, through faithin our Lord Jesus. They at once requested to be allowed to holdprayer-meetings among themselves, and have had these meetings eversince. Many of them also manifested a concern about the salvation oftheir companions and relations, and spoke or wrote to them, about theway to be saved. "

APPRENTICING THE ORPHANS. 

"In the early part of the summer, 1862, it was found that we had severalboys ready to be apprenticed; but there were no applications made bymasters for apprentices. As all our boys are invariably sent out asindoor apprentices, this was no small difficulty; for we not only lookfor Christian masters, but consider their business, and examine intotheir position, to see whether they are suitable; and the master mustalso be willing to receive the apprentice into his own family. Underthese circumstances, we again gave ourselves to prayer, as we had donefor more than twenty years before, concerning this thing, instead ofadvertising, which, in all probability, would only bring before usmasters who desire apprentices for the sake of the premium. Weremembered how good the Lord had been to us, in having helped ushundreds of times before, in this very matter. Some weeks passed, butthe difficulty remained. We continued, however, in prayer, and then oneapplication was made, and then another; and since we first began to prayabout this matter, last summer, we have been able to send out altogether18 boys up to May 26, 1863; the difficulty was thus again entirelyovercome by prayer, as every one of the boys, whom it was desirable tosend out, has been sent out. "

SICKNESS AT THE ORPHANAGE. 

Sickness at times visited the houses. 

"During the summer and autumn of 1866 we had also the measles at all thethree Orphan-Houses. After they had made their appearance, our especialprayer was: 1. That there might not be too many children ill at one timein this disease, so that our accommodation in the Infirmary rooms orotherwise might be sufficient. This prayer was answered to the full; forthough we had at the New Orphan-House No. 1 not less than 83 cases, inNo. 2 altogether 111, and in No. 3 altogether 68; yet God so graciouslywas pleased to listen to our supplications, as that when our spare roomswere filled with the invalids, He so long stayed the spreading of themeasles till a sufficient number were restored, so as to make room forothers, who were taken ill. 2. Further we prayed, that the children, whowere taken ill in the measles, might be safely brought through and notdie. Thus it was. We had the full answer to our prayers; for though 262children altogether had the measles, not one of them died. 3. Lastly weprayed, that no evil physical consequences might follow this disease, asis so often the case; this was also granted. All the 262 children notonly recovered, but did well afterwards. I gratefully record this signalmercy and blessing of God, and this full and precious answer to prayer, to the honour of His name. "

HELP FOR NEEDY BRETHREN. 

1863. --"The end of the year was now at hand, and, in winding up theaccounts, it was my earnest desire, to do once more all I could, insending help to needy labourers in the gospel. I went therefore throughthe list, writing against the various names of those to whom I had notalready recently sent, what amount it appeared desirable to send; and Ifound, when these sums were added together, the total was £476, but £280was all I had in hand. I wrote therefore a cheque for £280, though Iwould have gladly sent £476, yet felt thankful, at the same time, that Ihad this amount in hand for these brethren. Having written the cheque, as the last occupation of the day, then came my usual season for prayer, for the many things which I daily, by the help of God, bring before Him;and then again, I brought also the case of these preachers of the Gospelbefore the Lord, and besought Him that He would even now be pleased togive me yet a goodly sum for them, though there remained but three daysto the close of our year. This being done, I went home about nineo'clock in the evening, and found there had arrived from a greatdistance £100 for Missions, with £100 left at my disposal, and £5 formyself. I took, therefore, the whole £200 for Missions, and thus had£480 in hand to meet the £476 which I desired for this object. Those whoknow the blessedness of really trusting in God, and getting help fromHim, as in this case, in answer to prayer, will be able to enter intothe spiritual enjoyment I had in the reception of that donation, inwhich both the answer to prayer was granted, and with it the greatenjoyment of gladdening the hearts of many devoted servants of Christ. "

THE HEART'S DESIRE GIVEN TO HELP MISSION WORK IN CHINA. 

"Sept. 30 [1869]. --From Yorkshire £50. --Received also One ThousandPounds to-day for the Lord's work in China. About this donation it isespecially to be noticed, that for months it had been my earnest desireto do more than ever for Mission Work in China, and I had already takensteps to carry out this desire, when this donation of One ThousandPounds came to hand. This precious answer to prayer for means should bea particular encouragement to all who are engaged in the Lord's work, and who may need means for it. It proves afresh, that, if our work isHis work, and we honour Him, by waiting upon and looking to Him formeans, He will surely, in His own time and way, supply them. "

THE JOY OF ANSWERS TO PRAYER. 

"The joy which answers to prayer give, cannot be described; and theimpetus which they afford to the spiritual life is exceedingly great. The experience of this happiness I desire for all my Christian readers. If you believe indeed in the Lord Jesus for the salvation of your soul, if you walk uprightly and do not regard iniquity in your heart, if youcontinue to wait patiently, and believingly upon God; then answers willsurely be given to your prayers. You may not be called upon to serve theLord in the way the writer does, and therefore may never have answersto prayer respecting such things as are recorded here; but, in yourvarious circumstances, your family, your business, your profession, yourchurch position, your labour for the Lord, etc. , you may have answers asdistinct as any here recorded. "

THE GREAT NEED OF BEING SAVED BY FAITH IN CHRIST JESUS. 

"Should this, however, be read by any who are not believers in the LordJesus, but who are going on in the carelessness or self-righteousness oftheir unrenewed hearts, then I would affectionately and solemnly beseechsuch, first of all to be reconciled to God by faith in the Lord Jesus. You are sinners. You deserve punishment. If you do not see this, ask Godto show it unto you. Let this now be your first and especial prayer. AskGod also to enlighten you not merely concerning your state by nature, but especially to reveal the Lord Jesus to your heart. God sent Him, that He might bear the punishment, due to us guilty sinners. God acceptsthe obedience and sufferings of the Lord Jesus, in the room of those whodepend upon Him for the salvation of their souls; and the moment asinner believes in the Lord Jesus, he obtains the forgiveness of all hissins. When thus he is reconciled to God, by faith in the Lord Jesus, andhas obtained the forgiveness of his sins, he has boldness to enter intothe presence of God, to make known his requests unto Him; and the morehe is enabled to realize that his sins are forgiven, and that God, forChrist's sake, is well pleased with those who believe on Him, the moreready he will be to come with all his wants, both temporal andspiritual, to his Heavenly Father, that He may supply them. But as longas the consciousness of unpardoned guilt remains, so long shall we bekept at a distance from God, especially as it regards prayer. Therefore, dear reader, if you are an unforgiven sinner, let your first andespecial prayer be, that God would be pleased to reveal to your heartthe Lord Jesus, His beloved Son. "

A DOUBLE ANSWER. 

"July 25 [1865]. --From the neighbourhood of London £100, with thefollowing letter: 'My dear Sir, I believe that it is through the Lord'sactings upon me, that I enclose you a cheque on the Bank of England, Western Branch, for £100. I hope that your affairs are going on well. Yours in the Lord * * * *. ' This Christian gentleman, whom I have neverseen, and who is engaged in a very large business in London, had sent meseveral times before a similar sum. A day or two before I received thislast kind donation, I had asked the Lord, that He would be pleased toinfluence the heart of this donor to help me again, which I had neverdone before regarding him; and thus I had the double answer to prayer, in that not only money came in, but money from _him_. The reader willnow see the meaning in the donor's letter, when he wrote 'I believethat it is through the Lord's actings upon me that I enclose you acheque, &c. ' Verily it was the Lord who acted upon this gentleman, tosend me this sum. Perhaps the reader may think, that in acknowledgingthe receipt of the donation, I wrote to the donor what I have herestated. I did not. My reason for not doing so was, lest he should havethought I was in especial need, and might have been thus influenced tosend more. In truly knowing the Lord, in really relying upon Him andupon Him alone, there is no need of giving hints directly or indirectly, whereby individuals may be induced further to help. I might have writtento the donor (as was indeed the case), I need a considerable sum day byday for the current expenses of the various objects of the Institution, and also might have with truth told him, at that time, that I yet neededabout Twenty Thousand Pounds, to enable me to meet all the expensesconnected with the contemplated enlargement of the Orphan work. But mypractice is, never to allude to any of these things in my correspondencewith donors. When the Report is published, every one can see, who has adesire to see, how matters stand; and thus I leave things in the handsof God, to speak for us to the hearts of His stewards. And this He does. Verily we do not wait upon God in _!"

CHRISTIANS IN BUSINESS. 

"Jan. 1 [1869]. --From Scotland £50 for Missions, £25 for the circulationof the Holy Scriptures and £25 for the circulation of Tracts. Receivedalso from a considerable distance £10 for these objects, with £10 forthe Orphans. About this latter donation I make a few remarks. At theearly part of the year 1868, a Christian business man wrote to me foradvice in his peculiar difficult business affairs. His letter showedthat he had a desire to walk in the ways of the Lord, and to carry onhis business to the glory of God; but his circumstances were of the mosttrying character. I therefore wrote to him to come to Bristol, that Imight be able to advise him. Accordingly he undertook the long journey, and I had an interview with him, through which I saw his most tryingposition in business. Having fully conversed with him, I gave him thefollowing counsel: 1, That he should day by day, expressly for thepurpose, retire with his Christian wife, that they might unitedly spreadtheir business difficulties before God in prayer, and do this, ifpossible, twice a day. 2, That he should look out for answers to hisprayers, and expect that God would help him. 3, That he should avoid allbusiness trickeries, such as exposing for sale two or three articles, marked below cost price, for the sake of attracting customers, becauseof its being unbecoming a disciple of the Lord Jesus to use suchartifices; and that, if he did so, he could not reckon on the blessingof God. 4, I advised him further, to set apart; out of his profits, weekby week, a certain proportion for the work of God, whether his incomewas much or little, and use this income faithfully for the Lord. 5, Lastly, I asked him, to let me know, month after month, how the Lorddealt with him. --The reader will feel interested to learn, that fromthat time the Lord was pleased to prosper the business of this dearChristian brother, so that his returns from the 1st of March, 1868, upto March 1, 1869, were £9, 138 13s. 5d. , while during the same period theprevious year they had been only £6, 609 18s. 3d. , therefore £2, 528 15s. 2d. More than the year before. When he sent me the donation abovereferred to, he also writes, that he had been enabled to put asideduring the previous year £123 13s. 3d. For the work of God or the needof the poor. --I have so fully dwelt on this, because Christians inbusiness may be benefited by it. "

REVIVAL IN THE ORPHAN-HOUSES. 

"In giving the statistics of the previous year [1871-72], I referredalready to the great spiritual blessing, which it pleased the Lord togrant to the Orphan Work at the end of that year and the beginning ofthis; but, as this is so deeply important a subject, I enter somewhatfurther and more fully into it here. It was stated before, that thespiritual condition of the Orphans generally gave to us great sorrow ofheart, because there were so few, comparatively, among them, who were inearnest about their souls, and resting on the atoning death of the LordJesus for salvation. This our sorrow led us to lay it on the wholestaff of assistants, matrons and teachers, to seek earnestly the Lord'sblessing on the souls of the children. This was done in our unitedprayer meetings, and, I have reason to believe, in secret also; and inanswer to these our secret and united prayers, in the year 1872, therewere, as the result of this, more believers by far among the Orphansthan ever. On Jan. 8, 1872, the Lord began to work among them, and thiswork was going on more or less afterwards. In the New Orphan-House No. 3, it showed itself least, till it pleased the Lord to lay His handheavily on that house, by the small-pox; and, from that time the workingof the Holy Spirit was felt in that house also, particularly in onedepartment. At the end of July, 1872, I received the statements of allthe matrons and teachers in the five houses, who reported to me, that, after careful observation and conversation, they had good reason tobelieve that 729 of the Orphans then under our care, were believers inthe Lord Jesus. This number of believing Orphans is by far greater thanever we had, for which we adore and praise the Lord! See how the Lordoverruled the great trial, occasioned by the small-pox, and turned itinto a great blessing! See, also, how, after so low a state, comparatively, which led us to prayer, earnest prayer, the working ofthe Holy Spirit was more manifest than ever!"

MR. MÜLLER'S MISSION TOURS. 

In the year 1875, when seventy years of age, Mr. Müller was led to starton his Missionary Tours, and during the next twenty years preached tomore than three million people, in forty-two countries of the world. 

"On August 8th, 1882, " Mr. Müller says, "we began our ninth MissionaryTour. The first place at which I preached was Weymouth, where I spoke inpublic four times. From Weymouth we went, by way of Calais and Brussels, to Düsseldorf on the Rhine, where I preached many times six yearsbefore. During this visit, I spoke there in public eight times. Regarding my stay at Düsseldorf, for the encouragement of the reader, Irelate the following circumstance. During our first visit to that city, in the year 1876, a godly City Missionary came to me one day, greatlytried, because he had six sons, for whose conversion he had been prayingmany years, and yet they remained unconcerned about their souls, and hedesired me to tell him what to do. My reply was, '_Continue_ to pray foryour sons, and _expect_ an answer to your prayer, and you will have topraise God. ' Now, when after six years I was again in the same city, this dear man came to me and said he was surprised he had not seenbefore himself what he ought to do, and that he had resolved to take myadvice and more earnestly than ever give himself to prayer. Two monthsafter he saw me, five of his six sons were converted within eight days, and have for six years now walked in the ways of the Lord, and he hadhope that the sixth son also was beginning to be concerned about hisstate before God. May the Christian reader be encouraged by this, shouldhis prayers not at once be answered; and, instead of ceasing to pray, wait upon God all the more earnestly and perseveringly, and _expect_answers to his petitions. "

THE DIVINE PLAN FOR SENDING OUT FOREIGN MISSIONARIES. 

The Bristol Church with which Mr. Müller was connected has beenprivileged to set an example to the Church of God of the way in whichForeign Missionaries (who are so greatly needed) can be sent forth inanswer to prayer. Mr. Müller writes on p. 516, Vol. I. Of hisNarrative:--

"I also mention here, that during the eight years previous to my goingto Germany to labour there, it had been laid on my heart, and on thehearts of some other brethren among us, to ask the Lord that he would bepleased to honour us, as a body of believers, by calling forth from ourmidst brethren, for carrying the truth into foreign lands. But thisprayer seemed to remain unanswered. Now, however, the time was come whenthe Lord was about to answer it, and I, on whose heart particularly thismatter had been laid, was to be the first to carry forth the truth fromamong us. About that very time the Lord called our dear brother andsister Barrington from among us, to go to Demerara, to labour there inconnexion with our esteemed brother Strong, and our dear brother andsister Espenett, to go to Switzerland. Both these dear brethren andsisters left very shortly after I had gone to Germany. But this was notall. Our much valued brother Mordal, who had commended himself to thesaints by his unwearied faithful service among us for twelve years, hadfrom Aug. 31, 1843, (the day on which brothers Strong and Barringtonsailed from Bristol for Demerara), his mind likewise exercised aboutservice there, and went out from among us eleven months after. He, together with myself, had had it particularly laid upon his heart, during the eight years previously, to ask the Lord again and again tocall labourers from among us for foreign service. Of all persons he, thefather of a large family, and about 50 years of age, seemed the leastlikely to be called to that work; but God did call him. He went, laboured a little while in Demerara, and then, on January 9, 1845, theLord took him to his rest. --When we ask God for a thing, such as that Hewould be pleased to raise up labourers for His harvest, or send meansfor the carrying on of His work, the honest question to be put to ourhearts should be this: Am _I_ willing to go, if He should call _me_? Am_I_ willing to give according to _my_ ability? For we may be the verypersons whom the Lord will call for the work, or whose means He may wishto employ. "

In the Report of the Scriptural Knowledge Institution for 1896 Mr. Müller shows how greatly this body of believers has been honoured byGod. 

"From our own midst, as a church sixty brethren and sisters have goneforth to foreign fields of labour, some of whom have finished theirlabour on earth; but there are still about forty yet engaged in thisprecious service. "

Why should not the great and crying need for workers in Asia, Africa, and other parts of the world be thus met by thousands of churches inEurope and America following this divine plan of praying the Lord of theharvest that He would send forth labourers from among them?

Surely they may expect GOD to answer their prayers as He did the prayersof this Bristol church. 

Look what has been done in China by the faithful use of GOD'S method! Wequote Mr. Hudson Taylor's words as given in _China's Millions_ for July, 1897:--

"For the obtaining of fellow-workers we took the MASTER'S direction, 'Pray ye the LORD of the Harvest. ' As for the first five before theMission was formed, so for the twenty-four for whom we first asked forthe C. I. M. ; for further reinforcements when they were needed; for theseventy in three years, for the hundred in one year, and for furtheradditions from time to time, we have ever relied on this plan. Is itpossible that in any other way such a band of workers from nearly everydenomination, and from many lands, could have been gathered and kepttogether for thirty years with no other bond save that which the call ofGOD and the love of GOD has proved--a band now numbering over sevenhundred men and women, aided by more than five hundred native workers. "

THE BEGINNING OF THE 1859 REVIVAL. 

"In November, 1856, a young Irishman, Mr. James McQuilkin, was broughtto the knowledge of the Lord. Soon after his conversion he saw myNarrative advertised, viz. : the first two volumes of this book. He had agreat desire to read it, and procured it accordingly, about January, 1857. God blessed it greatly to his soul, especially in showing to him, what could be obtained by prayer. He said to himself something likethis: 'See what Mr. Müller obtains simply by prayer. Thus I may obtainblessing by prayer. ' He now set himself to pray, that the Lord wouldgive him a spiritual companion, one who knew the Lord. Soon after hebecame acquainted with a young man who was a believer. These two began aprayer-meeting in one of the Sunday Schools in the parish of Connor. Having his prayer answered in obtaining a spiritual companion, Mr. JamesMcQuilkin asked the Lord to lead him to become acquainted with some moreof His hidden ones. Soon after the Lord gave him two more young men, whowere believers previously, as far as he could judge. In Autumn, 1857, Mr. James McQuilkin stated to these three young men, given him inanswer to believing prayer, what blessing he had derived from myNarrative, how it had led him to see the power of believing prayer; andhe proposed that they should meet for prayer to seek the Lord's blessingupon their various labours in the Sunday Schools, prayer-meetings, andpreaching of the Gospel. Accordingly in Autumn, 1857, these four youngmen met together for prayer in a small school-house near the village ofKells, in the parish of Connor, every Friday evening. By this time thegreat and mighty working of the Spirit, in 1857, in the United States, had become known, and Mr. James McQuilkin said to himself, 'Why may notwe have such a blessed work here, seeing that God did such great thingsfor Mr. Müller, simply in answer to prayer. ' On January 1, 1858, theLord gave them the first remarkable answer to prayer in the conversionof a farm servant. He was taken into the number, and thus there werefive who gave themselves to prayer. Shortly after, another young man, about 20 years old, was converted; there were now six. This greatlyencouraged the other three who first had met with Mr. James McQuilkin. Others now were converted, who were also taken into the number; but onlybelievers were admitted to these fellowship meetings, in which theyread, prayed, and offered to each other a few thoughts from theScriptures. These meetings and others for the preaching of the Gospelwere held in the parish of Connor, Antrim, Ireland. Up to this time allwas going on most quietly, though many souls were converted, There wereno physical prostrations, as afterwards. 

"About Christmas, 1858, a young man, from Ahoghill, who had come to liveat Connor, and who had been converted through this little company ofbelievers, went to see his friends at Ahoghill, and spoke to them abouttheir own souls, and the work of God at Connor. His friends desired tosee some of these converts. Accordingly Mr. James McQuilkin, with two ofthe first who met for prayer, went on February 2, 1859, and held ameeting at Ahoghill in one of the Presbyterian Churches. Some believed, some mocked, and others thought there was a great deal of presumption inthese young converts; yet many wished to have another meeting. This washeld by the same three young men on February 16th, 1859; and now theSpirit of God began to work, and to work mightily. Souls were converted, and from that time conversions multiplied rapidly. Some of theseconverts went to other places, and carried the spiritual fire, so tospeak, with them. The blessed work of the spirit of God spread in _manyplaces_. --On April 5th, 1859, Mr. James McQuilkin went to Ballymena, held a meeting there in one of the Presbyterian Churches; and on April11th held another meeting in another of the Presbyterian churches. Several were convinced of sin and the work of the Spirit of God wentforward in Ballymena. --On May 28th, 1859, he went to Belfast. During thefirst week there were meetings held in five different PresbyterianChurches, and from that time the blessed work commenced at Belfast. Inall these visits he was accompanied and helped by Mr. Jeremiah Meneely, one of the three young men who first met with him, after the reading ofmy Narrative. From this time the work of the Holy Ghost spread furtherand further; for the young converts were used by the Lord to carry thetruth from one place to another. 

"Such was the _beginning_ of that mighty work of the Holy Spirit, whichhas led to the conversion of hundreds of thousands; for some of myreaders will remember how in 1859 this fire was kindled in England, Wales and Scotland; how it spread through Ireland, England, Wales andScotland; how the Continent of Europe was more or less partaking of thismighty working of the Holy Spirit; how it led thousands to givethemselves to the work of Evangelists; and how up to the year 1874 notonly the effects of this work, first begun in Ireland, are felt, butthat still more or less this blessed work is going on in Europegenerally. It is almost needless to add, that in no degree the honour isdue to the instruments, but to the Holy Spirit alone; yet these factsare stated, in order that it may be seen, what delight God has inanswering abundantly the believing prayer of His children. "

MR. MÜLLER'S MARRIAGE. 

In Vol. 3 of The Narrative, Mr. Müller shows the ordering of God in hismeeting with and subsequent marriage to his first wife, Miss MaryGroves. 

"In giving her to me, I own the hand of God; nay, His hand was mostmarked; and my soul says, 'Thou art good, and doest good. '

"I refer to a few particulars for the instruction of others. When at theend of the year 1829, I left London to labour in Devonshire in theGospel, a brother in the Lord gave to me a card, containing the addressof a well-known Christian lady, Miss Paget, who then resided in Exeter, in order that I should call on her, as she was an excellent Christian. Itook this address and put it into my pocket, but thought little ofcalling on her. Three weeks I carried this card in my pocket, withoutmaking an effort to see this lady; but at last I was led to do so. Thiswas God's way of giving me my excellent wife. Miss Paget asked me topreach the last Tuesday in the month of January, 1830, at the room whichshe had fitted up at Poltimore, a village near Exeter, and where Mr. A. N. Groves, afterwards my brother-in-law, had preached once a month, before he went out as a Missionary to Bagdad. I accepted readily theinvitation, as I longed, everywhere to set forth the precious truth ofthe Lord's return, and other deeply important truths, which not longbefore my own soul had been filled with. 

"On leaving Miss Paget, she gave me the address of a Christian brother, Mr. Hake, who had an Infant Boarding School for young ladies andgentlemen, at Northernhay House, the former residence of Mr. A. N. Groves, in order that I might stay there on my arrival in Exeter fromTeignmouth. To this place I went at the appointed time. Miss Groves, afterwards my beloved wife, was there; for Mrs. Hake had been a greatinvalid for a long time, and Miss Groves helped Mr. Hake in his greataffliction, by superintending his household matters. My first visit ledto my going again to preach at Poltimore, after the lapse of a month, and I stayed again at Mr. Hake's house; and this second visit led to mypreaching once a week in a chapel at Exeter; and thus I went, week afterweek, from Teignmouth to Exeter, each time staying in the house of Mr. Hake. All this time my purpose had been, not to marry at all, but toremain free for travelling about in the service of the Gospel; but aftersome months I saw, for many reasons, that it was better for me, as ayoung Pastor, under 25 years of age, to be married. The question nowwas, to whom shall I be united? Miss Groves was before my mind; but theprayerful conflict was long, before I came to a decision; for I couldnot bear the thought, that I should take away from Mr. Hake this valuedhelper, as Mrs. Hake continued still unable to take the responsibilityof so large a household. But I prayed again and again. At last thisdecided me, I had reason to believe that I had begotten an affection inthe heart of Miss Groves for me, and that therefore I ought to make aproposal of marriage to her, however unkindly I might appear to act tomy dear friend and brother Mr. Hake, and to ask God to give him asuitable helper to succeed Miss Groves. On Aug. 15th, 1830, I thereforewrote to her, proposing to her to become my wife, and on Aug. 19th, whenI went over as usual to Exeter for preaching, she accepted me. The firstthing we did, after I was accepted, was, to fall on our knees, and toask the blessing of the Lord on our intended union. In about two orthree weeks the Lord, in answer to prayer, found an individual, whoseemed suitable to act as housekeeper, whilst Mrs. Hake continued ill;and on Oct. 7, 1830, we were united in marriage. Our marriage was of themost simple character. We walked to church, had no wedding breakfast, but in the afternoon had a meeting of Christian friends in Mr. Hake'shouse and commemorated the Lord's death; and then I drove off in thestagecoach with my beloved bride to Teignmouth, and the next day we wentto work for the Lord. Simple as our beginning was, and unlike the habitsof the world, for Christ's sake, so our Godly aim has been, to continueever since. Now see the hand of God in giving me my dearest wife:--1st, that address of Miss Paget's was given to me under the ordering of God. 2nd, I must at last be made to call on her, though I had long delayedit. 3rd, She might have provided a resting-place with some otherChristian friend, where I should not have seen Miss Groves. 4th, My mindmight have at last, after all, decided, not to make a proposal to her;but God settled the matter thus in speaking to me through myconscience--you know that you have begotten affection in the heart ofthis Christian sister, by the way you have acted towards her, andtherefore, painful though it may be, to appear to act unkindly towardsyour friend and brother, you ought to make her a proposal. I obeyed. Iwrote the letter in which I made the proposal, and nothing but one evenstream of blessing has been the result. 

"Let me here add a word of Christian counsel. To enter upon the marriageunion is one of the most deeply important events of life. It cannot betoo prayerfully treated. Our happiness, our usefulness, our living forGod or for ourselves afterwards, are often most intimately connectedwith our choice. Therefore, in the most prayerful manner, this choiceshould be made. Neither beauty, nor age, nor money, nor mental powers, should be that which prompt the decision; but 1st, Much waiting upon Godfor guidance should be used; 2nd, A hearty purpose, to be willing to beguided by Him should be aimed after; 3rd, True godliness without ashadow of doubt, should be the first and absolutely needfulqualification, to a Christian, with regard to a companion for life. Inaddition to this, however, it ought to be, at the same time, calmly andpatiently weighed, whether, in other respects, there is a suitableness. 

For instance, for an educated man to choose an entirely uneducatedwoman, is unwise; for however much on his part love might be willing tocover the defect, it will work very unhappily with regard to thechildren. "

DANGEROUS ILLNESS OF MR. MÜLLER'S DAUGHTER. 

"In July, 1853, it pleased the Lord to try my faith in a way in whichbefore it had not been tried. My beloved daughter and only child, and abeliever since the commencement of the year 1846, was taken ill on June20th. 

"This illness, at first a low fever, turned to typhus. On July 3rd thereseemed no hope of her recovery. Now was the trial of faith. But faithtriumphed. My beloved wife and I were enabled to give her up into thehands of the Lord. He sustained us both exceedingly. But I will onlyspeak about myself. Though my only and beloved child was brought nearthe grave, yet was my soul in perfect peace, satisfied with the will ofmy Heavenly Father, being assured that He would only do that for her andher parents, which in the end would be the best. She continued very illtill about July 20th, when restoration began. 

"On Aug. 18th she was so far restored that she could be removed toClevedon for change of air, though exceedingly weak. It was then 59 dayssince she was first taken ill. * * * * * *

"Parents know what an only child, a beloved child is, and what tobelieving parents an only child, a believing child must be. Well, theFather in Heaven said, as it were, by this His dispensation, 'Art thouwilling to give up this child to me?' My heart responded, As it seemsgood to Thee, my Heavenly Father. Thy will be done. But as our heartswere made willing to give back our beloved child to Him who had givenher to us, so He was ready to leave her to us, and she lived. 'Delightthyself also in the Lord; and He shall give thee the desires of thineheart. ' Psalm xxxvii. 4. The desires of my heart were, to retain thebeloved daughter if it were the will of God; the means to retain herwere to be satisfied with the will of the Lord. 

"Of all the trials of faith that as yet I have had to pass through, thiswas the greatest; and by God's abundant mercy, I own it to His praise, Iwas enabled to delight myself in the will of God; for I felt perfectlysure, that, if the Lord took this beloved daughter, it would be best forher parents, best for herself, and more for the glory of God than if shelived: this better part I was satisfied with; and thus my heart hadpeace, perfect peace, and I had not a moment's anxiety. Thus would it beunder all circumstances, however painful, were the believer exercisingfaith. "

THE DAILY BREAD. 

"Aug. 3, 1844. Saturday. With the 12s. We began the day. My soul said:'I will now look out for the way in which the Lord will deliver us thisday again; for He will surely deliver. Many Saturdays, when we were inneed, He helped us, and so He will do this day also. ' Between nine andten o'clock this morning I gave myself to prayer for means, with threeof my fellow-labourers, in my house. WHILST WE WERE IN PRAYER, there wasa knock at my room-door, and I was informed that a gentleman had cometo see me. When we had finished prayer, it was found to be a brotherfrom Tetbury, who had brought from Barnstaple £1 2s. 6d. For theOrphans. Thus we have £1 14s. 6d. , with which I must return theletter-bag to the Orphan-Houses, looking to the Lord for more. 

"Aug. 6. --Without _one single penny_ in my hands the day began. The postbrought nothing, nor had I yet received anything, when ten minutes afterten this morning the letter-bag was brought from the Orphan-Houses, forthe supplies of to-day. --Now see the Lord's deliverance! In the bag Ifound a note from one of the labourers in the Orphan-Houses, enclosingtwo sovereigns, which she sent for the Orphans, stating that it was partof a present which she had just received unexpectedly, forherself. --Thus we are supplied for to-day. 

"Sept. 4. --Only one farthing was in my hands this morning. Pause a moment, dear reader! Only one farthing in hand when the day commenced. Think ofthis, and think of nearly 140 persons to be provided for. You, poorbrethren, who have six or eight children and small wages, think of this;and you, my brethren, who do not belong to the working classes, but have, as it is called, very limited means, think of this! May you not do, whatwe do, under your _trials_? Does the Lord love you less than He lovesus? Does He not love all His children with no less love than that, withwhich He loves His only begotten Son, according to John xvii. 20-23? Orare we better than you? Nay, are we not in ourselves poor miserablesinners as you are; and have any of the children of God any claim uponGod, on account of their own worthiness? Is not that, which alone canmake us worthy to receive anything from our Heavenly Father, therighteousness of the Lord Jesus, which is imputed to those who believein Him? Therefore, dear reader, as we pray in our every need, ofwhatever character it may be, in connection with this work, to ourFather in Heaven for help, and as He does help us, so is He willing tohelp all His children who put their trust in Him. --Well, let us hearthen, how God helped when there was only one farthing left in my hands, on the morning of Sept. 4, 1844. 

"A little after nine o'clock I received a sovereign from a sister in theLord, who does not wish the name of the place, where she resides, mentioned. Between ten and eleven o'clock the bag was sent from theOrphan-Houses, in which in a note it was stated that £1 2s. Was requiredfor to-day. SCARCELY HAD I READ THIS, when a fly stopped before myhouse, and a gentleman, Mr. ----, from the neighbourhood of Manchester, was announced. I found that he was a believer, who had come on businessto Bristol. He had heard about the Orphan-Houses, and expressed hissurprise, that without any regular system of collections, and withoutpersonal application to anyone, simply by faith and prayer, I obtained£2, 000 and more yearly for the work of the Lord in my hands. Thisbrother, whom I had never seen before; and whose name I did not evenknow before he came, gave me £2, as an exemplification of what I hadstated to him. "

"THE POOR WITH YOU ALWAYS. "

"Feb. 12, 1845. --After I had sent off this morning the money which wasrequired for the housekeeping of to-day, I had again only 16s. 2½d. Left, being only about one-fourth as much as is generally needed for oneday, merely for housekeeping, so that there was now again a fresh callfor trusting in the Lord. In the morning I met again, as usual, with mydear wife and her sister, for prayer, to ask the Lord for many blessingsin connection with this work, and for means also. 

"About one hour after, I received a letter from Devonshire, containingan order for £22 of which £10 was for the Orphans, £2 for a poor brotherin Bristol, and £10 for myself. --Besides having thus a fresh proof ofthe willingness of our Heavenly Father to answer our requests on behalfof the Orphans, there is this, moreover, to be noticed. For many monthspast, the necessities of the poor saints among us have been particularlylaid upon my heart. The word of our Lord: 'Ye have the poor with youalways, ' and 'whensoever ye will ye may do them good, ' has again andagain stirred me up to prayer on their behalf, and thus it was again inparticular this morning. It was the coldest morning we have had thewhole winter. In my morning walk for prayer and meditation I thoughthow well I was supplied with coals, nourishing food, and warm clothing, and how many of the dear children of God might be in need; and I liftedup my heart to God to give me more means for myself, that I might beable, by actions, to show more abundant sympathy with the poor believersin their need; and it was but three hours after when I received this£10 for myself. "

THE LORD DIRECTING THE STEPS. 

"Feb. 1, 1847. --Before breakfast I took a direction in my usualmorning's walk, in which I had not been for many weeks, feeling drawn inthat direction, just as if God had an intention in leading me in thatway. Returning home I met a Christian gentleman whom formerly I used tomeet almost every morning, but whom I had not met for many weeks, because I had not been walking in that direction. He stopped me and gaveme £2 for the Orphans. Then I knew why I had been led thus; for there isnot yet enough in hand, to supply the matrons to-morrow evening with thenecessary means for house-keeping during another week. 

"Feb. 4. --Yesterday nothing had come in. This morning, just before I wasgoing to give myself to prayer about the Orphans, a sister in the Lordsent a sovereign, which she had received, as she writes, 'From a friendwho had met the Orphan Boys, and was particularly pleased with theirneat and orderly appearance. ' After having received this £1, I prayedfor means for present use, though not confining my prayers to that. About a quarter of an hour after I had risen from my knees, I received aSetter, with an order for £5. The donor writes, that it is 'the proceedsof a strip of land, sold to the railway company. ' What various meansdoes the Lord employ to send us help, in answer to our prayers!"

CONTINUED TRIALS OF FAITH AND PATIENCE. 

With the enlargement of the work, by which some 330 persons needed to beprovided for, the trials of faith continued. Mr. Müller writes:--

"If we formerly had no certain income, so now have we none. We have tolook to God for everything in connection with the work, of which often, however, the pecuniary necessities are the smallest matter; but to Himwe are enabled to look, and _therefore_ it is, that we are notdisappointed. "

"Oct. 7, 1852. --This evening there was only £8 left in hand for thecurrent expenses for the Orphans. Hitherto we had generally abounded. But though much had come in, since the commencement of this new period, yet our expenses had been greater than our income, as every donationalmost of which the disposal was left with me, had been put to theBuilding Fund. Thus the balance in hand on May 26, 1852, notwithstandingthe large income since then, was reduced to about £8. I therefore gavemyself particularly to prayer for means, that this small sum might beincreased. 

"Oct. 9. --This morning Luke vii came in the course of my reading beforebreakfast. While reading the account about the Centurion and the raisingfrom death the widow's son at Nain, I lifted up my heart to the LordJesus thus: 'Lord Jesus, Thou hast the same power now. Thou canstprovide me with means for Thy work in my hands. Be pleased to do so. 'About half an hour afterwards I received £230 15s. 

"The joy which such answers to prayer afford, cannot be described. I wasdetermined to wait upon God only, and not to work an unscripturaldeliverance for myself. I have thousands of pounds for the BuildingFund; but I would not take of this sum because it was once set apart forthat object. There is also a legacy of £100 for the Orphans two monthsoverdue, in the prospect of the payment of which the heart might benaturally inclined to use some money of the Building Fund, to bereplaced by the legacy money, when it comes in; but I would not thusstep out of God's way of obtaining help. At the very time when thisdonation arrived, I had packed up £100 which I happened to have in hand;received for the Building Fund, in order to take it to the Bank, as Iwas determined not to touch it, but to wait upon God. My soul doesmagnify the Lord for His goodness. 

"June 13, 1853. --We were now very poor. Not indeed in debt, nor was evenall the money gone; for there was still about £12 in hand; but thenthere was needed to be bought flour, of which we buy generally 10 sacksat a time, 300 stones of oatmeal, 4 cwt. Of soap, and there were manylittle repairs going on in the house, with a number of workmen, besidesthe regular current expenses of about £70 per week. Over and above allthis, on Saturday, the day before yesterday, I found that the heatingapparatus needed to be repaired, which would cost in all probability£25. It was therefore desirable, humanly speaking, to have £100 forthese heavy extra expenses, besides means for the current expenses. 

"But I had no human prospect whatever of getting even 100 pence, muchless £100. In addition to this, to-day was Monday, when generally theincome is little. But, in walking to the Orphan-House this morning, andpraying as I went, I particularly told the Lord in prayer, that on thisday, though Monday, He could send me much. And thus it was. I receivedthis morning £301 for the Lord's service, as might be most needed. --Thejoy which I had cannot be described. I walked up and down in my room fora long time, tears of joy and gratitude to the Lord raining plentifullyover my cheeks, praising and magnifying the Lord for His goodness, andsurrendering myself afresh, with all my heart, to Him for His blessedservice. I scarcely ever felt more the kindness of the Lord in helpingme. 

"Nov. 9. --Our need of means is now great, very great. The Lord tries ourfaith and patience. This afternoon, a brother and sister in the Lord, from Gloucestershire, called to see me at the New Orphan-House, beforegoing through the house. After a few minutes I received from the sistera sovereign, which she had been requested to bring to me for theBuilding Fund; and she gave me from herself £1 for my own personalexpenses, and £1 for the Building Fund, and her husband gave me £5 forthe Orphans, and £5 for Foreign Missions. 

"Thus the Lord has refreshed my spirit greatly; but I look for more, andneed much more. 

"Nov. 12. --This evening, while praying for means, came a little parcel, containing ten sovereigns, from a Christian lady, living not far fromthe New Orphan-House. This was a very great refreshment to my spirit. 

"Oct. 17, 1854. --This morning at family prayer, came, in the course ofreading, Exodus v, which shows that, just before the deliverance of theIsraelites out of Egypt, their trials were greater than ever. They hadnot only to make the same number of bricks as before, but also to gatherstubble, as no straw was given them any longer. This led me, inexpounding the portion, to observe that even now the children of God areoften in greater trial than ever, just before help and deliverancecomes. Immediately after family prayer it was found, that by themorning's post not one penny had come in for the work of the Lord inwhich I am engaged, though we needed much, and though but very littlehad come in during the three previous days. Thus I had now to rememberExodus v, and to practice the truths contained therein. In the course ofthe day nothing was received. In the evening I had, as usual, a seasonfor prayer with my dear wife, respecting the various objects of theScriptural Knowledge Institution, and then we left the New Orphan-Housefor our home. 

"When we arrived at our house, about nine o'clock, we found that £5 andalso 5s. Had been sent from Norwich in two Post Office Orders for theBuilding Fund, and that £8 3s. 11d. Had been sent in for Bibles, Tracts, and Reports, which had been sold. This called for thanksgiving. But alittle later, between nine and ten o'clock, a Christian gentleman calledand gave me £1 for the Orphans and £200 for foreign missions. He hadreceived these sums from an aged Christian woman, whose savings as aservant, during her WHOLE life, made up the £200, and who, havingrecently had left to her a little annual income of about £30, feltherself constrained, by the love of Christ, to send the savings of herwhole life for foreign missions. * * *

"Our especial prayer had been again and again, that the Lord would bepleased to send in means for missionary brethren, as I had reason tobelieve they were in much need of help; and only at eight o'clock thisevening I had particularly besought the Lord to send help for thisobject. By the last mail I had sent off £40 to British Guiana, to helpseven brethren there in some measure. This amount took the last pound inhand for this object. How gladly would I have sent assistance to otherbrethren also, but I had no more. Now I am in some degree supplied forthis object. 

"July 12, 1854. --Our means were now again reduced to about £30, as onlyabout £150 had come in since June 15. In addition to this, we had veryheavy expenses before us. This morning, in reading through the book ofProverbs, when I came to chapter xxii. 19--'That thy trust may be in theLord, &c. , ' I said in prayer to Him: 'Lord, I do trust in Thee; but wiltThou now be pleased to help me; for I am in need of means for thecurrent expenses of all the various objects of the Institution. ' By thefirst delivery of letters I received an order on a London bank for £100, to be used for all the various objects 'as the present need mightrequire. '"

ARE YOU PREPARED FOR ETERNITY?

"In looking over my account books, I meet again and again with the nameof one and another who has finished his course. Soon, dear reader, yourturn and mine may come. Are you prepared for eternity? Affectionately Ipress this question upon you. Do not put it away. Nothing is of greatermoment than this point; yea, all other things, however important intheir place, are of exceedingly small importance, in comparison withthis matter. Do you ask, how you may be prepared for eternity, how to besaved, how to obtain the forgiveness of your sins? The answer is, believe in the Lord Jesus, trust in Him, depend upon Him alone as itregards the salvation of your soul. He was punished by God, in orderthat we guilty sinners, if we believe in Him, might not be punished. Hefulfilled the law of God, and was obedient even unto death, in orderthat we disobedient, guilty sinners, if we believe in Him, might, on Hisaccount, be reckoned righteous by God. Ponder these things, dear reader, should you have never done so before. Through faith in the Lord Jesusalone can we obtain forgiveness of our sins, and be at peace with God;but, believing in Jesus, we become, through this very faith, thechildren of God; have God as our Father, and may come to Him for all thetemporal and spiritual blessings which we need. Thus everyone of myreaders may obtain answers to prayers, not only to the same extent thatwe obtain them, but far more abundantly. 

"It may be that few, comparatively, of the children of God are called toserve the Lord in the way of establishing Orphan-Houses, &c. ; but all ofthem may, yea, are called upon to trust in God, to rely upon Him, intheir various positions and circumstances, and apply the word of God, faith, and prayer to their family circumstances, their earthlyoccupation, their afflictions and necessities of every kind, bothtemporally and spiritually; just as we, by God's help, in some littlemeasure seek to apply the word of God, faith and prayer to the variousobjects of the Scriptural Knowledge Institution for Home and Abroad. Make but trial of it, if you have never done so before, and you willsee how happy a life it is. * * * *

"Truly I prefer by far this life of almost constant trial, if I am onlyable to roll all my cares upon my Heavenly Father, and thus becomeincreasingly acquainted with Him, to a life of outward peace andquietness, without these constant proofs of His faithfulness, Hiswisdom, His love, His power, His over-ruling providence, &c. "

WAITING ONLY UPON GOD. 

"Sept 6, 1854. --Received from Clerkenwell £50 to be used one-half formissions, and the other half as I thought best. I took the one-half forthe support of the Orphans, and find the following remark in my journalrespecting this donation: 'What a precious answer to prayer!' Since Aug. 26th we have been day by day coming to the Lord for our daily supplies. Precious, also, on account of Missionary brethren, whom I seek to help, for whom there was nothing in hand when this donation was received. "

Mr. Müller adds a few remarks to this part of the Narrative:--

"1. Should anyone suppose, on account of its having been stated in theprevious pages that we were repeatedly brought low as to means, that theOrphans have not had all that was needful for them; we reply that_never_, since the work has been in existence, has there a meal-timecome, but the Orphans have had good nourishing food in sufficientquantity: and never have they needed clothes, but I have had the meansto provide them with all they required. 

"2. Never since the Orphan work has been in existence have I asked onesingle human being for any help for this work; and yet, unasked for, simply in answer to prayer, from so many parts of the world, as has beenstated, the donations have come in, and that very frequently at a timeof the greatest need. "

Mr. Müller writes under date, 1859:--

"Every Wednesday evening I meet with my helpers for united prayer; andday by day I have stated seasons, when I seek to bring the work with itsgreat variety of spiritual and temporal necessities, before the Lord inprayer, having perhaps each day 50 or more matters to bring before Him, and thus I obtain the blessing. I ask no human being for help concerningthe work. Nay, if I could obtain £10, 000 through each application forhelp; by God's grace, I would not ask. And why not? Because I havededicated my whole life cheerfully to the precious service of giving tothe world and to the church, a clear, distinct, and undeniabledemonstration, that it is a blessed thing to trust in, and to wait upon, God; that He is now, as He ever was, the Living God, the same asrevealed in the Holy Scriptures, and that if we know and are reconciledto Him through faith in the Lord Jesus, and ask Him in His name for thatwhich is according to His mind, He will surely give it to us, in Hisown time, provided that we believe that He will. * * * * *

"Nor has God failed me at any time. Forty years have I proved Hisfaithfulness, in this work. "

IN THE LORD JEHOVAH IS EVERLASTING STRENGTH. 

Under date Nov. 9, 1861, Mr. Müller wrote:--

"Nov. 9. Saturday evening. When this week commenced, I received only £319s. By the first delivery. Shortly after there came in the course of myreading, through the Holy Scriptures, Isaiah xxvi, 4, 'Trust ye in theLord for ever; for in the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength. '--I laidaside my Bible, fell on my knees, and prayed thus: I believe that thereis everlasting strength in the Lord Jehovah, and I do trust in Him; helpme, O Lord, for ever to trust in Thee. Be pleased to give me more meansthis day, and much this week, though only so little now has comein. --That same day, Nov. 3rd, I received £10 from Surbiton, £5 from adonor residing in Clifton, £2 from a Bristol donor, and in the course ofthe week altogether £457 came in; thus Jehovah again proved, that in Himis everlasting strength, and that He is worthy to be trusted. --Dearbelieving reader, seek but in the same way to trust in the Lord, if youare not in the habit of doing so already, and you will find as I havefound thousands of times, how blessed it is. But if the reader should beyet going on in carelessness about his soul, and therefore be withoutthe knowledge of God and His dear Son, then the first, and mostimportant thing, such a one has to do, is to trust in the Lord Jesus forthe salvation of his soul, that he may be reconciled to God, and obtainthe forgiveness of his sins. "

JESUS CHRIST, THE SAME YESTERDAY, AND TO-DAY, AND FOREVER. 

"May 26, 1861. --At the close of the period I find, that the totalexpenditure for all the various objects was £24, 700 16s. 4d. , or £6713s. 5¾d. Per day, all the year round. During the coming year I expectthe expenses to be considerably greater. But God, who has helped methese many years, will, I believe, help me in future also. 

"You see, esteemed reader, how the Lord, in His faithful love helped usyear after year. With every year the expenses increased, because theoperations of the Institutions were further enlarged; but He neverfailed us. You may say, however, 'What would you do, if He should failin helping you?' My reply is, that cannot be, as long as we trust in Himand do not live in sin. But if we were to forsake Him, the fountain ofliving waters, and to hew out to ourselves broken cisterns, which cannothold water, by trusting in an arm of flesh; or if we were to live insin, we should then have to call upon Him in vain, even though weprofessed still to trust in Him, according to that word: 'If I regardiniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me. ' Psalm lxvi, 18. 

"Hitherto, by God's grace, I have been enabled to continue to trust inHim alone; and hitherto, though failing and weak in many ways, yet, byGod's grace, I have been enabled to walk uprightly, hating sin andloving holiness, and longing after increased conformity to the LordJesus. 

"Oct. 21 1868--As the days come, we make known our requests to Him, forour outgoings have now been for several years at the rate of more thanOne Hundred Pounds each day; but though the expenses have been so great, He has never failed us. We have indeed, as to the outward appearance, like the 'Burning Bush in the Wilderness;' yet we have not beenconsumed. Moreover, we are full of trust in the Lord, and therefore ofgood courage, though we have before us the prospect, that, year by year, our expenses will increase more and more. Did all my beloved fellowdisciples, who seek to work for God know the blessedness of lookingtruly to God alone, and trusting in Him alone, they would soon see howsoul refreshing this way is, and how entirely beyond disappointment, sofar as He is concerned. Earthly friends may alter their minds regardingthe work in which we are engaged; but if indeed we work for God, whoevermay alter His mind regarding our service, He will not. Earthly friendsmay lose their ability to help us, however much they desire so to do;but He remains throughout eternity the infinitely Rich One. Earthlyfriends may have their minds after a time diverted to other objects, and, as they cannot help everywhere, much as they may desire it, theymay, though reluctantly, have to discontinue to help us; but He is able, in all directions, though the requirements were multiplied a milliontimes, to supply all that can possibly be needed, and does it withdelight, where His work is carried on, and where He is confided in. Earthly friends may be removed by death, and thus we may lose theirhelp, but He lives for ever, He cannot die. In this latter point ofview, I have especially, during the past 40 years, in connection withthis Institution, seen the blessedness of trusting in the Living Godalone. Not one nor two, nor even five nor ten, but many more, who oncehelped me much with their means, have been removed by death; but havethe operations of the Institution been stopped on that account? No. Andhow came this? Because I trusted in God, and in God alone. "

THOROUGHLY IN HEART PREPARED FOR TRIALS OF FAITH. 

Under date July 28, 1874, Mr. Müller wrote:--

"It has for months appeared to me, as if the Lord meant, by His dealingswith us, to bring us back to that state of things, in which we were formore than ten years, from August, 1838, to April, 1849, when we had dayby day, almost without interruption, to look to Him for our dailysupplies, and, for a great part of the time, from meal to meal. Thedifficulties appeared to me indeed very great, as the Institution isnow twenty times larger, than it was then, and our purchases are to bemade in a wholesale way; but, at the same time, I am comforted by theknowledge, that God is aware of all this; and that, if this way be forthe glory of His name, and for the good of His church and theunconverted world, I am, by His grace, willing to go this way, and to doit to the end of my course. The funds were thus fast expended; but God, our infinitely rich Treasurer, remains to us. It is this which gives mepeace. Moreover, if it pleases Him, with a work requiring about £44, 000a year, to make me do again at the evening of my life, what I did fromAugust, 1838, to April, 1849, I am not only prepared for it, but gladlyagain I would pass through all these trials of faith, with regard tomeans, if He only might be glorified, and His church and the world bebenefited. Often and often this last point has of late passed through mymind, and I have placed myself in the position of having no means at allleft, and Two Thousand and One Hundred persons not only daily at thetable, but with everything else to be provided for, and all funds gone;189 Missionaries to be assisted, and nothing whatever left; about onehundred schools, with about nine thousand scholars in them, to beentirely supported, and no means for them in hand; about Four Millionsof Tracts and Tens of Thousands of copies of the Holy Scriptures yearlynow to be sent out, and all the money expended. Invariably, however, with this probability before me, I have said to myself: 'God, who hasraised up this work through me, God who has led me generally year afteryear to enlarge it, God who has supported this work now for more thanforty years, will still help, and will not suffer me to be confounded, because I rely upon Him, I commit the whole work to Him, and He willprovide me with what I need, in future also, though I know not, whencethe means are to come. '

"Thus I wrote in my journal on July 28, 1874. The reader will now feelinterested in learning how we fared under these circumstances. 

"When I came home, last evening (July 27), I found letters had arrived, which contained £193, among which there was one from a Missionary inForeign lands, helped by the funds of this Institution, who, having comeinto the possession of some money, by the death of a relative, sent £1530s. 4d. For Foreign Missions. This morning, July 28, came in £24 more, so that, when I met this afternoon with several of my helpers for prayerfor means and various other matters, such as spiritual blessing upon thevarious Objects of the Institution, for more rain in this very dryseason, the health of our fellow-labourers, etc. , we had received, sinceyesterday afternoon, altogether £217. We thanked God for it, and askedfor more. When the meeting for prayer was over, there was handed to me aletter from Scotland, containing £73 17s. 10d. , and a paper with 13s. This was the immediate answer to prayer for more means. 

"Aug. 12. --The income for this whole week, since Aug. 5, has been £89715s. 6½d. 

"Sept. 16. --Just after having again prayed for the payment of legacies, which have been left, I had a legacy receipt sent for the payment of alegacy for £1, 800. 

"Sept. 23. --Income to-day £5, 365 13s. 6d. , of which there was sent inone donation £5, 327 7s. 6d. The Lord be praised!"

STRONG IN FAITH, GIVING GLORY TO GOD. 

On March 27, 1881, Mr. Müller found that no money remained in hand forthe School, Bible, Missionary and Tract Funds. Nearly £1, 400 had beenspent for these Objects during the previous month. He writes:--

"What was now to be done, dear reader, under these circumstances, whenall the money for the above Objects was again gone? I reply, we did whatwe have done for 47 years, that is, we waited continually upon God. Mydear fellow-labourers in Bristol, and my dear wife and myself inAmerica, brought our necessities again and again before the Lord. 

"Here in the United States, besides our habitual daily prayer for help, we had especial seasons 4, 5, and 6 times a day additionally, forpouring out our hearts before our Heavenly Father, and making known ourrequests unto Him, being assured that help would come: and we have notwaited upon the Lord in vain. This plan may be despised by some, ridiculed by others, and considered insufficient by a third class ofpersons; but, under every trial and difficulty, we find prayer and faithto be our universal remedy; and, after having experienced for half acentury their efficacy, we purpose, by God's help, to _continue_ waitingupon Him, in order to show to an ungodly world, and to a doubtingChurch, that the Living God is still able and willing to answer prayer, and that it is the joy of His heart to listen to the supplications ofHis children. In Psalm ix. 10, the Divine testimony regarding Jehovahis, 'They that know thy name will put their trust in Thee. ' We know Him, by His grace, and do therefore put our trust in Him. 

"April 27. --On March 27th we had no means at all in hand for theseObjects, as stated under that date. We have now been helped through onemore month, in answer to prayer, and have been supplied with all weneeded, though that amounted to nearly £1000, and have £23 8s. 6¼d. Left. 

"April 29. --A servant of the Lord Jesus, who, constrained by the love ofChrist, seeks to lay up treasure in heaven, having received a legacy of£532 14s. 5d. , gave £500 of it for these Objects. 

"July 28, 1881. --The income has been for some time past only about thethird part of the expenses. Consequently, all we have for the support ofthe Orphans is nearly gone; and for the first four Objects of theInstitution we have nothing at all in hand. The natural appearance nowis, that the work cannot be carried on. But I BELIEVE that the Lordwill help, both with means for the Orphans and also for the otherObjects of the Institution, and that we shall not be confounded; also, that the work shall not need to be given up. I am fully expecting help, and have written this to the glory of God, that it may be recordedhereafter for the encouragement of His children. The result will beseen. 

"The foregoing was written at 7 A. M. July 28, 1881. As yet we have themeans to meet our expenses, and I expect that we shall not beconfounded, though for seven years we have not been so poor. "

The result has indeed been seen, and will be seen. For more than 20years since those words were written and Mr. Müller had thus recordedhis confidence in the Lord's help, God HAS sustained the work, and inMay, 1902, there was a balance in hand of some thousands of pounds, notwithstanding that more than £500, 000 had been received and expendedsince this entry was made in Mr. Müller's journal on July 28, 1881. 

During these 20 years faith and patience were at times greatly tried:

"Aug. 15, 1881. --The balance for the Orphans is now reduced to £332 12s. 7d. , lower than it has been for more than twenty-five years. This sum wehave in hand to meet the daily expenses in connection with 2, 100persons. It is only enough for the average outgoings of 4½ days. But oureyes are upon the Lord. I look to my heavenly Provider. The totalincome of to-day has been £28 5s. 2½d. 

"Aug. 22. --Part of a legacy, left years ago, £1, 000, was paid, as theanswer to many prayers. 

"Feb. 26, 1882. --The balance in hand to-day for the Orphans is £97 10s. 7½d. , viz. , £24 more than the average expenses of one single day. 

"March 2. --Our position now regarding the Orphan work is, praying day byday 'Give us _this day_ our _daily_ bread'. For a considerable time wehave had day by day to look to the Lord for the supply of our _daily_wants; but God has helped us thus far. 

"April 20, 1882. --When in the greatest need we received from Edinburgh£100 with this statement: 'The enclosed was intended as a legacy, but Ihave sent it in my lifetime. '

"June 3. --From Wottan-under-edge £500. A glorious deliverance was thisdonation, and a precious earnest of what God would do further for us. 

"Oct. 21. --Received from Wottan-under-edge £1, 000. * * * * * God, inanswer to our prayers, spoke to His dear child, and inclined his heartto send to us more than ever. Thus He also gives proof, that during theprevious year, when we were so low as to funds, it was only for thetrial of our faith and patience, and not in anger; nor did He therebymean to indicate, that He would not help us any more. For my own part, I_expected_ further great help from God, and I have not been confounded. 

"Aug. 17, 1883. --Our balance was reduced this afternoon to £10 2s. 7d. Think of this, dear reader! Day by day about 2, 100 persons are to beprovided for in the Orphan Institution, and £10 2s. 7d. Was all that wasin hand to do this. You see that we are just in the same position inwhich we were 46 years since as to funds. God is our banker. In Him wetrust, and on Him we draw by faith. This was Saturday. In the evening£30 was received. On Monday we received £129 further, but had to pay out£60. On Tuesday we received £295, but had to pay out £180. * * * * *

"God is pleased continually to vary His mode of dealing with us, inorder that we may not be tempted to trust in donors, or incircumstances, but in Him alone, and to keep our eye fixed upon Him. This, by His grace, we are enabled to do, and our hearts are kept inpeace. "

Some ten months later, when the balance in hand was only £41 10s. , avery little more than one-half of the average expenses for the Orphansfor one day, and there were sanitary operations advisable to be carriedout, the expenses of which would amount to upwards of £2, 000, Mr. Müllerreceived a legacy of £11, 034 6s. 

"June 7, 1884. --This is the largest donation I have _ever_ received at_one time_. This legacy had been above six years in Chancery, and yearafter year its payment was expected, but remained unsettled by theChancery Court. I kept on praying, however, and for six years prayed dayby day that the money might be paid, believing that God in His own time(_which is always the best_), would help at last; for _many_ legacies inChancery I had prayed out of the Court, and the money was eventuallypaid. In the present case, too, after faith and patience had beensufficiently exercised, God granted this request likewise. "

1893. --In the Fifty-fourth Report of the Scriptural KnowledgeInstitution Mr. Müller says:--

"The readers of the last report will remember, under what particulartrials we entered upon the last financial year of the Institution, fromMay 26th, 1892, to May 26th, 1893; but we trusted in _God_; withunshaken confidence we looked to _Him_, and we _expected_ that we shouldsomehow or other be helped. * * While thus we went on, my heart was atpeace habitually, being assured that all this was permitted by God, toprepare a blessing for thousands, who would afterwards read the recordof His dealings with us, during the year from May 26th, 1892, to May26th, 1893. With reference to our dear fellow-labourers, Mr. Wright andI have seen already, while passing through the trial, how God hasblessed it to them. 

"Aug. 30, 1892. --This evening, whilst reading in the Psalms, I came toPsalm lxxxi, 10, and remembered the work of the Holy Spirit in my heart, when reading this verse on Dec. 5, 1835, and the effect which this had, not only on leading me to found the greatest Orphan Institution in theworld, but I thought also of the blessing which has thus been brought totens of thousands of believers and unbelievers all over the world. Putting aside the Bible, therefore, I fell on my knees and asked Godthat He would graciously be pleased to repeat His former kindness, andto supply me again more abundantly with means. Accordingly in less thanhalf an hour, I received £50 from a Bristol Donor and from Redland alarge quantity of fish, in addition to £97 already received to-day asthe result of much prayer. By the last delivery, at 9 p. M. , I received£5 more also, and had thus £152 in all, this day, as the result ofprayer. 

"Nov. 11. --There came in to-day, by the first two deliveries, only about£8, but the Lord increased the income to more than £200 this day. I amnever discouraged by very little only coming in, but say to myself, andalso to my dear helpers, 'More prayer, more patience, and more exerciseof faith will bring greater blessing'; for thus I have invariably foundit, since October, 1830, now 63 years ago, when I first began this lifeof entire dependence upon God for everything. 

"March 1, 1893. --The income during this week, ending to-day, was £92 8s. 8¾d. For the Orphans, and £9 11s. 2d. For the other Objects, being aboutthe sixth part of our weekly expenses; but now the great trial of ourfaith was nearly brought to a close, as will presently be seen. 

"March 4. --_This very day_ God begins to answer our prayers, as we havereceived a very good offer for the land we have to sell, even £1, 000 peracre. The beginning of the day was darker as to outward appearancesthan ever: but we trusted in God for help. The first three deliveries ofletters brought us only £4, and the remaining three brought us so littlethat the whole day's income was only £8 instead of £90, the amount werequire every day to meet all our expenses. But God has now helped us. We have been able this evening to sell ten acres of land and two-fifthsof an acre at £1, 000 per acre, and shall receive £10, 405 altogether forthe whole of one field. The contract was signed at 8 o'clock thisevening. "

MR. MÜLLER'S DEPARTURE TO BE WITH CHRIST. 

On the evening of Wednesday, March 9th, 1898, Mr. Müller took part inthe usual meeting for prayer held in the Orphan-House No. 3; retired athis usual hour to rest, and early on the following morning (the 10th ofMarch) alone, in his bed-room, breathed his last, realizing what hadlong been with him a most joyous anticipation, viz. , that "to depart andto be with Christ is far better. "

March 14. --This day Mr. Müller's earthly remains were laid in the graveof his first and second wives, at Arno' Vale Cemetery. The attendantcircumstances, throughout, were very remarkable and interesting to theChristian mind chiefly as illustrating God's eternal principle--"Themthat honour Me I will honour. " The man who in life sought not his ownglory, became in death the one to whom all classes delighted to showrespect and honour. 

From the masses of sympathizing spectators that lined the streets, fromthe tearful eyes, and the audible prayerful ejaculations that escapedthe lips of bystanders (many of them the poorest of the poor), as theorphans filed past, following the hearse; from the suspension of alltraffic in the principal streets, the tolling of muffled bells, and thehalf-masted flags, and from the dense crowds in the cemetery thatawaited the arrival of the funeral company, it seemed as if the wholecity had spontaneously resolved to do honour to the man who had notlived for himself, but for the glory of God and the good of his fellows. 

For some 21 months before Mr. Müller's death the trials of faith andpatience were great. Mr. James Wright, Mr. Müller's successor, writes:

"He who is pleased, sometimes, to teach His servants 'how to _abound_, 'sees it _best_ for them, at other times 'to be instructed how to sufferneed. ' For many of the 64 years during which this work has been carriedon, the former was our experience; we abounded and richly abounded, latterly, and especially during the last 2 or 3 years it has been thevery reverse. _Pressing need_ has been the _rule_; a balance in hand, over and above our need, the rare exception. Yet we have never beenforsaken. "

"Sept. 23, 1897. --Residue of the legacy of the late G. J. , Esq. , £2, 67918s. 7d. This sum was received when we were in the _deepest need_; andafter it had pleased the Lord to allow a very protracted trial of faithand patience; but see, beloved reader, He did not disappoint norforsake us, as He _never_ does those who really trust in Him. The _joy_of _such_ a deliverance cannot be tasted without the experience of theprevious _trial_. 

"Feb. 26, 1898. --The following entry, under this date, is in Mr. Müller's own hand-writing:

"The income to-day, by the two first deliveries, was £7 15s. 11d. Day byday our great trial of faith and patience continues, and thus it hasbeen, more or less, now, for 21 months, yet, by Thy grace, we aresustained. "

March 1, 1898. --The following, again, is from a memorandum in Mr. Müller's own hand-writing, under this date:

"For about 21 months with scarcely the least intermission the trial ofour faith and patience has continued. Now, to-day, the Lord hasrefreshed our hearts. This afternoon came in, for the Lord's work, £1, 427 1s. 7d. As part payment of a legacy of the late Mrs. E. C. S. For3 years and 10 months this money had been in the Irish Chancery Court. Hundreds of petitions had been brought before the Lord regarding it, andnow at last, this portion of the total legacy has been received. "

Thus the Lord, in love and faithfulness, greatly refreshed the heart ofHis servant, only nine days before taking him home to be with Himself. 

APPENDIX A

FIVE CONDITIONS OF PREVAILING PRAYER

Entire dependence upon the merits and mediation of the Lord JesusChrist, as the only ground of any claim for blessing. (See John xiv. 13, 14; xv. 16, etc. )

2. --Separation from all known sin. If we regard iniquity in our hearts, the Lord will not hear us, for it would be sanctioning sin. (Psalm lxvi. 18. )

3. --Faith in God's word of promise as confirmed by His oath. Not tobelieve Him is to make Him both a liar and a perjurer. (Hebrews xi. 6;vi. 13-20. )

4. --Asking in accordance with His will. Our motives must be godly: wemust not seek any gift of God to consume it upon our lusts. (1 John v. 14; James iv. 3. )

5. --Importunity in supplication. There must be waiting on God andwaiting for God, as the husbandman has long patience to wait for theharvest. (James v. 7; Luke xviii. 1-8. )

APPENDIX B

THE CAREFUL AND CONSECUTIVE READING OF THE HOLY SCRIPTURES

Concerning this subject Mr. Müller says: "I fell into the snare, intowhich so many young believers fall, the reading of religious books inpreference to the Scriptures. I could no longer read French and Germannovels, as I had formerly done, to feed my carnal mind; but still I didnot put into the room of those books the best of all books. I readtracts, missionary papers, sermons, and biographies of godly persons. The last kind of books I found more profitable than others, and had theybeen well selected, or had I not read too much of such writings, or hadany of them tended particularly to endear the Scriptures to me, theymight have done me much good. --I never had been at any time in my lifein the habit of reading the Holy Scriptures. When under fifteen years ofage, I occasionally read a little of them at school; afterwards God'sprecious book was entirely laid aside, so that I never read one singlechapter of it, as far as I remember, till it pleased God to begin a workof grace in my heart. Now the Scriptural way of reasoning would havebeen: God himself has condescended to become an author, and I amignorant about that precious book, which His Holy Spirit has caused tobe written through the instrumentality of His servants, and it containsthat which I ought to know, and the knowledge of which will lead me totrue happiness; therefore I ought to read again and again this mostprecious book, this book of books, most earnestly, most prayerfully, andwith much meditation; and in this practice I ought to continue all thedays of my life. For I was aware, though I read it but little, that Iknew scarcely anything of it. But instead of acting thus, and being ledby my ignorance of the word of God to study it more, my difficulty inunderstanding it, and the little enjoyment I had in it, made me carelessof reading it (for much prayerful reading of the Word, gives not merelymore knowledge, but increases the delight we have in reading it); andthus, like many believers, I practically preferred, for the first fouryears of my divine life, the works of uninspired men to the oracles ofthe living God. The consequence was, that I remained a babe, both inknowledge and grace. In knowledge I say; for all _true_ knowledge mustbe derived, by the Spirit, from the Word. And as I neglected the Word, Iwas for nearly four years so ignorant, that I did not _clearly_ knoweven the _fundamental_ points of our holy faith. And this lack ofknowledge most sadly kept me back from walking steadily in the ways ofGod. For it is the truth that makes us free, (John viii. 31, 32, ) bydelivering us from the slavery of the lusts of the flesh, the lusts ofthe eyes, and the pride of life. The Word proves it. The experience ofthe saints proves it; and also my own experience most decidedly provesit. For when it pleased the Lord in Aug. 1829, to bring me really to theScriptures, my life and walk became very different. And though evensince that I have very much fallen short of what I might and ought tobe, yet, by the grace of God, I have been enabled to live much nearer toHim than before. 

"If any believers read this, who practically prefer other books to theHoly Scriptures, and who enjoy the writings of men much more than theword of God, may they be warned by my loss. I shall consider this bookto have been the means of doing much good, should it please the Lord, through its instrumentality, to lead some of His people no longer toneglect the Holy Scriptures, but to give them that preference, whichthey have hitherto bestowed on the writings of men. My dislike toincrease the number of books would have been sufficient to deter me fromwriting these pages, had I not been convinced, that this is the only wayin which the brethren at large may be benefited through my mistakes anderrors, and been influenced by the hope, that in answer to my prayers, the reading of my experience may be the means of leading them to valuethe Scriptures more highly, and to make them the rule of all theiractions. * * *

"If anyone should ask me, how he may read the Scriptures mostprofitably, I would advise him, that:

"I. --Above all he should seek to have it settled in his own mind, thatGod alone, by His Spirit, can teach him, and that therefore, as God willbe enquired of for blessings, it becomes him to seek God's blessingprevious to reading, and also whilst reading. 

"II. --He should have it, moreover, settled in his mind, that, althoughthe Holy Spirit is the _best_ and _sufficient_ teacher, yet that thisteacher does not always teach immediately when we desire it, and that, therefore, we may have to entreat Him again and again for theexplanation of certain passages; but that He will surely teach us atlast, if indeed we are seeking for light prayerfully, patiently, andwith a view to the glory of God. 

"III. --It is of immense importance for the understanding of the word ofGod, to read it in course, so that we may read every day a portion ofthe Old and a portion of the New Testament, going on where we previouslyleft off. This is important--1, Because it throws light upon theconnection; and a different course, according to which one _habitually_selects particular chapters, will make it utterly impossible ever tounderstand much of the Scriptures. 2, Whilst we are in the body, we needa change even in spiritual things; and this change the Lord hasgraciously provided in the great variety which is to be found in Hisword. 3, It tends to the glory of God; for the leaving out somechapters here and there, is practically saying, that certain portionsare better than others: or, that there are certain parts of revealedtruth unprofitable or unnecessary. 4, It may keep us, by the blessing ofGod, from erroneous views, as in reading thus regularly through theScriptures we are led to see the meaning of the whole, and also keptfrom laying too much stress upon certain favourite views. 5, TheScriptures contain the whole revealed will of God, and therefore weought to seek to read from time to time through the whole of thatrevealed will. There are many believers, I fear, in our day, who havenot read even once through the whole of the Scriptures; and yet in a fewmonths, by reading only a few chapters every day they might accomplishit. 

"IV. --It is also of the greatest importance to meditate on what we read, so that perhaps a small portion of that which we have read, or, if wehave time, the whole may be meditated upon in the course of the day. Ora small portion of a book, or an epistle, or a gospel, through which wego regularly for meditation, may be considered every day, without, however, suffering oneself to be brought into bondage by this plan. 

"Learned _commentaries_ I have found to store the _head_, with manynotions and often also with the truth of God; but when the _Spirit_teaches, through the instrumentality of prayer and meditation, the_heart_ is affected. The former kind of knowledge generally puffs up, and is often renounced, when another commentary gives a differentopinion, and often also is found good for nothing, when it is to becarried out into practice. The latter kind of knowledge generallyhumbles, gives joy, leads as nearer to God, and is not easily reasonedaway; and having been obtained from God, and thus having entered intothe heart, and become our own, is also generally carried out. "

APPENDIX C

PROVING THE ACCEPTABLE WILL OF GOD

It is very instructive and helpful to see the way in which Mr. Müllerproved the acceptable will of the Lord, when exercised in heart aboutthe enlargement of the Orphan work, so that not only 300 but 1000Orphans might be provided for. 

"Dec. 11, 1850. --The especial burden of my prayer therefore is, that Godwould be pleased to teach me His will. My mind has also been especiallypondering, how I could know His will satisfactorily concerning thisparticular. Sure I am, that I shall be taught. I therefore desirepatiently to wait for the Lord's time, when He shall be pleased to shineon my path concerning this point. 

"Dec. 26. --Fifteen days have elapsed since I wrote the precedingparagraph. Every day since then I have continued to pray about thismatter, and that with a goodly measure of earnestness, by the help ofGod. There has passed scarcely an hour during these days, in which, whilst awake, this matter has not been more or less before me. But allwithout even a shadow of excitement. I converse with no one about it. Hitherto have I not even done so with my dear wife. From this I refrainstill, and deal with God alone about the matter, in order that nooutward influence, and no outward excitement may keep me from attainingunto a clear discovery of His will. I have the fullest and most peacefulassurance, that He will clearly show me His will. This evening I havehad again an especial solemn season for prayer, to seek to know the willof God. But whilst I continue to entreat and beseech the Lord, that Hewould not allow me to be deluded in this business, I may say I havescarcely any doubt remaining on my mind as to what will be the issue, even that I should go forward in this matter. 

"As this, however, is one of the most momentous steps that I have evertaken, I judge that I cannot go about this matter with too much caution, prayerfulness, and deliberation. I am in no hurry about it. I could waitfor years, by God's grace, were this His will, before even taking onesingle step towards this thing, or even speaking to anyone about it;and, on the other hand, I would set to work to-morrow, were the Lord tobid me do so. This calmness of mind, this having no will of my own inthe matter, this only wishing to please my Heavenly Father in it, thisonly seeking His and not my honour in it; this state of heart, I say, isthe fullest assurance to me that my heart is not under a fleshlyexcitement, and that, if I am helped thus to go on, I shall know thewill of God to the full. But, while I write thus, I cannot but add atthe same time, that I do crave the honour and the glorious privilege tobe more and more used by the Lord. I have served Satan much in myyounger years, and I desire now with all my might to serve God, duringthe remaining days of my earthly pilgrimage. I am forty-five years andthree months old. Every day decreases the number of days that I have tostay on earth. I therefore desire with all my might to work. There arevast multitudes of Orphans to be provided for. * * *

"I desire that thus it may be more abundantly manifest that God is stillthe hearer and answerer of prayer, and that He is the living God now, asHe ever was and ever will be, when He shall, simply in answer to prayer, have condescended to provide me with a house for 700 Orphans, and withmeans to support them. This last consideration is the most importantpoint in my mind. The Lord's honour is the principal point with me inthis whole matter; and just because that is the case, if He would bemore glorified by my not going forward in this business, I should, byHis grace, be perfectly content to give up all thoughts about anotherOrphan-House. Surely, in such a state of mind, obtained by the HolySpirit, Thou, O my Heavenly Father, will not suffer Thy child to bemistaken, much less to be deluded! By the help of God I shall continuefurther, day by day, to wait upon Him in prayer concerning this thing, till He shall bid me act. 

"Jan. 2, 1851. --A week ago I wrote the preceding paragraph. During thisweek I have still been helped, day by day, and more than once everyday, to seek the guidance of the Lord about another Orphan-House. Theburden of my prayer has still been, that He, in His great mercy, wouldkeep me from making a mistake. During the last week the Book of Proverbshas come, in the course of my Scripture reading, and my heart has beenrefreshed, in reference to this subject, by the following passages:'Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine ownunderstanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thypaths. ' Prov. Iii. 5, 6. By the grace of God I do acknowledge the Lordin my ways, and in this thing in particular; I have therefore thecomfortable assurance that He will direct my paths concerning this partof my service, as to whether I shall be occupied in it or not. Further:'The integrity of the upright shall preserve them; but the perversenessof fools shall destroy them. ' Prov. Xi. 3. By the grace of God I amupright in this business. My honest purpose is to get glory to God. Therefore I expect to be guided aright. Further: 'Commit thy works untothe Lord and thy thoughts shall be established. ' Prov. Xvi. 3. I docommit my works unto the Lord, and therefore expect that my thoughtswill be established. --My heart is more and more coming to a calm, quiet, and settled assurance, that the Lord will condescend to use me yetfurther in the Orphan Work. Here, Lord, is Thy servant!"

Mr. Müller wrote down eight reasons against and eight reasons forestablishing another Orphan-House for Seven Hundred Orphans. 

The following is his last reason for so doing:

"I am peaceful and happy, spiritually, in the prospect of enlarging thework as on former occasions when I had to do so. This weighsparticularly with me as a reason for going forward. After all the calm, quiet, prayerful consideration of the subject for about eight weeks, Iam peaceful and happy, spiritually, in the purpose of enlarging thefield. This, after all the heart searching which I have had, and thedaily prayer to be kept from delusion and mistake in this thing, and thebetaking myself to the Word of God, would not be the case, I judge, hadnot the Lord purposed to condescend to use me more than ever in thisservice. 

"I, therefore, on the ground of the objections answered, and these eightreasons FOR enlarging the work, come to the conclusion that it is thewill of the blessed God, that His poor and most unworthy servant shouldyet more extensively serve Him in this work, which he is quite willingto do. "

"May 24. --From the time that I began to write down the exercises of mymind on Dec. 5th, 1850, till this day, ninety-two more Orphans have beenapplied for, and seventy-eight were already waiting for admissionbefore. But this number increases rapidly as the work becomes more andmore known. 

"On the ground of what has been recorded above, I purpose to go forwardin this service, and to seek to build, to the praise and honour of theliving God, another Orphan-House, large enough to accommodate sevenhundred Orphans. "