50,000 Answers To Prayers

"In your distress you called and I rescued you, I answered you out of a thundercloud; I tested you at the waters of Meribah: "I am the LORD your God, who brought you up out of Egypt. Open wide your  mouth and I will fill it" (Psalm 81: 7, 10).

George Mueller, born into a German tax collector's family, was often in trouble. He learned early to steal and
drink. As a teenager he learned how to stay in expensive hotels,then sneak out without paying the bill. But at length he was caught and jailed. Prison did him little good, for upon release he continued his crime spree until, on a Saturday night in 1825, he met Jesus Christ.

Mueller married and settled down in Bristol, England, growing daily in faith and developing a burden for the homeless children running wild and ragged through the streets. At a public meeting in Bristow on December 9, 1835, he presented a plan for an orphanage. Several contributions came in. Mueller rented Number 6 Wilson Street, and on April 11, 1836 the doors of the orphanage opened. Twenty-six children were immediately taken in. a second house soon opened, then a third. 

From the beginning Mueller refused to ask for funds or even to speak of the ministry's financial needs. He believed in praying earnestly and trusting the Lord to provide. And the Lord did provide, though sometimes at the last moment. The best-known story involves a morning when the plates and bowls and cups were set on the tables, but there was no food or milk. The children sat waiting for breakfast while Mueller led in prayer for their daily bread. A knock sounded at the door. It was the baker. "Mr. Mueller," he said, "I couldn't sleep last night. Somehow I felt you didn't have bread for breakfast, so I got up at 2 am and baked some fresh bread." A second knock sounded. The milkman had broken down right in front of the orphanage, and he wanted to give the children his milk so he could empty his wagon and repair it.

Such stories became the norm for Mueller's work. During the course of his 93 years, Mueller housed more than 10,000 orphans, "prayed in" millions of dollars, traveled to scores of countries preaching the gospel, and recorded 50,000 answers to prayer.

We can notice something extremely important: Mueller was praying in the morning for bread, God already had the bread in the oven, long before the prayer. Some may call it a coincidence that the milkman broke down in front of the orphanage, but what are the odds for that to happen? God knows exactly what we need, and is orchestrating the answers to our needs. "Praise be to the LORD, to God our Savior, who daily bears our burdens" (Psalm 68: 19).

Cast your cares upon the Lord, trust in Him to answer. He may test you as He did George Mueller by taking him to the last moment but He will answer. And as you see in your life the answers to your prayers your faith and ability to trust Him will grow. Here are the words of George Mueller: "I confidently anticipated that my answers to prayers would lead believers to look for answers to their own prayers and encourage them to bring all their needs before God. I also firmly believed that many unconverted persons would see that there is reality in the things of God" (George Mueller; The Autobiography of George Mueller; Whitaker House, 1985; pp.233-4)

Daily Prayer:

Father thank you that you hear and answer prayers and for the testimony of those who have experienced your care.  Help me in my unbelief and my my life, your answers to prayer in my life demonstrate Your love to others so that they will come to know not just a God who gives things, but a God who give eternal life.   Amen